Fear

Don't you just love it when the Holy Spirit speaks so clearly that you can't ignore Him no matter how hard you try?? I know that my sinful self often wants to pretend I didn't actually hear the Holy Spirit whisper into my heart, gently pressing me to give up sin. My sinful self often wants to remain in my state of sinfulness because it's more comfortable there. I'm in my comfort zone and I do not need to be stretched.

Lately the Holy Spirit has not been whispering, He has been speaking loud and clear. He might as well smack me on the back of my head. It has been that noticeable. I guess I've probably been stubborn too long and He's through with being gentle.

The sin he's been rebuking me of is Fear of Man.

I remember first being called out on it by a friend about 3 years ago. The friend didn't straight up call it sin, but told me to stop caring about what people think and made me memorize 1 Corinthians 4:3-4. I did and at that point it helped. I can honestly say that I got much better about not giving too much thought to what others thought about me, but rather focusing on Jesus.

More recently, the Lord has been showing me that that was just a tip of the iceberg. He began revealing that there are still so many areas in my life where I give in to that fear and particular people that I am afraid of!

He spoke to me through a godly woman who has been a monumental encouragement to me during this time. Then it was brought to my attention again by a pastor. A short while later, I was given a book to read by Edward T. Welch called "When People are Big and God is Small."

Finally, this Sunday I went to MHFW and Pastor Sam preached a sermon about the Fear of Man and brought up several examples from the book! I was almost laughing! God is clearly trying to pound the message into my head!

I was very encouraged by Pastor Sam's sermon. It helped a lot to deal with this season I'm going through where people are bound to gossip and say hurtful and untruthful things. It gave a lot of rest to my soul to remember that it doesn't matter and that I shouldn't worry about what people say. I serve a BIG God who will take care of me! And if I fear Him, I don't need to fear what people think or say about me!

I'm only about halfway through the book, but have been enjoying it immensely! I wanted to share some quotes with you that have been helpful.

First of all, at the very beginning of the book the author sets out a list that helps identify fear of man in your life. I wanted to share it:

~Have you ever struggled with peer pressure?

~Are you over-committed? Do you find it is hard to say no even when wisdom indicates that you should? (story of my life!)

~Do you "need" something from your spouse? Do you "need" your spouse to listen to you? Respect you? Love you?

~Is self-esteem a critical concern for you?

~Do you ever feel as if you might be exposed as an imposter?

~Are you always second-guessing decisions because of what other people might think? Are you afraid of making mistakes that will make you look bad in other people's eyes?

~Do you feel empty or meaningless? Do you experience "love hunger"?

~Do you get easily embarrased?

~Do you ever lie, especially the little white lies?

~Are you jealous of other people?

~Do other people often make you angry or depressed?

~Do you avoid people?

~Aren't most diets, even when they are ostensibly under the heading of "health," dedicated to impressing others?

~ When you compare yourself to other people, do you feel good about yourself?

It seems as though this is a universal problem! The author's point is that the only way to fight the fear of man is by growing in the fear of the Lord!

Here is a quote I liked that had to do with being afraid of an oppressor:

"When we are being oppressed by other people - whether they are enemies, bosses, or spouses - this is one of the holy pictures that god gives us. 'Opression will not last,' God says, 'but my compassion will.' God's compassion is bigger than the threats of other people. This, of course, is difficult to see at times. It takse eyes of faith to see God's strong arms of compassion and anticipate deliverance in times of trouble. But God's goodness to us is always close, and we need to practice seeing it."

I am trying to train myself in practicing that. The Lord is my Shepherd. Not only does He guide me, He protects me :) Whom shall I fear?