Today’s reading is Leviticus 1-3, Psalm 27, and Hebrews 2.
What do you fear?
This last week I had the privilege of hearing author and speaker Ryan Leak talk at a conference for our company. While it was not a Christian, faith-based talk, it was one of the best talks I’ve ever heard. He shared that we are only born with 2 fears which are the fear of loud noises and the fear of falling. This means all other fears are learned. He said we have 6,000 thoughts per day with 80% being negative and with 95% of our thoughts being repetitive. He also shared that every successful person we look up to has failed, yet we were taught not to fail..but I digress.
Ponder this question, is it a sin to fear?
The Bible tells us Jesus was without sin multiple times (1 Peter 2:22, Hebrews 4:15, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 John 3:5). We also know from Luke 22:39-46 on the night Jesus was betrayed, when He knew He was about to be scourged and nailed to the cross, He was in agony and was in so much stress in fearing for what would happen that he sweated drops of blood (Luke 22:44). To me, this answers our question and fear itself is not a sin.
In reflecting on this, it seems to me that fear can become a sin when….
- It consumes our thoughts and lives
- We don’t trust in God and His plan
- We try to find our hope and trust in things of this world which are separate from God
Jesus taught us exactly how to face fear in Luke 22…
- Kneel down and pray (Luke 22:41)
- Ask for what you want (Luke 22:42)
- Pray that ultimately the Father’s will be done and not your will… trusting in Him no matter what (Luke 22:42)
- Pray again even more earnestly (Luke 22:44)
So, what did God do as a result? He sent angel from Heaven who gave Jesus strength (Luke 22:43). Notice God did not stop Jesus from going to the cross. And you and I should be thankful for that. We should be thankful God’s plan to save us from our sin and give us eternal life through Jesus’ death on the cross was bigger than Jesus’ pain.
I can’t promise you God will remove the pain or problems which may be causing your fear. But what I can promise you is that God will give you strength and that He is bigger..and His plan is bigger! We know in the end…we win through eternal life with Him.
“The Lord is my light and
my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of
my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?”
Psalm 27:1
I would encourage you to read more of Psalm 27 and Hebrews 2 on fear and how Jesus understands us because He suffered and faced fears just like you and me.
