Fear Not!

The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread? (Psalm 27:1)

A recent post at Hip and Thigh got me to thinking about all the Christians I know that are living in fear. Their fears are all encompassing, from food additives and corporate manipulation of the gene pool to UFO cover ups and the persecution of Christians by homophiles. 

‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ (Isaiah 41-10)

Many of these people confuse me because on one hand they profess complete dread of the world we live in, yet on the other hand they are so sure they're not going to be part of this world that they have a copy of their will placed on the mantle inside an envelope marked "In case of rapture, please open."

The fear of man brings a snare, But he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted. (Proverbs 29:25)

I've been asked by Christians if I think that the company I work for will take over the world, I generally wink and say "How do you know they haven't?" Most of the time they know I'm kidding, but sometimes the reaction I get is priceless. Maybe it's cruel to throw fuel on the fire and fan the fears of the unwitting, but corporate intrigue does not intrigue me. Political battles are battles fought without me. The world is going to have to carry on without my fear to fuel the engines of its fall.

For God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power and love and discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7)

This is not to say that I am fearless in a sin filled world, there's lots of things for me to fear, most having to do with what is close: my home and family. However when I find myself fearing these 'domestic terrors' I realize that I have to ask for forgiveness, because the bible tells us over and over that we are not to fear. Time and time again through out scripture we're shown how the faithful are delivered. Worry is a sin that can eat us apart from the inside and drive a wedge between us and God. Conspiracy theories are simple entertainment to me, but for those that take them seriously they are delicious ways to sin, because who ever heard of a boring conspiracy theory? What fun would it be if it turned out the Bilderburg group was just a lawn bowling league for the ultra rich and that "shop talk" was prohibited at their annual meeting?

36 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.” 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 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 8:36-39)

I've heard it said that there's 365 verses in the bible about not worrying, so that in itself Does Not imply that it's ok to worry on leap year, it means that God Doesn't Want Us To Worry. Ever. For my friends who believe in the pre-trib rapture, why worry at all? Unfortunately some of the most worried Christians I know follow the pre-trib doctrine, and conversely many of the least worried Christians I know follow the Final Day rapture doctrine. And even then, facing the most violent horrible fate that can befall this fallen world, God tells us not to worry. So why is 'Thou Shalt Not Worry' the one commandment we all break?

 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. (Revelation 2:10)