Insight on Fear

[Sasha37]

My daughter and I pick chapters randomly out of the bible sometimes and read them to each other. The other day, she chose Psalm 111 and read it to me. And then like a door opening up in my mind and heart, God revealed something to me about fear, something big. And I want to share it with all of you because it is...well...life-changing. At least it was for me. He showed me that fear had an original purpose and meaning that had nothing to do with what we think of when we say that word. Fear is a form of reverance, to be in awe of, to be humbled by...and it was meant to be directed toward God alone. When used this way, fear is a healthy thing and necessary for us as His children. To fear God is to revere Him, be in awe of Him, humbled in His presence. This is why God said to fear Him alone because to fear anything else is to change the meaning of the word into what the enemy has created. He took fear and twisted it like he does with everything God intended for good. He changed it into something to dread, something to be afraid of, and added to it a feeling of being out of control, so that we would seek control in our lives to escape it. He did the same thing with love...God's version is a choice apart from feeling, a complete sacrifice, a promise that cannot be taken away. The enemy took love and changed it into something that needed to be earned, should make us happy, and can be lost. The enemy's versions of God's original designs have colored the whole world's perspective, even ours because we live in this world and have had them driven into our brains. And the saddest part, is that they have distorted our view of fearing God and of His love for us. So fear in so much as the enemy has defined it does not really exist. It is an illusion. A lie. And the only place it exists is in our minds. Because our minds are the only place it can exist if we choose to let it reside there. That is why God can and does say to us, "Do not fear". Fear is a sin, it is a choice, and to fear something else is idolatry same as any other form of it. This realization was amazing to me. Maybe some of you already knew this, but I truly didn't, not until now. And I know that some of you at least are in the same place that I was with this. So I realized something incredible, and it is changing me more quickly than anything I have experienced so far. When the feeling of fear and panic come over me as a result of something that is personally terrifying to me, I can honestly say that this fear I am feeling is not real, it does not exist, it is an illusion created by the enemy to imprison me. So I say to God, "I choose to redirect this fear to You, God, where it belongs. Change it back to its intended purpose in my life." I may not feel in the moment like anything has changed when I say that, but I know God will begin to transform my mind as a result in a way that I will not be able to explain. This is when you know that God Has done His work in you,..when you can't even explain how it has happened, but just that it has. Hope this blesses even just one of you.

 

[babychrist]

This is a wonderful insight. Yet, many people go throught unspeakable things everyday; torture, enslavement, geneocide, starvation, living in places that are no more than a garbage dump.
I haven't gone through anything this extreme, but my OCD was caused by and is perpetuated by things which are in fact, ugly. If I could just tell myself, these things aren't real, they're lies, I could be free of them. In fact, this past week, I've been telling God that very thing. "God", I've prayed, "If only it was all a nightmare that I could just wake up from and shake off". The thought of such overwhelming freedom being mine, brings tears to my eyes. I want it more than anything. Then it occured to me. Even if all these ugly things that have happened to me (and in some small measure, are still with me), was a dream, for someone out there, it isn't. How does a woman not fear her rapist while being raped? How does a child not fear the dirt, smell, sickness and bacteria, that she is standing on, that touches her skin and is all around her and with which she must live? Whatever is enducing our fears, whatever they may be, I wish to God, I could say they are lies, dreams, ghosts that we can just shake off, but they're not (at least for many of us), they're real.

BC

 

[Sasha37]

Well...you're talking to someone who has been very afraid of certain kinds of germs and bacteria for the past 12 years of my life. So I completely understand what you are saying. I am not suggesting that the feeling of fear and even terror is not very real. It certainly is, and I know it firsthand. But feelings do not always coincide with the truth. And this is what God was saying to me about fear. He was saying that the enemy's distortion of fear's true and intended purpose in our lives and in the world as a whole has struck feelings within us that were never intended but were in actuality created by the enemy himself. Consider horror movies. If you have ever seen one that includes demonic activity, haunted houses, or the like, you know the terror you feel as a result of seeing and hearing what is happening. I believe this to be one of the many ways the enemy has used to condition the world to "feel' fear as he would like us to "feel' it. To fear the enemy is to feel the terror that accompanies that kind of fear. To fear God is to feel humbled, in awe, a respect for and desire to obey. I hope this helps you to understand better what I am saying as a result of what He has said to me. God bless you. Sasha

 

[seymourfaith]

This is such great insight I hope more people read it. Thank you for sharing what God has shown you. The only thing that will rescue us is knowing the truth...and God graciously reveals it - sometimes in little nuggets and sometimes in great revelations. Anyways, this was very helpful. Bless you!

 

[Sasha37]

Thank you for your encouraging words. I am so happy this blessed you! Sasha