“Mommy, I’m scared.” Waking up in the darkness in the middle of the night scares my son. As his mother, I try to alleviate his fears. I tell him everything will be ok and help him feel more comfortable in the dark. I help him feel secure and safe to squash the fear. But there is only so much I can do as his mother. I’m only human.
Ps 143:4 (NLT) “I am losing all hope; I am paralyzed with fear.”
Even David was fearful. He complained that Saul forced him to live in darkness in the caves as well as a state of emotional turmoil. Fear paralyzed him. David was only human too. We may be surrounded by fearful things. Fearful events. Fearful happenings. Fear creeps in when we are least expecting it to. Pump up the adrenaline. Fear is here. Or is it?
What about the fear of God? Are you fearful of God or do you have a fear of God that squashes out all the other fear?
Romans 3:9b-10a,18 (NLT) “…for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin. 10 As the Scriptures say, “They have no fear of God at all.”
The scripture quoted in Romans 3:18 comes from Psalms 36:1.
Psalms 36:1 (NLT) Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God at all.
Under the power of sin…doesn’t that sound bleak? We are a sinful people. We get it. And the newspaper shows. And what’s worse? Fear from reading the paper and watching the news. I’m not saying I have fear of reading the paper, I’m talking about the fear of what I read in the paper actually happening. It’s scary out there. Fear is everywhere and in everyone.
Then how could the scripture also say, “They have no fear of God at all?” Apparently, fear is NOT everywhere and in everyone.
Pastor Ray asked, “What does it mean to be a Christian?” A Christian is someone made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ which is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are (vs22). It means that we are NOT under the power of sin!
Romans 6:6-11 “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 9 We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10 When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.”
Christ Jesus frees us from the power of sin…from the darkness….from the fear…from death! YES!!! Understanding what Christ Jesus did for us creates a healthy, reverent fear of God in our hearts. Sin may bring fear, but Christ died to save us from our sin. Then the fear of God will squash all other fear.
Ps. 34:9 “Fear the Lord, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need.”
~Shelley Rindfuss
