Someone asked me a question today and it has had me thinking all day. The question was, what is your biggest fear? Now, a general question like that, you would think one would be able to give an answer automatically. I honestly could not think of my biggest fear. I realized that I have multiple fears.
I have a fear of being kidnapped.
I have a fear of being in a natural disaster.
I have a fear of being burned in a fire.
I have a fear of car accidents.
I have a fear of becoming fat.
I have a fear of getting a terminal illness.
I have a fear of dying young.
I have a fear of dying old.
I have a fear of losing a loved one.
I have a fear of bugs.
I have a fear of terrorist attacks.
I have a fear of airplane crashes.
I have a fear of huge roller coasters.
I have a fear of roller coasters breaking.
I have a fear of choking to death.
I have a fear of drowning.
I have a fear of starvation.
I have a fear of hypothermia.
...I think you get my point. I realized I have a fear of just about everything. I later remembered 2 Bible verses that always stuck with me.
"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
and...
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” -Deuteronomy 31:6
Now, there are not many passages in the Bible that say the same thing twice. But here, it says, be strong and courageous, do not be afraid. How powerful is that! The LORD is with you no matter what happens to you. It made me realize that no matter what the circumstance, God can always be found hidden amidst the terrifying events. Take the incident Columbine for example. I watched a father of a girl speak about his daughter's death in Columbine and hidden things that happened in their family since the tragedy occurred. One of the things was this girl Rachel always told her sisters, I feel like I'm not going to live much longer. They later found a journal that said, This is my last year here LORD. thank you. Now imagine being that family reading that passage. Later, they also found her bookbag that she had on when she was shot in Columbine. In her bookbag, there was a drawing she had done the previous week. To them and to anyone else, it looked like a simple doodle drawing. They later realized it was a pair of eyes with tears...the tears were watering some type of flower. Doing research, the family discovered it was the Columbine flower...The LORD was calling her before she even knew it. The 2 shooters in the school shot her once, and then proceeded to walk up to her. They lifted up her head and said, "Do you still believe in your God now?" Rachel continued on and said, "Yes." and they shot her in the head. The next words rachel heard was by God Himself saying, well done my good and faithful servant. Rachel was strong and courageous. She had no fear because she knew in her heart that God was with her through that process. Rachel's dad said she had a dream of being an actress and working in missionary spreading the Gospel. He said one day, she was watching Oprah and turned to her dad and said, I'm gonna be on Oprah one day. Her dad forgot completely about it until he was on set at the Oprah show, walked up on stage, and saw Rachel's picture on the big screen. He fell to his knees remembering his daughter saying she would be on the Oprah show one day...sure enough, God made it happen.
Now, another thing I realized about when I was thinking of all of my fears, I realized suddenly I never thought of this key fear...
I have a fear of God.
It is my whole way of living, and yet, I didn't put it? We get too distracted by things in this world to think of the most important. I fear God because when it comes time for judgement day, He chooses Heaven or hell. He chooses eternal life or eternal damnation.
"Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you;" -Deuteronomy 6:13
It's okay to fear things. But remember to always trust in God. Always know He is with you. Because if you fail at doing that, you are failing Him. When it comes time for YOUR judgement day, did you fear God enough to follow Him and not sin against Him? Did YOU choose not to repent from your sins? Fear God, for He chooses your destiny...
