The Spirit of Fear

[Robert]

(OP note: I recently updated and revised this topic; we need to about our father's business, not scared out of our minds at every little thing)


Fear.


When used in reference to God, it is us in awesome reverence and wonder at his power, beauty and utter holiness. That we would rather be dragged over a hundred miles of nails and broken glass than to intentionally offend this being of pure brilliance, complete wisdom, supreme might and unspeakable love.

But that is not the fear I am talking about today...

It's the OTHER fear.

The fear that grips people in the middle of the night, the fear that haunts a person's waking thoughts and their fitful, restless sleep. It's the fear that makes us forget that God is God, and like Peter, we begin to sink in the dark, murky waters of uncertainty that are overcast by the storms of this life.

Now, before I continue: I am not writing this post to be popular: indeed it will most likely make a lot of people upset and just plain mad. Perhaps so mad that they cannot see straight. But I am not called to please people, or to "tickle their ears"; I am called to post what God has placed on my heart. So be forewarned...


This fear is part of a deadly trio called "FUD", or, "Fear-Uncertainty-Doom." It is a most deadly trio, and one leads right into the next, causing us to not cling to the rock that is our Saviour, and instead to claw madly at the shifting sands of this life in a futile and utterly void attempt to grasp something we perceive as "solid."

Oh, that our faith were "solid" instead...

"For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7, NASB, emphasis mine)


We hear talk about "preparing for the worst" and "stocking up just in case." While these aren't a bad idea for short-term troubles, this talk is of practically building underground reserves of food and water for years. Of "buying gold" in case the economy completely crashes, and we are left without any worthwhile currency. Of "arming ourselves" in case of the government turning on us or some sort of invasion, or mass riots and looting, or at the very least needing to hunt for food...


Has fear gripped us that strongly?


Do we trust God THAT little?


We say that we trust God to save us from our sins, yet if we cannot trust him with the basic necessities of life, than how in the WORLD can we say we trust him with our forevers?! If we are going to cave in to the fears of this world, is not our God stronger than all of these, yet we refuse to believe in his awesome might?! Have we reduced our omnipotent, everlasting God to a powerless figment of our minds?!

."No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."(Matthew 6:24-34, NASB, emphasis mine)

He promises in his inerrant word to care for us, yet when the rubber of our faith is called to meet with the asphalt of this life, we cringe? We trust him to save us but not to care for our needs when the need arises?!


HOW FAITHLESS ARE WE???!!!


The fact of the matter is that Scripture speaks STRONGLY against FUD:

"Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some. Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.” (2 Timothy 2:14-19, NASB, emphasis mine)

When we spread that kind of garbage, not only are we terrifying people senseless, but we are drawing their attention away from the Lord and to the problems surrounding us. Through scripture, the Lord warns us not to do this, yet we do.


So what do we call it when we disobey the Lord?


I ask again...


HOW FAITHLESS ARE WE???!!!


We forget: "For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.(2 Timothy 1:7, NASB, emphasis mine))

The Apostles (including Paul, ESPECIALLY Paul!) all went through times of trials that would peel the very skin from our backs, yet they never once wavered in their faith. Never ONCE did they doubt that one day, the Last Trump would sound, and that alive or dead, they would be summoned bodily to be with the Lord forever. Generation after generation of Christians have suffered and DIED horrible deaths, and yet they clung to the promise that God would care for them, and that he would return for them. Thousands upon thousands of martyrs, blood spilled in the name of our holy Saviour, and they didn't recant even ONCE. Yet we, living in the times just before our mighty King's return for us, having the PRIVILEGE to see his return bodily.....


...are afraid?

"Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. " ( Romans 8:35-39, NASB, emphasis mine)

God promises that no one will remove us by ANY means, yet we look at the world and shudder...

DO WE TRUST OUR GOD SO LITTLE???!!!

Have we become so concerned with comfort, that we confuse what we WANT for what we "need?" Ask yourself: do I NEED this, or do I WANT this? (and yes, medication is a need, let's not go there.)

We need to examine ourselves on this; we need to do so oh-so-much.

The trio I mentioned before; "Fear-Uncertainty-Doom" poisons us, and causes us to stray from our Lord, to not trust him for what we need. It causes us to magnify our problems INSTEAD of the eternal God is who larger than ALL of our griefs, woes and dilemmas. Fear causes us to be uncertain about not only the things in this life, but God's word. And uncertainty about god's word causes us to doubt the Word.


