Transcript
Well, we're talking about fear and I'm about to say something to you that will seem like it makes no sense whatsoever, but I'm deeply persuaded that this is what the Bible teaches and that is the only pathway to long-term personal freedom from fear, a freedom from fear that's not connected to people or locations or situations or circumstances because it's a change in my heart. And because it's a change in my heart, I carry it with me whatever relationship I'm in, whatever circumstance I'm in, whatever location I'm in, whatever situation I'm in.
Only Fear Can Defeat Fear
Here it is. I'm deeply persuaded that what the Bible teaches is that only fear can defeat fear. Maybe that is best captured by this phrase that we all have heard a thousand times. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." You see, the wisest, most forward-looking, restful, hopeful, joyful, expectant, free of anxiety way of living is rooted in fear of God.
You see, it's when that reverential awe of God's power, His glory, His presence, His promises, His grace, when those things dominate the thinking and desire and interpretive functions of my heart, then I rest. I rest because it's not just me and the circumstances. It's not just me and difficulty. It's not just me and plan a or plan B. It's not just me and other people.
It's not just me and sickness, or me and finances, or me and world concerns, me and my neighborhood, me and my neighbor, me and my church. It's not just me. It's never just me because a God of awesome glory, awesome power, awesome wisdom, awesome grace has invaded my life.
Hope Because God Is My Father
I get up in the morning and I have hope, not because I'm capable, not because people like me, not because I feel well or circumstances are good, but because God is and He's my Father. Again, that thing that the Bible calls fear is when the heart is stopped dead in silence worship-producing awe and I carry that awe with me that I've disarmed the things that I would normally be afraid of.
Jesus said it so beautifully when He was here on Earth. "Though every man forsake Me, yet I am not alone for my heavenly Father is with Me." When you get there, you are able to defeat the fears of life that would typically defeat you.
