Defining Fear

A teacher friend of mine is greatly afraid of snakes. I have taught with this woman for three years now and have seen her respond many times to snake skins on the playground and baby black snakes in the restrooms. Just the other day, she came into my classroom with a snake model and asked if I thought it would be a good idea to let her first graders paint them. She also wanted to borrow some books to read with them about snakes. I told her how proud I was of her for not allowing her fear to hinder her teaching the children. She assured me she was truly trying to work on her fear with the Lord's help.

We all have things we are afraid of, the dark, spiders, water or just the unknown. We are struck with fear by things we just don't understand or we have had experiences that have caused us to be afraid. But God doesn't want us to live in fear.

There are two types of fear in scripture. One is anxiety caused by real or possible danger and the other is awe; reverence or wonder. Let me share my view of how God uses one to cause the other and you tell me what you think.

As a child, I was afraid of the dark. I would call out to my daddy who would come to comfort me. He would sit with me until I fell asleep. I was afraid of thunder. Mom and dad would comfort me in a storm by letting me sleep in their room. God used the example of my parents to teach me about His love and protection. I could see my earthy mother and father showing me what protection and comfort were, so I could learn later about the loving protection and comfort of my Heavenly Father.

As a teen, I was afraid of spiders and snakes. I got a job at Dan Nicholas Park where they have a live snake exhibit. At sixteen, I was trained to feed the spiders and snakes. I did not outgrow my fear but learned to face it by understanding it's nature. Our Heavenly Father did not create anything He wants us to be afraid of. Sin and the nature of sin causes us to question that. We develop the idea that certain created things might hurt us, therefore, "I will be afraid so I will not have to face it."

What about the fear of heights and closed in places? God wants us to discover and enjoy life. But sin has tainted many experiences. How many of us were thrown into the air as children or held in the air on a teeter totter only to walk away screaming and crying never to enjoy the heights again?  How about being shoved into a closet by an older cousin who turned the lights out using the skeleton key to lock the door behind them? Now, get this! God allowed it all! He caused those experiences to happen to me so I could learn to revere Him instead of man. I can empathize with children who are afraid, because I know how they feel.

Proverbs 28:14 says, "Happy is the man that feareth always: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief."

I love how the Amplified Scriptures read for the verse. It contains all the English words from all the Hebrew original text. Read it prayerfully and review some of the scary times in your life. Ask God to reveal how HE comforted and continues to comfort you.

Proverbs 28:14 (Amplified) Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) is the man who reverently and worshipfully fears [the Lord] at all times [regardless of circumstances], but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.

You might say God allows scary situations to make us call out to Him and learn to trust Him. He keeps our hearts tender by making us fear things. But, He tells us not to be afraid after we begin to understand our relationship with Him offers true protection.

II Timothy 1:7 "For God hath not given us the spirit for fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

A timid, cowardice, craven, cringing, fearful spirit in not from the Father. But a spirit of power and calm, resting in His love, with a well-balanced, controlled and disciplined mind is.

Next time we will take a look at reverential fear. Please read Exodus 19 and Deuteronomy 5. We must learn how to return AWE to it's rightful Owner or fear will continue to grip us and we will not be able to grow in our relationship with the AWESOME ONE.