The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.  Proverbs 29:5 ESV

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.  In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust;  I shall not be afraid.  What can flesh do to me?  Psalm 56:3-4 ESV

Fear is a funny thing. Some people love to live in fear. It’s the time of year when people are flocking to scary movies and haunted houses. These people want to feel fear.

But the bible tells us to fear not.  In fact a fearful Christian is an oxymoron.  You see, what have we to fear?  Physical death is the best thing that can happen to a Christian, right?  It is the time we go to heaven to spend eternity with our Lord and Savior.  So what should we really be afraid of?  Complacency and spiritual death should be our biggest fear.

You see, I learned that I used to get complacent when things were going well in my life.  The bills are getting paid, no major drama going on and life is good.  I was subject to get complacent during those times.  Those were the times when I would sleep in on Sunday and think it’s no big deal to miss church.  Those were the times when I would skip my bible reading at night thinking I would catch up tomorrow.  Those were the times when I would miss my morning devotion because I was in too big of a hurry.  But, let calamity strike and I was all about Jesus.  Yep, I have lived this pattern for many years.  I would seek Jesus in times of trouble and draw close to Him and enter into a close relationship with Him.  But as soon as He got me back on my feet, I would get complacent.  I would figure, “I got this”.  It’s all good now.  It was all good until the next disaster struck, then I would repeat the process.

It took me many years to figure this out, but what an exhausting way to live your life.  It is so much simpler to commit yourself to the Lord and walk with Him.  It is so much easier to trust in Him and live in His protection.  And let me tell you a little secret,  I never got as much joy from sleeping in on Sunday and laying on my sofa watching movies as I have spending Sunday morning in fellowship with other believers studying God’s word.

I have learned that life is kind of like one of those scary movies.  You have some poor misguided souls that are not going to make it.  They are going to die.  Then you have a few that are going to be victorious.  I have decided that I will be victorious.  Romans 8:31 tells us that if God is for us then who can be against us.  Romans 8:37 tells us that we are more than conquerors.

Now don’t get me wrong, I like to watch a really good thriller.  But I have learned how to live my life without fear for the most part.  I will admit that at times when it seems as though I am facing the giant, I get a little weak in the knees, but then God reminds me that “He’s got this!”  All I have to do is sit back and watch the giant fall.

If the rapture occurs and you are left behind, no scary movie will even come close to what you will experience here on earth.  God wants us all to make it to heaven and He offers us all the chance to walk with Him while we are here on earth.  But when the rapture occurs, those who have chosen to commit their lives to the Lord will be taken up with Him.  Revelation 3:10 tells us that the hour of trial is coming to test those who dwell on the earth, but it also says that those of us who patiently keep His word will be kept from that trial.

I’ll admit that I enjoy doing some things that some might consider scary, but nothing scares me like being out of God’s presence.  If we die and go to hell, we will be tormented day and night, and while that sounds scary, that’s not even the worst part. The worst of it is, God is not there. We can’t cry out to Him. It will be too late to pray to Him and ask Him to rescue us.

We are told in Luke 12:4-7 that we should not fear those who kill the body and can do no more, but that we should fear Him who has the authority to cast you into hell. Matthew 10:28 says not to fear those who can kill the body but fear Him who can destroy the body and the soul in hell.

Fearing God makes good sense. By fearing Him, I don’t mean actually being afraid of Him but having a reverential awe of Him, respecting Him, and loving Him. Fearing anything else, well that’s just silly when we know that God’s got this.

Have a great day!