I know that as human, we have fears, we are uncertain, and we have doubts; but that being said, if we have fears of this world, we MUST surrender them to the Lord and let HIM comfort us; if we have uncertainty, we MUST be still, and know that God IS GOD. If we have doubts, we must come before the Lord and LET him reassure us. We needn't be afraid; we need to stand as the Lord has commanded us, and "Occupy till I come." (Luke 13:19 b, NASB)

Right now, we MUST cling as tightly as we can to God, and not leave his side for an INSTANT. If we are to fear, then let our fear be a CLEAN fear: the fear of the almighty God HIMSELF!

"Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28, NASB, emphasis mine)

Our walk cannot be a timid, tiptoeing across a vast distance, but a purposeful stride as we walk with our beautiful Saviour and righteous King. We have only a short time left, and there are still many we must reach. Time is running out, and we cannot afford to be doing anything else that detracts from our commission to preach the Gospel to the lost.


TOO MUCH is at stake!



One last thing to keep in mind: our walk is visible to all that see us: including those that we talk with, those that we work with, and those that visit were we congregate (be it the church we go to or these forums, it makes no difference). What does our walk say if we walk in terror? Are we driving away people by embracing fear? If we show no faith in our God, the how in the WORLD can we proclaim him to those that are themselves consumed with fear and uncertainty? If he is not supreme in our lives, then how can we declare him as such to the unsaved?


Does fear rule us, or does God?


Father, forgive us for taking our eyes off of you. Forgive us our moments of despair, and of not trusting in your precious word. We repent of our faithlessness, and ask you in Christ's name to restore within us a heart for you Lord. Cleanse us of the choking fears of this world, and instill in us the clean, pure fear of you. Remove from us the canker of uncertainty, and reassure us by your words Lord. Take away from us the dark blanket of doom, and instead give us the lamp of truth, that we may be as candles to this darkened, dying world. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.

YBIC,

-Robert

[JesusIsLord]

Robert, that is exactly what I needed. Thank you for listening to the Lord and relaying what He is telling you for all of our benefit.



[DELETED BY POSTER]

Father, forgive us for taking our eyes off of you. Forgive us our moments of despair, and of not trusting in your precious word. We repent of our faithlessness, and ask you in Christ's name to restore within us a heart for you lord. Cleanse us of the choking fears of this world, and instill in us the clean, pure fear of you. Remove from us the canker of uncertainty, and reassure us by your words Lord. Take away from us the dark blanket of doubt, and instead give us the lamp of truth, that we may be as candles to this darkened, dying world. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.

Amen!

[Robert]

Thanks! :

[mattfivefour]

HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is NO DOUBT that God has used you, Robert, to speak His truth here. The number of Christians who worry about their present and their future has troubled me for a long time. How little trust, how little faith they show ... not only before the heavenly cloud of witnesses that surrounds us each moment ... but before the world. No wonder there is so much sickness and trouble in so many Christians' lives. No, I am not saying Christians should be free from trouble .. for trials are the way God grows us. What I am saying is so many are unsettled and shaken, moved in the midst of trial from the unshakable Rock, due to their unbelief. God wants them to LEARN from all they are going through to TRUST Him.

NOTHING is more important to a Christian's walk than this.

The great prophet Jeremiah experienced trials so severe that he wanted to kill himself. In bitterness he cried out:

"I AM the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light. Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day. My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones. He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail. He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy. Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer. He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked. He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places. He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate. He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow. He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins. I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day. He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood. He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes. And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity. And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD: remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me." —Lamentations 3:1-20

Yet in the midst of that torment what did he cry out next? One of the most beautiful passages of faith and hope in the Bible:

"This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. 'The LORD is my portion', saith my soul. 'Therefore will I hope in him.' The LORD is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him." —Lamentations 3:21-25

David, that man after God's own heart, wrote: "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." —Psalm 37:25

And Jesus Himself said, "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek.) For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." —Matthew 6:25-34

Let's stop thinking carnally; let's stop trusting in our own efforts; and let's start trusting our God to do indeed what He has promised.

Good job, Robert! May God bless you for your sensitivity to His voice and your courage in obeying Him.

Father, forgive us for taking our eyes off of you. Forgive us our moments of despair, and of not trusting in your precious word. We repent of our faithlessness, and ask you in Christ's name to restore within us a heart for you lord. Cleanse us of the choking fears of this world, and instill in us the clean, pure fear of you. Remove from us the canker of uncertainty, and reassure us by your words Lord. Take away from us the dark blanket of doubt, and instead give us the lamp of truth, that we may be as candles to this darkened, dying world. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.

And amen!!!

