Fear is a strange thing, isn’t it? Have you ever been gripped by a fear that firmly held you into place, paralyzing you so that you were unable to clearly think or move forward? There is every kind of fear imaginable; fear of heights, fear of death or dying, fear of living, fear of speaking, fear of harms way, crowds, clowns, spiders, flying, being alone… I could go on, and there is a unique name for all of them!
One fear in particular that I imagine touches us all at one point or another in our lifetime is the fear of death.
The more I move into a deeper relationship with my Creator, the One True God and savior, Jesus Christ, the less fear I experience in my life. I realize His presence is the absence of fear, and under His wings I can sing for joy. I realize that it does not matter if I am at home with family or in harms way on a battlefield with bullets whizzing past my head, the number of days my God has ordained for me was written long before I was born. If today is the last day I am ordained to live, no circumstance can change that. If today is not my last day, no circumstance can change that either! Death does not discriminate, but it does not have the power to do its own thing. It is subject to Christ!
I don’t know about you but I find that very freeing! Fear has lost its grip and I am free to move, live, and have my being! I also know as a child of God that my being is encircled, wrapped in Christ. Does that mean I am bullet proof? No, of course not! The Lord may know my last day on this earth but I certainly do not.
What I do know is this, I can live my life in service to God, fulfilling His purpose for me, and glorifying Him free of fear in the process. Why? Because whether in life or in death, I am in Christ. So if the “process” finds me in harms way, the circumstances do not change the fact that I am hidden still in the shadow of His wings. I can do as He leads, go where I am called to go, do what I must, and I can teach my children to be fearless warriors in Christ!
You can be free of fear as well. Do you know Jesus Christ? He tells us in Proverbs 8:17 that “I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me“. The scripture also says in 1 John 4:18 that “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love”, and John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life”. Do you believe?
Perhaps you are already a believer and know there are fears in your life you need to let go of. Here are a few verses that may help:
“For in him we live, and move, and have our being…” Acts 17:28
“For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.” Psalms 63:7
“In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety.” Psalms 4:8
Alabastersky 