A child may deeply love his parents, but in most cases his willingness to obey them is rooted deeper in fear than in love. For example, mom and dad prepare to leave for the mall but Junior stays home. His parents restrict him to the house until they return. After they leave, Billy, the next-door neighbor, spots Junior and says: “Hey Junior, come over and we’ll play basketball.” Junior says: “I can’t, my parents told me to stay home.” Billy responds, “Oh, come on, they’ll never know.” Can’t you imagine Junior’s response? “Billy, because of my great love for my parents, I can’t come.” No way! Billy’s obedience is rooted in a dread of the consequences. He realizes the repercussions of a whipping or restriction.

Fear is the primary reason Christians obey their Heavenly Father. That’s why Solomon said: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” However, many people are confused on this notion of fear. The fear of the Lord is a fear of reverence, not of tyranny! God wants what is best for us, even if we or a loved one is struggling with addiction…

We all face a variety of fears; that may include public speaking or death. Your fears may involve concerns for your children, or your sanity from being away from drugs. Your fears may focus on what others think of you or what you think of yourself. Your fears may heighten when confronted by a superior or questioned by an underling. What is the problem with those fears? We may not be immobilized by them, so what harm do they present? It is not as though we can’t function, so why worry about them? The problem with our fears is not the fear itself, but what they reveal about our concept of God. And what our concept of God will reveal is our we actually conceptualize ourselves. This is key to healing from anything!

If we are so afraid of people that we stop following the Lord, we do not trust Him. It shows that we have doubted His plan, His power, and His promises. We have failed to recognize that He, above all others, is the One to be feared – which means that He is to be reverenced, trusted, loved, and obeyed.

God is saying there is nothing to fear in change, there is nothing to fear with Me wanting a better life for you. Will you take the step out in faith and try the God who has transformed lives for millennia?

Feel free to contact us at 252.838.9035 to take that step towards everlasting change!

Posted in Ministry News