I know I keep pounding the issue of fear lately. It’s just that God keeps peeling back the layers of my own fears and it’s been…eye opening, kinda gross, and how-could-I-not-have-seen-this-until-now. Fear isn’t like those outward blatant sins that we can easily identify because of the visible repercussions to our earthly situations. No. Fear is much more sneaky.
Fear can sometimes sometimes camouflage itself in good things. It can sometimes sometimes masquerade itself as honorable choices. Like…I don’t know…choosing a schooling option out of fear of what our kids will be exposed to. Or not allowing our kids to do this or that out of fear of losing seeming control. Or saying yes to a friend’s request out of fear of rejection. None of those choices are wrong. In fact they can be amazingly grand. Kind. Wise. Good. (And I only use those examples because I’ve chosen all of them at times in fear.)
But if fear motivates our decisions, it’s possible that an idol sits quietly behind the fear. It’s as if the idol holds the sword of fear threatening us to obey…or else.
Idols Steal ‘Erthing
Idols. Blah.
Here’s the thing about idols. They want to be preserved. They don’t want to be kicked off of our heart’s throne, replaced with the true King. The King that can be trusted with our reputation. The King that can be trusted with our children. The King that can be trusted with our very lives.
I’m not sure why we believe the fear. I don’t know why we live our minutes so scared of not having control or not pleasing man or not appearing to have it all together. It probably has something to do with the fact that we’re human and short-sighted and forgetful. But idols with the sword of fear in hand taunt us. And until we call it what it is — an idol we’ve made bigger than our God — we’ll keep believing fear’s lies.
I know what you may be thinking. I don’t want to live like that! I don’t want to waste time believing fear. Ain’t nobody got time for fear mongering. So what do we do? Well, we ask God to start showing us the things that we make out to be bigger than Him. We start on a journey to crush the idols that steal from us.
The Road to Freedom from Fear
It’s a breath-taking thing to start asking God to reveal our idols. It’s life-changing when He shows us what they are and we start down the path of slaying them. If we want true soul freedom – like Jesus promised – then we have to ask the hard questions and answer with brutal honesty.
So I’ll pass the heart-wrenching questions along to you as God has been asking me, (you’re welcome.) “What fear do you see in your own life these days?” And then the even harder question, “What idol is that fear trying to protect?”
Let’s grab that idol’s wimpy sword of fear and break it over our knee like a ninja. Because that just seems like the right visual. Have I told you that I secretly wish I could do Sydney-Bristow-like things? True story.
