FEAR or FEAR NOT
As follow up to S2/E13, fear is a primary emotion. The secondary emotions surfaced from fear are feeling anxious, insecure, inferior, panic.
Fear often comes from possibly losing something: love, identity, meaning, purpose (or the chance to express oneself), or life.
"Do not fear" and similar phrases are mentioned OFTEN in the Bible (365 times or more, depending on how you search for similar words/thought). It is a primary theme.
God's command/invitation for us to "Not Fear" is to be taken in view of the reality of who God is and who we are as his children.
God spoke "Do Not Fear" to the leaders He called into mission with and for Him.
We are well served when we stop looking at things from our perspective, but from God's perspective. Are the things we may be afraid to lose really ours to lose? These are all gifts from God and in God's Kingdom we cannot lose His love for us, our identity in Christ, meaning or life.
God gets that we have a tendency to be afraid, so he is reminding us regularly about the spiritual reality and keep our focus on God/Jesus and who He is, not the "surrounding waves" around us and what we feel that we lack. We should not be controlled by our fears, but to give them to God, or Heavenly Father. After we give our fears to God, we need to leave those fears with Him - and not pick them back up to try handle or deal or dwell on with them with ourselves.
"Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Do everything in love.."
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV
FEAR or FEAR NOT
As follow up to S2/E13, fear is a primary emotion. The secondary emotions surfaced from fear are feeling anxious, insecure, inferior, panic.
Fear often comes from possibly losing something: love, identity, meaning, purpose (or the chance to express oneself), or life.
"Do not fear" and similar phrases are mentioned OFTEN in the Bible (365 times or more, depending on how you search for similar words/thought). It is a primary theme.
God's command/invitation for us to "Not Fear" is to be taken in view of the reality of who God is and who we are as his children.
God spoke "Do Not Fear" to the leaders He called into mission with and for Him.
We are well served when we stop looking at things from our perspective, but from God's perspective. Are the things we may be afraid to lose really ours to lose? These are all gifts from God and in God's Kingdom we cannot lose His love for us, our identity in Christ, meaning or life.
God gets that we have a tendency to be afraid, so he is reminding us regularly about the spiritual reality and keep our focus on God/Jesus and who He is, not the "surrounding waves" around us and what we feel that we lack. We should not be controlled by our fears, but to give them to God, or Heavenly Father. After we give our fears to God, we need to leave those fears with Him - and not pick them back up to try handle or deal or dwell on with them with ourselves.
"Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Do everything in love.."
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV