Fear

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

For about one year now, I have felt a level of fear, not only in this country, but throughout the entire world.  Fear of a virus – a manufactured virus at that.  Fear of that virus as taken the world to its knees.

I have seen people so afraid of that virus that they have stopped living.  They are afraid to go outside their houses.  They are afraid to go to church to worship.  They are afraid to go to the store to shop.  They are afraid of running out of toilet paper!!

I heard someone say once that, some people are so afraid of dying that they are afraid of living!  And I believe it!  And some of those people are friends who I know are deeply believers in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  You know, the One who told us “fear not” over and over in scriptures.  In John 14:27, Jesus told us:  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (Emphasis is mine)

I’ve mentioned in previous posts, that I am a TV follower of Dr. David Jeremiah.  He is pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in San Diego, California. (www.DavidJeremiah.org)   He has a TV program called Turning Point.  I’ve not listened to his radio program, but I suspect it’s called Turning Point, as well.  He preaches God’s word, and we are blest every time we watch his TV program.  His organization publishes a monthly magazine and devotional guide called Turning Points.  The March 2021 issue of that magazine is titled Putting Fear in Its Place.  I was most interested in seeing what he had to say about fear.

In his introduction to the issue, he made the statement that…”Too often we gain a fresh biblical perspective, but we never succeed in staying the course because we are derailed by fear.”  BOY! is THAT the truth!! 

In one article by Dr. Jeremiah he called Huff and Puff, and within that article, he made the statement that …”we never know when fear is going to come knocking – or pounding! – on our door.”  And with the illustration of the Three Little Pigs – only the third pig was prepared…we need to prepare ourselves for any and all tsunamis that Satan can hurl our way.

The second article by Dr. Jeremiah, is called Putting Fear In Its Place.  Please notice the calm, folded hands are on the Bible!

He stated that “To keep fear in its place, we need to know what it is, and what its place should be.”  He said we need to Define Fear…we need to Describe fear…we need to designate fear.  And the answer to all that is:   FEAR IS NOT FROM GOD!! (Emphasis is mine)

He stated that “we need to know how to address fear from God’s perspective.”  And within that article, Dr. Jeremiah stated that “There is no need to fear something that God has already worked out.”  And that’s the truth.

And again, he states that “Faith is God’s antidote for fear.”  And once again, “When fear grips us, we can’t delay the deliberate exercise of faith.”  (Emphasis is mine)

The media has set out to increase fear in our country.  We are afraid to be with and meet those we’ve had in our lives for years.  What will happen when the masks finally come off?  Will we STILL be afraid to be closer than the 6′ apart we are instructed to stay now?  Will we STILL be afraid to take off the mask for fear of germs?  We have lived through many, many infectious diseases in this country and we have NEVER gone to a lock down before.  Someone is trying to make us afraid of our shadows!!  And that “someone” is NOT God!

And so, just remember that FEAR IS NOT FROM GOD!!

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

Tags: Dr. David Jeremiah, Fear