Unlike the blissful ease during unchallenged living, times of pressure have a habit of forcing you to ponder your faith. Even as a well-intentioned believer in Christ, you may not fully understand the extent of it.
When faith is tested, fear erupts from within you, always. What is the nature of this fear? That is the critical question you must ask yourself. Sometimes you can’t answer that question discretely, though, meaning you can’t put your finger on it or even begin to describe it coherently to yourself. So, then you must ask yourself, whom do you turn to when you’re stricken with fear? Who you turn to in time of crisis is quite telling of your faith. In that moment of decision making, you might not fully understand what you’re afraid of, but you do know who your go-to person is that you seek comfort from. In essence, your faith in another person(s) says a lot about the nature of the fear, itself, that you’re suffering.
The fear of man lays a snare,
but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.
— Proverbs 29:25
When you were young and still an unbeliever, you learned how to survive your circumstances for the sake of self-preservation. You realized early on that the human flesh is quite resourceful under stress. You’ve watched as the world touts the strength of the human flesh in TV shows like, “Survivor,” and maybe you’ve even cheered contestants on in the spirit of your own victories. You can relate, you see. Consider that before your salvation, your greatest victories were always over others (the human flesh in others is arguably our greatest threat). It was the threat of others harming you that ignited your survival instincts; however, the Bible teaches you that “The fear of man is a snare” (v25). It seems your childhood strategy for self-preservation is a trap!
You have basic needs, such as physiological ones (e.g., food, water) as well as safety (security, shelter), which, if not met, can cause you grave harm or even death. Since fleshly man is inherently greedy and inconsiderate, you fear not having enough for yourself to survive. In other words, you fear man’s ability to rob you of basic sustenance. Beyond your physiological needs lay your psychological needs, such as intimate relationships and love. As with your other needs, you fear man will deny you of such things. Your fleshly response to such threats is to turn to the human resourcefulness you developed as a child in order to ensure your needs are met. All of this precipitating from a basic fear of man, which, again, according to v25, is a “snare.”
So, what do you do when your need for love is threatened? Whom do you turn to?
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?
What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
Therefore go out from their midst,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
and I will be a father to you,
and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
— 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1
Again, whom do you turn to when your need for love is threatened? Do you fight with unbelievers over fellowship with other unbelievers? Do you put your faith in man to deliver you from your suffering? Do you do the worst thing possible and defile yourself, intimately, with an unbeliever? Do you become filthy? Or do you do as Solomon wrote in Proverbs 29:25, “but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.” In other words, do you believe that your love will be safe in the hands of the Lord? Or do you not trust Him and so turn, out of fear of what man can rob you of, to man for sustenance (albeit infinitely inferior)?
When you were young, you developed a habit of turning to your own human strength to overcome threats to your well-being (it’s the only strategy you had as an unbeliever). Even now, as a believer, when your faith in God wanes, you resort to your old survival tactics. It makes sense, and it’s even understandable, but it’s treacherous.
God loves you. He promises to take care of you. Paul wrote, “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1). Do you see whom you ought to fear? It’s God alone. Let Him take care of all of your needs, not just the physiological ones, but the psychological ones, too! When the pressure is on and you’re tempted to resort to your old survival tactics, turn to Him, always, and He will sustain you, for His grace is sufficient. Remember this – God loves you.
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
— Hebrews 4:16
Love in Christ,
Ed Collins