I am daily tempted to fear man. Of course when I say "man" I mean humankind. Fear is not simply being afraid that he or she is going to physically harm us. I daily face fears that what humans say or think about me is more true than what God says about me. Many times, I face a contrast between the two. It is when I begin to fear humans and their thoughts of me that my joy begins to waver. My focus has gone from trusting in God to the fear that what humans say or think about me will be my end. But when the Father draws my gaze back to Himself, I find that the "rocks" hurled (accidentally or intentionally) at me by humans sting for a minute, but quickly fall to the ground. Here are some of my fears:
- that I will be found out; found to be second-rate when I seem to be a winner
- that others are more spiritual than me
- that if I am not perfect then I will lose that which I care about
- relational fears that turn into jealousy and performance anxiety
- that others are simply "better" than me
...all of these are rooted in lies. I have gone from trusting what God says about me in His Word (like Psalm 139:13-16) and turned to fearing man's evaluation of me.
Have you lately found yourself in a "valley" because of what a human says or thinks or has done to you? Measure what they have thrown your way against God's Word, and trust God. Let's start trusting God and leaving the fear of man behind us.
Jesus, help us with Your power to trust You and to overcome our fear of man.
No comments:
Post a Comment