F E A R L E S S in Progress

The topic of fear gets overlooked so much that I think people forget its power over them. Think about it...Marriages. Why do people mess them up? I believe most if not all causes are due to some kind of fear. Fear of being alone, fear of not being valued. Fear of being hurt. Fear of not being able to measure up....the list goes on. How about the alcoholic? He is scared to death. Scared of real life. Scared he can't make it without the anesthetic. Just plain full of fear and he doesn't know why anymore. Why does the kid engage in things he shouldn't? Fear of not being accepted. Fear of being teased. Fear he'll never be good enough. Fear of not fitting in.

I can't say it enough and I'm a broken record because I've said for years. All things are either done out of love or out of fear. Those things we do out of fear are doomed to fail. Since most people are afraid of failure, you can see why this would be a self-destructive mess.

I'm no expert on this topic, but I know what it is to fear, and I know what it is to love, and I certainly know the difference and have seen the outcome. Think hard enough and you will find things in your own life that fit this description. It is an eye opener.

Max Lucado talks about Eve in the chapter "God's ticked off at Me" (Fear of Disappointing God). I think it's interesting how he sees this. So most of us know or should know by now that Eve went ahead and ignored God's command to "not touch the tree of knowledge". We all know she believed Satan when he said she'd be like God if she ate of this tree. Stop right there. Max puts it this way.....

"Most people would say she was defiant, pride filled and disobedient...but wasn't she first afraid? Afraid that God was holding out, that she was missing out? Afraid Eden wasn't enough? Afraid God wasn't enough? Afraid God couldn't deliver?" "Eve quit trusting God and took matters into her own hands" "They ran and hid" "they mishandled fear and fear did them in".

Whew! And that's just chapter three!