Why is it that we all struggle so with fear? Jesus often tells us: “Do not fear” but his words seem to fall on deaf ears. We are afraid of many things: failure, rejection, judgment and death. This fear can be paralysing at times and causes us to make irrational decisions and act in unbecoming ways. It is a worldly fear that we live with.
An unnecessary fear, especially as believers in Christ.
Last week, in a study about Rahab (Joshua 2), I discovered how she transformed her worldly fear into a godly fear. Over the years in Jericho, Rahab, the sex worker, had seen and heard about God’s power and mighty works and she accepted that the God of the Israelites was “God both in heaven above and on earth beneath” (Josh 2:11). She chose to follow God. She discarded
her worldly fear for a fear that recognised the immense power of God and her insignificance in comparison to him. This godly fear gave her the right perspective and allowed her to revere and respect God. This fear led Rahab to a godly wisdom and turned her into a true believer. Her faith and trust in God is a perfect example of redemption – showing us that God doesn’t see us as our sin.
We have the potential that Rahab had.
We too have the choice to transform our fear into a godly fear, trusting that God will guide us and keep us covered in his Grace always. The kingdom of heaven is ours, God wants to give it to us.
