Why does fear matter? Because whatever we fear governs our life and thoughts.
Here are examples of the more common fears and their implications:
1. If we fear rejection, we will always be worried about whether we’re pleasing people or not, and act accordingly. This will make us slaves to other people’s opinions of us.
As Prov. 29:25 reminds us, “The fear of man brings a snare…” In other words, it traps us into:
- Doing something we know is wrong, but we do it anyway
- Not speaking up against evil or standing up for what’s right
- Compromising our integrity
- Changing our position on issues
- Not holding on to any principles, as we let whoever we’re with decide for us what’s right or wrong.
–All because we’re afraid of getting cast out of the group, dumped by the so-called “friend”, fired by the boss, blacklisted, etc.
We overcome this fear by remembering not only the first part of Prov. 29:25 but the second part as well—“…but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.”
Kept safe from what? From a whole lot of heartache, getting into trouble, and eventually no one trusting us due to lacking integrity and principles!
The kind of people who’d reject us for living by high standards are the kind of people we don’t to stay around anyway, let alone governing our lives!
Plus, the One whose approval really counts has promised He will never reject or forsake us.
“I will never leave or forsake you” (Deut. 31:6, Heb. 13:5)
2. If we fear “what might happen” (some kind of harm), we won’t be able to step out in faith toward fulfilling dreams and reaching goals. “After all, it’s a dangerous world out there, so best just to stay safe.” Some problems with this kind of thinking:
- It keeps us from actually living while we’re still alive
- It leads to paranoia (if one hasn’t already arrived there)
- It causes depression, due to lack of purpose and nothing to live for, as well as boredom
- Besides being emotionally and spiritually damaging, it’s also physically unhealthy. The stress over worrying about what others think of us could give us a heart attack, ulcers, etc.
- No matter how hard anyone tries to stay safe, we’re all going to die sometime, so we might as well live first!
- No one can control everything in their environment— just think of all the disastrous things that could happen in your own home—on second thought, don’t!
We overcome this kind of fear by meditating on Ps. 91:1-16 — “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you…” (from all kinds of bad things)!
3. If we fear failure (“first cousin” to the fear above), we won’t even want to try—either because of past failures that have bound us in shame or fear of being labelled a failure as a person. Here’s what such fear causes:
- No achievements. As the saying goes, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
- Depression due to feeling insignificant due to not accomplishing much, or nothing that really counts.
- Possible actual failure—focusing on failing is like standing next to a pit, leaning over it to see what’s at the bottom, and falling into it as a result!
We overcome this with Prov. 24:16—“For a righteous man (person) falls seven times but gets right back up again…” Also by remembering that failure is an event, not a condition—we may fail, but we are never failures!
As long as we learn from our failures and do better the next time through what we learned, we are succeeding. Ask any toddler that’s ever learned to walk!
4. If we fear deprivation, we will always worry about not having enough. As a result, we’ll:
- Subsist with a sense of perpetual scarcity, no matter how much we have (like the stories of people who live in poverty not knowing someone left them a huge inheritance, being kept for them at the bank!)
- Hoard what we have— get what we can and can what we get, without regard to others’ needs. Remember what happened with toilet paper when the Covid pandemic first hit?(!)
- Feel unsafe about being generous with our resources. The thought here is “how can I give any of my (fill in the blank) when I might run out myself?”
We overcome this with the truth about why we shouldn’t worry about getting and having what we need, because the Lord will provide that.
See Mat. 6:25-34, including v.33 which says, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you.” In other words—if we take care of His “business”, He’ll take care of ours.
“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:19 Note the word “needs”, not wants!
Also, we can’t outgive God. In fact, the more we give, the better off we’ll be. Although, we don’t give for that reason.
“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” 2 Cor. 9:6
5. If we fear the Lord— in reverence and awe– we will also trust Him with our relationships, our future, and provision of whatever we need to thrive and bless others!
The whole Bible talks about this, but here’s just a few examples:
Ps. 23 — “The Lord is my shepherd…”— Who protects, provides, and guides.
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Is. 41:10
“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Ps. 56:3-4
Choose your fear. There’s a lot of them out there. I’ve named a few examples. Just remember you’ll be serving it as it governs your life. That’s why I recommend fearing (revering) the Lord and letting Him tell what else to look out for.
That way, even if the worst of our other possible fears comes true, He’ll be there to make it all turn out for the good in the long run. (see Rom. 8:28)
What wrong fear do you need to overcome today to live a better life and be a better leader?
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