We are Fearing the Wrong Things

We are living in such strange, hard times. I keep finding myself feeling defeated many days. The spiritual warfare in our world is huge right now. Some days I feel it so strongly that I notice it affects myself, which then affects everyone around me.

Some may say that they don’t really have any concerns or fears right now. They comply with the mandates, they ignore the headlines and they say, “Oh well, that’s just the way it is right now” or the famous, “well this is the new normal.” But the truth of the matter is that not realizing there are some major headlines and spiritual shifts happening, is simply ignoring that it exists and is part of the problem. Ignoring such tyranny, persecution and division, and conforming to everything that society is now saying is okay, is also part of the problem. Too many people are moving along daily, knowing that there’s a God up there that they believe in, but refusing to accept that our culture is pushing Him back more and more. People are refusing to stand up for their beliefs and live by HIS word and instead we are living by the word of the world. And people are OKAY with this.

How? Why? Perhaps we are just scared to be the person who is standing up; perhaps we don’t want to be the Holy Roller; perhaps we just find being complacent easier; or perhaps we simply aren’t intimate enough with Jesus Christ to realize that there is such turmoil.

Have you ever read too many sad headlines or watched too many sad videos? In today’s times, we have so much access to all the things - the latest conspiracies, the politics, the censorship of Jesus, the persecution of Christians, the trafficking and so much more. 

I watched too many things the other night and went to bed (again) with a heavy heart. I try not to let fear creep in, as we are not supposed to be fearful, but when you’re raising a bunch of babies in this time, fear is always lurking around the corner. 

In the middle the night, I heard “Deuteronomy 6:13.” Now, I read my bible a lot but that book isn’t as familiar to me, nor am I one to often remember the exact verse. To my comfort, I woke up in the morning to learn that the verse I heard was “Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.” 

It didn’t take much for me to realize that the soft, gentle whisper of Deuteronomy 6:13 was to ease my fretful mind. It’s like a comforting stroke of the hair, comforting my soul but also taking shape to guide and remind me. 

We shouldn’t be fearing the headlines, the conspiracies or the politics. We should be fearing the Lord. Because while He is a truly compassionate and loving father, He’s not here to play. He gave us a mission and a book to live by, and we are getting so far off the tracks right now. We are either fearing the wrong things (I can totally be guilty of this sometimes too) OR we aren’t fearing anything, when we should fearing the Lord. Which are you?

We’re claiming we’re believers but choosing to live otherwise. We’re claiming we’re believers but ignoring the headlines that is pushing modern agendas and pushing away the values that our country was built on - Christian values! We’re disregarding the words He has spoken time and time again. We aren’t sharing the good news as we should. We are not standing up AS the church FOR the church. We aren’t uniting as one body of Christ. We aren’t all coming as broken sinners to live as He asked us. Instead we are so often strolling by in life and ignoring the headlines. I don’t know about you, but I refuse the ignore the headlines - I refuse to act like it doesn’t exist. I refuse to be silent when I can stand up and be heard.

So while there’s so much to fear in this world, especially as a parent, we are fearing the wrong things. We are putting our hope, our worries, our energy and our time into the wrong outlets. We’re even reading the wrong headlines; or perhaps we are ignoring the headlines because it’s just easier to be complacent. We’re often times conforming to what seems right, but really isn’t. 

So where does the peace truly lie? Who will bring us the peace we so desperately desire when the world is going awry? Who will help save the future for our children? Our peacemaker is the exact person we should be fearing, but yet lovingly abiding by. Because while we are supposed to fear Him, we are also supposed to be abide by Him and His ways. He’s the way maker for a reason.