Fear does have a way of robbing us of our joy, doesn’t it? There are so many things that I fear. Will I ever find my Mr. Right? Will I ever be a mom? Will I be able to make and save enough money to go on that vacation I want to go on? Will my paycheck make it to the next paycheck? (And the list of questions is endless.
As I felt that fear and anger boiling up in my body, I was reminded that fear is not of God. In those moments, I hear Jesus saying, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its owns. Today’s trouble is enough for today (Matthew 6:34 NRSV).” (So much easier said than done!)
The truth is that there is Godly fear….but that is a different kind of fear than the fear that barges in and steals all of our joy. It is a fear that reminds us of the power of God’s love and grace. In fact, it is that kind of fear that calls us to be “a voice and not an echo.” It is also that Godly fear that invites us ALL to the table of grace where we are to break bread together. It is that Godly fear that reminds us constantly of who and whose we are!
I don’t know about you, but for me, it is the kind of fear that I need to cling too; a fear that is grounded in God’s grace for God’s people. There are so many days when I question why I fear certain things in my life. Yet the truth is that God calls me to trust in him and to not let my fears overshadow the moments of deep joy in my life. In fact, it is Godly fear that crushes our worldly fears.
As I write this, I find my body exhaling as I cling to the joy I see around me; a picture on Facebook of a friend’s son playing on a slip and slide (pure and utter joy), listening to the birds outside my house as they enjoy the bird feeder in my neighbor’s yard, celebrating friend’s birthdays, reading a book on my patio on a beautiful summer day and the list goes on. It seems to me that when we celebrate and remember the gifts and blessings around us, we are able to let Godly fear extinguish those worldly fears in our lives.
I am not saying that we won’t fear because the truth is we will. We are all human…and fear is indeed a human emotion. Tomorrow I will probably wake up with another fear finding its way into my heart and trying to rob me again of my joy. But the truth is God knows what is in store. God indeed provides. I love how the Message translation translates that verse from Matthew 6: “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes (Matthew 6:34, Eugene Peterson’s The Message Translation).”
Those words are difficult words to hear and I believe, are even harder for us to trust in. Yet the truth is that God is a God who provides. God often doesn’t provide in the ways we would like him to provide, but God still provides. God provides especially when the hard things arise. I have seen this so many times through answered prayers. Sometimes God says, “Not yet” or “Maybe” or “Later” but God always provides and shows us God’s answer. So today I am choosing to cling to Godly fear, the hope found in answered prayers, and Godly grace.
Today I am linking up with Holly for Testimony Tuesday, Kelly for the RaRa Linkup, Jennifer for Tell His Story, and Holley for Coffee for Your Heart:
Oh friend… this is my favorite part: "As I felt that fear and anger boiling up in my body, I was reminded that fear is not of God. In those moments, I hear Jesus saying,…" because you walk with Him in such a way that you recognize when fear and anger rise up! And you tune your heart and ears to hear, and you hear Jesus speaking! Amen!
Just yesterday – during my five minutes of silence, the Lord reminded me that this gift of silence is like Manna… it's only good for this day! Tomorrow holds a gift too… but it's only good for tomorrow! We have what we need today!
Love you!
That is one of my favorite parts in this post as well. I sometimes fail but yes, I do try my hardest to have my heart tuned to God and my ears to hear. Oh…I love the image of silence as Manna. Love you too!!!
Thank you for the reminder to stay focused on joy–especially the little moments and celebrating the joys of others. This does help us to take our eyes off the things that make us afraid. Linking with you at Holley's.
Ginger, you are so welcome. Thanks for stopping by!
Godly fear does crush worldly fear. Fixing my eyes on God, on His loving kindness, is what breaks through my fears. What helps me, too, is to correct my thinking from lies to truth. When I fear the future, it is most likely a fear of an imagined future that I don't like. There is no truth there. What is true is that God will be present in any situation I face and will provide exactly what I need in the moment.
I'm visiting from RaRalinkup.
Cheryl, let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus! Yes, God will be with us in any situation. Sometimes it is so easy to forget that though. Thanks for stopping by. So glad to be at the RaRaLinkup with you!
Tara, such a good truth about Godly fear. We really don't need to fear, because we are in His hands. but we are human and we do fear sometimes. May God help us to remember Godly fear and that He will provide and care for us. We may not know the future but He does and we can trust Him.
Thanks Gayl! Yep indeed we are human. But yes, God will be with us and provide for us and care for us. Thanks for stopping by.