Tag: trust in God

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Fear or Courageous?  

Mark 6 In Proverbs we read: the fear of man is a snare but whoever trusts in the Lord will be set on high. [Prov 29:25] In this chapter we meet two men, one who is fearful of all men and one who is not. One has fallen into the snare or trap of the evil one and one is set free from fear and thus courageously steps into the lion’s arena to speak truth even in the face of death.  

King Herod is fearful of all people and when he met John the Baptist who boldly told him ‘It is not lawful to you to have your brother’s wife.’ [Mark 6:18] he was exceedingly fearful. You see, his wife (now Queen) Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, yet Herod knew in his heart that John was a righteous and holy man.  

You can know the truth but until you act on it, it is just words. Herod heard the truth yet was more fearful of man or his wife than of God.  On the other side was John who feared God more than men.  

How about you? Where do you stand in the face of fear?  

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Fear: Our Biggest Enemy

2 Chron 14- 16; 1 Kings 15 Fear’s stronghold

There are stories about those who start strong yet finish last. In today’s reading, we see Asa start as a faithful king, yet he becomes unfaithful at the end of his life. We struggle with these stories because, in some ways, it is a reflection of ourselves, and we fool ourselves by saying I won’t be like Asa. But, unfortunately, we are more like Asa than we care to admit.

So what went wrong with Asa? What goes wrong with us? Asa is a classic example of how we handle a crisis. It was then that Asa feared men more than God. The Proverbs author reminds us that “the fear of man is a snare, BUT he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted.” [Prov 29:25] Like Asa, we allow fear to control our decision-making.

Learn from Asa; remember this truth: men will fail you every time, but God will always be faithful. [Ps 118:8]

We could make a top ten list of why we fail, but at the number one spot is the fear of men. How do you handle the enemy of fear? Share your thoughts.

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