WHO ARE YOU AFRAID OF?
The wicked are overthrown and are no more. Proverbs 12:7
Those who practice wickedness often look formidable but their feet are unsteady. The least bit of trouble brings them down. The power they possess makes us tremble but it’s really an illusion. Though their behavior is intimidating, we don't realize how easily they could crumble. Here’s what else I’ve learned. The ones who look the strongest can be the weakest!
A woman wrote to me this week to tell me this story. An angry brother had controlled her for many years. Though he lived several hundred miles away, he had a way of controlling the entire family network. For the past year, she has been bringing her fear of her brother to God and He has been healing her. So much so, that at a recent family reunion, she laughed out loud when she saw him for the first time. He seemed several inches shorter to her. That is not uncommon. I have heard others say that once God showed them the true stature of the person they feared, they appeared smaller. The big bully became a stubborn two year old.
Is there someone in your life who frightens you and whom you’ve allowed to hold you captive? Meditate on this. "The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1 No one can make us cower when the Lord is our strength.
Those who are truly powerful are the ones who wear their power lightly like Jesus did. The foundation of righteous power is love. It does not seek to intimidate yet exhibits authority and strength. The one who is too tough to be tender and too selfish to be gracious is afraid of his own shadow. He does not examine himself long enough to see that his need to control others is rooted in fear. He is really terrified of love and powerlessness.
There is no one on the face of this earth that I must fear today. God is my refuge. He is my strong tower and I may run into it and be safe. May God help us see past the illusions others present because we really can stand tall in His Light and robust in His strength.
Lord, show me how to submit to those in authority over me without losing spiritual strength. Do not let me fear any equal. I serve you, obey you, and ultimately answer to you only. In Jesus' name, Amen
For more from Christine Wyrtzen and Jaime Wyrtzen Lauze, please visit www.daughtersofpromise.org
Originally published Tuesday, 03 October 2023.
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