[PraisingHimAlways]

Wow, Robert....if ever something could pierce to the very core of me, your post did...Truth hurts sometimes...you speak His Truth in a very powerful manner.

I found this verse also, and cling to its message:

Psalm 27:1 - The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?

God Bless you, Robert!

[happy2serve]

Amen, Amen, Amen! Robert, the Holy Spirit REALLY spoke through you on this. Give thanks to God!! This is exactly what the world needs to hear right now.

The world needs to fear God, not our earthly state down here. The earthly state is so fickle; it can vanish in a moments time. Take money, material things, even your family and your own life. These things can all vanish in a moments notice. Fearing God will lead to eternal life, where our bodies will not perish.

We need to trust that God will take care of us during adversity. I am sure He would rain manna again to take care of us. Bottom line: He WILL ALWAYS take care of us.

Thank you Robert!

[readytogo]

:amen Robert!

[bghtnpd4]

Excellent job, brother!

[pistache]

This needs to be stickied.

[open door]

My brothers and sisters in Christ, I have to disagree with part of this, and no, I'm not mad or angry. I agree that we are NOT going into the tribulation period and I will not store up goods for 7 years. However, nowhere does the Bible state how bad things may get here before it starts. As long as we are on this earth, He has given us resources to provide for our families - good times and bad. We are in a very serious economic downtown, which has only begun. Yes, I am going to grow a garden, can vegetables, and I am able to hunt and fish, if necessary. I can provide for my family, and also help out those in the community who refused to prepare. And, I can use that as an opportunity to witness to any who might be lost. I'm not talking building a 30 ft. deep bunker - I am talking about preparing for hard times, that's all. Did you not prepare for retirement, health insurance, etc? What if this economy fails this week. What if the grocery shelves go bare? Yes, God will provide, through the Government, milk and cheese handouts. Soup lines in town, etc. He has given us foreknowledge of this, because we love Him and study His Word. We can provide for our families, and those around us, if we will look ahead. We can make it through hard times until that day when the Father tells His Son to fetch His bride, and we go home, at last. I don't know when the rapture is, only that it is before the tribulation period starts. No one knows when that is. I don't want to see my family and those around me go hungry until then, is all. Please understand I love ya'll, and I am not angry. Just my take on it, and please, I encourage your input. Thanks

[mattfivefour]

My brothers and sisters in Christ, I have to disagree with part of this, and no, I'm not mad or angry. I agree that we are NOT going into the tribulation period and I will not store up goods for 7 years. However, nowhere does the Bible state how bad things may get here before it starts. As long as we are on this earth, He has given us resources to provide for our families - good times and bad. We are in a very serious economic downtown, which has only begun. Yes, I am going to grow a garden, can vegetables, and I am able to hunt and fish, if necessary. I can provide for my family, and also help out those in the community who refused to prepare. And, I can use that as an opportunity to witness to any who might be lost. I'm not talking building a 30 ft. deep bunker - I am talking about preparing for hard times, that's all. Did you not prepare for retirement, health insurance, etc? What if this economy fails this week. What if the grocery shelves go bare? Yes, God will provide, through the Government, milk and cheese handouts. Soup lines in town, etc. He has given us foreknowledge of this, because we love Him and study His Word. We can provide for our families, and those around us, if we will look ahead. We can make it through hard times until that day when the Father tells His Son to fetch His bride, and we go home, at last. I don't know when the rapture is, only that it is before the tribulation period starts. No one knows when that is. I don't want to see my family and those around me go hungry until then, is all. Please understand I love ya'll, and I am not angry. Just my take on it, and please, I encourage your input. Thanks

Hi Troy! I venture to guess that Robert does not disagree with you in principle (though he will no doubt answer for himself.) I just want to point out that he DID say that "preparing for the worst" and "stocking up just in case" aren't a bad idea for short-term troubles. Normal preparations are wise. Proverbs does speak of normal common sense in providing for yourself. But Robert's point was the fear that leads to excessive hoarding and preparation. He was speaking against the fear that produces the survivalist mentality that looks to massive stockpiling and preparation of defenses. That fear leads to trust in one's strength and abilities rather than in God's promise and power to keep our bodies ... not just our souls.

