Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. Prov 29:25 (NIV)
When I was a teenager, I wasn’t really frightened of many things. My mates and I would frequent the local swimming hole on hot days, where we’d climb up into a huge Gum tree and launch ourselves fearlessly, 40 or so feet into the river below. I also grew up on a farm, so on school holidays I would race through the bush on motorbikes at crack neck speeds, gallop around on horses, round up cattle, and sleep out in the bush. Nothing really worried me too much.
My first real job was as a trolley boy for a supermarket chain in Australia called Woolworths. The manager of the store, Mr. Boxer, was an ominous character, especially to me as a 15 year old. I’m not sure if it was exaggerated in my mind, but it definitely felt like he loved making me feel scared. I guess, for the first time, I felt genuine fear because of a single person. I worked like my life depended on that job and as if Mr Boxer was always looking over my shoulder… and every time he called my name I was sure I was in trouble! I would get a quiver in my voice and a bolt of adrenaline would shoot through my veins.
21 years later (yes I’m 36!) Mr. Boxer has almost zero affect on me. A lot of the feelings I experienced, in those moments around him, told me I would fail and be good for nothing… but here I am, successfully living a life that defies all the fear I felt around one person.
Those moments didn’t determine my destiny because ultimately it’s God who prophesies our future… not a man or the fear of one!
1 Cor 2:9 says “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”. Your future is held in Him! So place your trust in what He says, not what other people say or how they make you feel!
Fear is not a spirit God gives you and so when you find yourself feeling it, it’s not God-given… it’s man-made!
Today, refuse to allow the fear of a person to grip you but allow the love of God to sweep you up and bring you peace!
