Is Fear King?
On Sunday, May 16th, Pastor Al said this, “Hopelessness abounds in America today because fear is king.” Before we unpack that, consider a couple questions. Is fear prevalent across all age categories? Both sexes? Christians and non-Christians? How can we eliminate this hopelessness?
The answer to the first three is absolutely yes. We’ll get to the last one in a minute. I understand the fear raging across America. But I don’t buy into it. We’ve seen “science” bounce all over. One day, masks. The next, no masks. Then they’re back again. Children, it’s been proven, who have a low susceptibility to the virus, and are not likely to be carriers, were forced to quarantine and do school via computer, which proved to have a more negative impact vis-à-vis poor learning and higher suicide rates than potentially being exposed to the virus. And we can’t forget the poor teachers (and their unions), who seem to care only for additional pay and benefits rather than the children who are falling behind. It’s all about who has the control, a powerful, addictive aphrodisiac sought by many.
One other line of thinking
that really bothers me, for which I have yet to hear a reasonable explanation: If the vaccines are so safe, why is there such pressure to get them, and why all the “incentives” to put a “gene modifier” (mRNA) into our bodies. What happened to “the better mousetrap”? And “If you build it, they will come.” Who profits from all this? And why are scientists, Like Dr. Sherri Tenpenny who offers reasonable, if not conclusive evidence, censored from mainstream media?
But lest I go too far down the rabbit hole, let’s look at fear itself. What causes it? Is it logical, rational, controllable? If you analyze it, irrational fear occurs about 85% of the time over things that never happen. And “the stress hormones that worry dumps into our brains have been linked to shrinking brain mass, lowering our IQ, being prone to heart disease, cancer, and premature aging, clinical depression, and making seniors more likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer’s.” (Unsubstantiated quote from Don Joseph Goewey, author of “The End of Stress.”).
Some fear is good.
God gave each of us a “fight or flight” response to danger. It is right to fear immediate or foreseeable danger. Not so much, things that might happen. Yes, of course, we are to utilize the “wisdom from above” in our daily living. But fear of the unknown, for example, belongs in the 85% category. Especially if we know who holds the future and trust Him to “have our six.” And therein lies the answer to our 4th question: How do we eliminate this hopelessness?
As believers in Jesus Christ, you and I—the church—are told many times to “fear not.” Why? Because God is on His throne and still rules the universe. Nothing happens outside His perfect plan for us individually and for the world at large. So, first of all, fear is disobedience. Secondly, the church is to be salt and light in a lost world, a culture of global fear. We have the ONLY answer to the “hopelessness” question. But if our words are no different than the world’s, and our message, as heard in our actions, is a carbon copy of the world’s, why would anybody listen to us?
Wake up church.
WE HAVE THE ANSWER: Jesus Christ is the ONE TRUE SOURCE of hope. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who DO His commandments.” (Ps. 111:10). God is calling His church to be ready for battle. Our enemy is not the political system (although he uses it against us), it’s not any form of flesh and blood (although we tend to only focus on that which we see). No, it’s the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul: but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28). I encourage you to read the end of His-story. WE WIN regardless of what it looks like now. Someone has said, rather than fear the darkness, light a candle.
If you’re a believer and are burdened with fear, how much time are you spending in God’s word and prayer? How well do you really know the character of God? He CANNOT lie. Therefore, everything you read in His word is the truth on which you can base your life, your hope, and your future. Dig in. You can never devour too much truth.
If you’re not a believer and are burdened with fear, you need to know that the God of the universe knows you, loves you, sent His son Jesus to die in your stead just so you could have a relationship with Him. If that doesn’t give you hope, check your pulse. For more specific information about how you can know this God, visit our Steps to Salvation page on this site. Thanks for dropping in. Hope is waiting to overwhelm you by God’s goodness and mercy. Don’t wait another day.