God bless. 2:

[Robert]

My brothers and sisters in Christ, I have to disagree with part of this, and no, I'm not mad or angry. I agree that we are NOT going into the tribulation period and I will not store up goods for 7 years. However, nowhere does the Bible state how bad things may get here before it starts. As long as we are on this earth, He has given us resources to provide for our families - good times and bad. We are in a very serious economic downtown, which has only begun. Yes, I am going to grow a garden, can vegetables, and I am able to hunt and fish, if necessary. I can provide for my family, and also help out those in the community who refused to prepare. And, I can use that as an opportunity to witness to any who might be lost. I'm not talking building a 30 ft. deep bunker - I am talking about preparing for hard times, that's all. Did you not prepare for retirement, health insurance, etc? What if this economy fails this week. What if the grocery shelves go bare? Yes, God will provide, through the Government, milk and cheese handouts. Soup lines in town, etc. He has given us foreknowledge of this, because we love Him and study His Word. We can provide for our families, and those around us, if we will look ahead. We can make it through hard times until that day when the Father tells His Son to fetch His bride, and we go home, at last. I don't know when the rapture is, only that it is before the tribulation period starts. No one knows when that is. I don't want to see my family and those around me go hungry until then, is all. Please understand I love ya'll, and I am not angry. Just my take on it, and please, I encourage your input. Thanks

As Matt said: I don't disagree with you at all on that. My concern is excessive hording, not wise gathering and planning for the future. 2:

It's just been that the survivalist mentality has reared its' ugly head, and some folks are stocking up for "nuclear winter".

(maybe I should keep matt on retainer, eh? )

[pistache]

...as well as irrational thinking about the time in which we live. After all, Chicken Little's been saying the sky is falling for how many years now???

[open door]

My apologies if I read in haste. A few have recently indicated not to prepare for any hard times, just indicating to sit back and let the Lord do everything. That is against every fiber in my body. Too many are spoiled to the lifestyle to which we have become accustomed - nowhere does God promise this to anyone. While we are on this earth, we are called upon to serve Him, and provide for our families. I fear not doing either of these. Apparently I didn't read Robert's post closely enough. There are hard times ahead (unless He opts to rapture us very, very soon) and I see this as an opportunity - many won't be ready - we ARE - both spiritually and physically, to help those - what an opportunity to reach out to them in Christ's name and share the gospel, and any of their needs that we can. That's planting a seed - the Holy Spirit takes it from there. I think He's warning hard times ahead - and I want to prepare. He will take it from there. Again, please accept my apoligies if I jumped the gun on this. I am NOT one to just sit back and say - "here I am, Lord, feed me". Your BIC, Troy

[pistache]

I believe Robert's message is not about the lazy, it is about those who are obsessed that God's judgments on the world are starting early, and to trust in no one but yourself to get you through this approaching difficult time period.

[Robert]

Right.

[Myles]

I needed to jump in to this thread and thank you Robert and all of the brothers and sisters here who hold on dearly to the word of God.

Due to the work that the Lord has given me I only have time to read so little here on RF, but rest assured I make the most of it and it's a joy to read a post such as yours dear brother that sings to my heart as to why I too hold on to the pre-trib rapture view.

Those who hold on to the very thought that they will have to endure the tribulation only fear for their salvation and not by faith alone but that it must include merit on their part... I say i will have none of that for I rest in my Lord and "Savior" who will "do it all" and bring "Glory to Himself"and will pull us out of the fire... not place us in it to burn.

Let us prepared with a sound mind and a giving heart, do just enough to be able to take care of family til that day comes and a little extra to reach out to others so that they will see the love of Christ in us.

But what ever you do, be sure that you have stocked up on bibles, buy them by the case, only need the NT, they can be inexpensive this way as that alone will be food for the souls left behind... "this alone will be more precious than gold".

God bless you all,

Myles

[pistache]

Peace I give to you.

My peace I leave with you.

I do not give to you as the world gives.

Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.

--Jesus.

John 14v27.

[riw777]

It's just been that the survivalist mentality has reared its' ugly head, and some folks are stocking up for "nuclear winter".

How do you differentiate between "hoarding" and "saving for the future?" Since you don't know what the future holds, what is a "reasonable amount?" It seems hard to define, to me. It's about like trying to answer the question: "How much money do you need to retire on?" As much as I can save, and more would be better.

The problem is more with mentality, rather than amount, IMHO. The problem is in lack of faith, not in how big your cupboard is. OTOH, we have come to the point in our world where being prepared at all is looked down on as being foolish, or stupid, both spiritually and physically.

*admin edit* No links to blogs

We need to prepare, but we need not to lose faith.

:-)

Russ

[mattfivefour]

The problem is more with mentality, rather than amount.

Exactly. The problem is with attitude. Is the motivation normal common care? Or is it fear? In other words, "lack of faith" as both you and Robert say. And that was the point of the OP.

It was an excellent exhortation.