Fear is ever present, and way too often heeded.
As I have blogged before, Scripture speaks of fear in only two ways:
The word is the same for both cases. We ought to both fear NOT and fear G^d, but I, and we, seem to get it exactly backwards. Most of us fear all sorts of things. I am reminded of my own fears, as we left for Africa a bit over 2 years ago. Arriving in Africa to live for a year evoked more fear than about anything I have done. And that fear is instructive.
Brenda and I spent a year in Botswana, and nothing bad happened. We traveled to the Northern reaches of the country and south all the way to Cape Town, RSA. Nothing bad happened. We were never robbed, mugged, or even threatened. Now, many people have been mugged, robbed, injured and killed during a year in southern Africa. Two of our good friends moved out of Botswana after their home was broken into whilst they were in bed. Another one of our friends lost their son in a robbery in their own home when a robber killed him.
Bad things do happen, but fear not!
Fear not. Rather fear him who can cast you into hell. Who would that be? Yep, not a tough question.
I am creative and imaginative, so I can imagine all sorts of bad things that can happen to me. True enough, bad things can happen at any moment. But all the potential bad things that can happen are extremely temporary. None of us are on this earth for very long.
Again, like so many things, it is easier to understand than to do.
Fear Not!
As I have blogged before, Scripture speaks of fear in only two ways:
- Fear NOT!
- Fear G^d!
The word is the same for both cases. We ought to both fear NOT and fear G^d, but I, and we, seem to get it exactly backwards. Most of us fear all sorts of things. I am reminded of my own fears, as we left for Africa a bit over 2 years ago. Arriving in Africa to live for a year evoked more fear than about anything I have done. And that fear is instructive.
Brenda and I spent a year in Botswana, and nothing bad happened. We traveled to the Northern reaches of the country and south all the way to Cape Town, RSA. Nothing bad happened. We were never robbed, mugged, or even threatened. Now, many people have been mugged, robbed, injured and killed during a year in southern Africa. Two of our good friends moved out of Botswana after their home was broken into whilst they were in bed. Another one of our friends lost their son in a robbery in their own home when a robber killed him.
Bad things do happen, but fear not!
Fear not. Rather fear him who can cast you into hell. Who would that be? Yep, not a tough question.
I am creative and imaginative, so I can imagine all sorts of bad things that can happen to me. True enough, bad things can happen at any moment. But all the potential bad things that can happen are extremely temporary. None of us are on this earth for very long.
Again, like so many things, it is easier to understand than to do.
Fear Not!
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