Who Do You Serve?
We are in a war and one of the most effective weapons the Devil uses against us is the “fear of man.” He can paralyze God’s people if they don’t fight through this fear. I don’t have to define “fear of man” to anyone. We all understand it. Fear of man blocks us from obeying God when He calls us to step out in a socially risky way. In America, fear of man makes us silent when we should speak and causes us to “stand down” when we to should “stand up.”
The Fear of Man
Strangely enough, the phrase “fear of man” shows up in only one verse in the Bible.
The fear of man lays a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord is safe. (Proverbs 29:25 NIV)
Only mentioned once, this fear shows up several times in the Scriptures. God warned every new prophet not to let himself be silenced by hostile, threatening people. Paul was told ahead of time what he would suffer. Moses clearly feared proclaiming God’s strong ultimatums to Pharaoh (Exodus 3:11). Before the burning bush, Moses began making excuses. Telling the Almighty why using him was a mistake. Finally in Exodus 4:13 he blurted out “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”
In the beginning of his journey, Moses feared the ruler of Egypt more than his supernatural God.
The Pharisees Attempt to Silence Two Apostles
Peter and John got arrested, shortly after Pentecost. Their crime? Miraculously healing a man crippled from birth, in Christ’s name. They soon stood before the same religious rulers who had arranged Jesus’ shameful, agonizing death. These baby Christians didn’t face nasty words or an angry social media backlash. Israel’s religious rulers had shown how ruthless they could be. Two months before, both apostles would have trembled with fear.
The Pharisee’s unspoken threat filled the room.
We killed your master and we have the power to kill you.
Told sternly not speak in Jesus’ name any more. Peter and John’s answer was both fearless and brilliant.
. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people; for all men praised God for what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.
I Too Struggle Against a Fear of Man
When I first became a Christian writer, I made Jesus a promise. I told Him I would not let my fear of man control me. I promised to write whatever the Holy Spirit placed on my heart. So once in a while, just before I hit “publish,” I feel a little shaky. It might just be a single strong sentence which worries me. Or maybe it’s the whole topic. In these touchy times, some readers could interpret my words wrong.
Yet often I know God wants me to post that particular set of words on the Internet.
Once my writing hits the World Wide Web, it’s out of my hands. How strangers react to what I say is up to Him.
The Cure
Moses got over his fear by standing before Pharaoh and witnessing how the Almighty dealt with this puny, helpless mortal ruler. The Apostles lost their fear of man after the Holy Spirit baptized them with tongues of fire at Pentecost, making them bold witnesses for Christ. All the prophets broke free of their fear of people by doing whatever God said, no matter what the personal cost.
Stepping out in faith can often be scary. But not stepping out in faith turns into a personal life-long regret.
This weapon in the enemy’s arsenal will never be broken unless we fight against it.
We need to do whatever the Lord is asking us to do, and leave the consequences up to Him.
I downloaded this image from Pixabay.com.
Resources:
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