“In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence…” Proverbs 14:26
(Some of this blog has been taken from John Piper’s Pierced by the Word)
Do you battle fear? I know that at times I sure do. We are clay pots, weak and broken and battling anxieties and doubts. How do you overcome it? Is there a way and a means to victory over this powerful emotion? What makes fear even more difficult is that over and over in scriptures we hear God demanding us to “be not afraid”(ex. John 6;20;14;27; Acts 18:9; 27:24; 1 Peter 3;14; Revelation 1:17). Often times when I am afraid I will hear this demand and all I can feel is more discouragement because God demands of me something that is the opposite of what I am feeling and how can I stop feeling fear when I feel fear? God says, “Be not afraid’ but I feel that “I am afraid.” So what’s the way to overcome fear and to obey His command to not fear? Is there a solution?
Proverbs 14:26 gives a wonderful answer: "In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence." This is very strange. It says that the solution to fear is fear. The solution to timidity is fear. The solution to uncertainty is fear. The solution to doubt is fear. The solution to fear is fear.
How can this be? Because it is a particular kind of fear- the fear of the Lord. What is the fear of the Lord? To "fear the LORD" means fearing to dishonor the Lord. Which means fearing to distrust the Lord. Which means fearing to fear anything that the Lord has promised to help you overcome. In other words, the fear of the Lord is the great destroyer of fear.
The Lord says, "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you" (Isaiah 41:10), If the Lord says this, then it is a fearful thing to worry about a problem that God says He will help you with. Fearing that problem when God says, "Fear not, I will help you," is a serious vote of no confidence against God's Word, and that greatly dishonoring to God. And the fear of the Lord causes us to tremble to dishonor God in that way.
Another time the Lord says, "I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:5-6). If the Lord says that to you, then to not be confident in the Lord's promised presence and help is a kind of pride. It puts our estimate and perspective and attitude about the trouble above God's. That is why we read the amazing words of the Lord in Isaiah 51:12, “Even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid Of a man who will die, And of the son of a man who will be made like grass? " Who are you to fear man, when God has promised to help you? So it is unbelief and pride to fear man. And pride is the exact opposite of the fear of God.
So this Proverb is true and is a great help to us. The antidote to fear is fear-Fear God. Fear God. Fear dishonoring Him. Fear distrusting Him. Fear putting your assessment of the problem above His. He says He can help. He is smarter. He is wiser. He is stronger. He is more generous. Trust Him. Fear not to trust Him. Be like the Psalmist who said in the light of his fear in Psalm 56:3, "Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You."
Why? Because God says that He "acts for those who wait for Him" (Isaiah 64:4). He will solve the problem. He will come to the rescue. He will take care of us. He will meet your needs. Let us fear distrusting that promise. Let us fear distrusting Him, the one who made the promise.Let us fear Him who sweetly and lovingly commands us to not fear. Then you will have be a person who "has strong confidence"—not in himself, but in God and His promises, which he trembles not to trust, and fears not to fear.
Fearing Him so not fear,
Pastor Bill
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