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Fear


           Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)

          “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” (Luke 12:4-5)

          Fight. Flight. Those are the classic responses to danger or fear. I add “freeze” and “freak.” As with hurry, we need to differentiate between the activity and the attitude. It’s perfectly reasonable and probably wise to feel fear if a guy with a knife or gun is threatening you, or if a rabid raccoon is chasing you. It’s even reasonable to feel some level of fear about a virus. That’s a rational sort of fear. There actually is a danger.
          Irrational fear addresses a danger that does not exist or a danger that is not as great as it is believed to be. Some colleges have set up refuges for students, with coloring books, counselors, and more to help the students deal with the trauma of having a Conservative speaker on campus. They aren’t required to go listen to the speaker, but his/her presence is seen as harmful. I have been told that if a group of people has a fear, we are obligated to treat that fear as if it is justified – but of course, their response to my fears is that I should grow up and “get woke.”
          For my part, I have a few of these irrational fears. I fear failure, spiders, and creatures of someone’s imagination that seem to be able to do far worse than any homicidal maniac. I fear the advancement of certain political and philosophical agendas, especially the ones that promote the group-think that I call Borgism. (“Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.”) I fear to make wrong decisions. Probably one of my biggest fears is job hunting. Yes, I agree, I’m a very fearful person. So today’s post is for me, too.
          Today’s first passage is the command to Joshua to be strong and courageous. He was not to fear because God would be with him. The problem is, there would be no need for God to tell Joshua to be strong and courageous, and do not fear if Joshua was strong, courageous, and fearless. The person who is fearless is incapable of courage because courage is a response to fear.
          The first sort of fear is natural and even wise. It can cause us to turn to God.  The second sort of fear is a spiritual weapon. It draws us away from God by replacing God with our fears. We have lots of weapons to use against it: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. When you fear, turn to Him, not to the fear.

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