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Fear
"And now at the dead hour of the night, amid the dreadful silence of that old house, so strange a noise as this excited me to uncontrollable terror" (Edgar Allan Poe, from "Tell Tale Heart").
Fear is a feeling that we all at some time experience. Fear ranges from simply being uneasy about something to being overwhelmed with anxiety. fear is the agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger. Terror is intense, overpowering fear. Fear can be sudden and gone in a moment or can last a lifetime, such as the fear of heights, of darkness, of being closed in, or of a despotic tyrant ruling with oppressive power.
Some years ago as I sat on the island of Guam chatting with war correspondent, Richard Tregaskis (author of Guadalcanal Diary) who flew bombing missions with our crew during WWII, I asked Dick what he intended doing when this was all over. He said he planned to write a book. He said that he was discussing this with his father in law back home and when asked what the book would be about Dick replied, the title would be "Stronger Than Fear". His father in law who had a hearing problem replied "Stronger than beer, sounds like my kind of book." As far as I know Dick never got to write that book. He died after the war with a heart attack while swimming off the shore where he lived in Hawaii. He told me that he wanted to write a book about fear because of what he saw in the men flying combat missions. He said he noticed that when faced with danger their faces reflected deep, earnest, and serious solemnness, even determination, but never fear. It seemed to him that their only fear was that of not completing a successful mission and bringing an end to this useless mayhem.
The Word of God teaches that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Proverbs 9:10. Fear here is not meant to be afraid of God but to be fearful of what He can do when we are disobedient. Fearful of what He may do to a nation that turns it’s back on Him. He is very much like our earthly father who we fear will punish us for disobedience. Fear of punishment for wrongdoing should be the thing we fear. That does not mean we should be afraid of our father or our Father in heaven. He punishes because He love us and wants us to learn right from wrong.
Mark Rutland, Pastor, good friend, and Bible teacher related an incident where he was in his office one day with the windows open and could hear children playing outside when he heard two boys talking and one said, "does your father ever spank you? To which the other replied, "no, he wouldn’t dare." The other boy responded with, "what’s the matter, doesn’t he love you." We learn by mistakes and sometimes it takes applying the golden rule to the seat of the problem before the message becomes clear. I think that my father must have surely known the Bible verses Proverbs 23: 13&14, (N LT) "don't fail to discipline your children. They won't die if you spank them. Physical discipline may well save them from death."
By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil. Proverbs 16:6
We are instructed as to what to be afraid of and what not to be afraid of. "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you, James 4:7. Jesus speaks to us out of Luke 12:4 & 5 "Dear friends, don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. But I'll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he's the one to fear," (NLT). Near the end of that same chapter (verse 32) Jesus tells us to "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Only our loving Heavenly Father would want us to have such a wonderful gift. But we had better behave, or else...
He further tells us that He knows us intimately, calls us friends, and that He highly values each and every one of us. "... even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows." Luke 12:7.
Followers of Jesus are not exempt from trouble and tribulation, quite the contrary, God’s Word tells us that persecution can be expected. "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution," 2 Timothy 3:12. When we arise in the morning we are the devil’s target for the day. His favorite pastime is wrecking families. A house divided cannot stand. "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:" Matthew 12:25."
All this time you thought all your troubles were over. What we had before Jesus came into our lives was leading to the demise of a wasted life. But we have been sealed with the Spirit of God. We not only survive, we win, we are victorious, we triumph, all because "If God be for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31.
Solomon’s Porch Scripture for the Day
""For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;
but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
2 Tim 1:7
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