Fear of Change |
Exodus 16ff - Israel leaving Egypt, going into wilderness.
Gen. 2:3 -God would have us dependent upon Him, He is our blueprint. Not only dependent but united with Him, His Spirit living within us, joined with Him, He lives in us and we live from Him. He is our fuel, if you like; we can't live without Him.
He is our Lord, Our Creator, our inventor, we do as He says. As we obey Him,
we love Him and reveal Him to the world as He would be seen in our behaviour.
We are creatures who image God, revelators of Him, that is our destiny,
our blueprint from the very beginning. The potential of any human being is
God Himself. God is our potential, to reveal Him in all His love, all His
strength, all His wisdom in life.
How does this work?
It works by faith. When I am faced with any situation, being united with
God I am adequate for any situation. Do I need wisdom, love, strength, then
God thru me manifests Himself thru me to others.
Gen. 2:8 -World when created was a kingdom of peace, peace with and by God, peace within myself and with others. That peace makes me prosperous in all areas of life.
Source of fear:
Fear came in when man declared himself independent from God, to declare his
own kingdom of peace. Therefore , Adam had to get everything under control
thru his own power. He had to know what others do, think and speak, he had
to be controlling all things else he would be terribly upset. He must know
and have all things in order, what must be, or if it was not, what he had
to be, what was harmonious or not, have all things in balance, to change
if not, etc. Able also to predict all things, the present and the future.
Wisdom comes from familiarity, that is security, that which is predictable.
Change:
Unfamiliar situations, new happenings, throws my world out of control, things
become unpredictable, I am no longer in control;thus, fear comes in and
challenges my ability to handle it. Now, I realize I am no longer a god.
Imperative of change:Change is the dynamic of life. We put things off, hoping things will be back to normal if we do nothing. Familiar things make me complacent. If my schedule changes, I have a heart attack. Hate to meet new people, fear comes in, they don't fit into my idea of those people I already know, I don't know if they will like me or not.
Become afraid of people who don't speak my language, they throw us off balance. Why do you put off learning new things, ignorance of them will show me up, and I don't want others to know I am ignorant of anything, upsets my position of being in control of my life. I might reveal to others or to myself , I am not as strong as I thought nor as wise as I imagined I was.
Loss of job, moving to another city, fear of success, all of these might reveal your weakness, that you cannot handle it: new job, promotion, being single, etc.
Addicts are familiar with and use to their addictions , gives comfort, reluctant to give it up.
No real fear of God because we neglected the Holy Spirit. We majored on doctrine, and not on the Presence of the Holy Spirit within us, the Spirit daily revealing to our human spirit the spirit of Christ within us, a living, vital reality. Not just a doctrine but a living Spirit.
We normally look at God as Someone Who gives us something, and He will if we behave ourselves, being nice and all, then God will give. If He doesn't then we get mad, and sulk. We are to see God as He really is. God in us, a concrete reality. God is, and from Him I live, I exist, I live from Him and in Him, in love God is love, so am I , in Him.
He came in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I am to confess Him as Lord. He, above all, I am from Him, He is not someone I get things, He is above all of that, He is my God. God is God and will remain God, nothing can stop Him, He goes for eternities. Thus, be in awe of Him, and His magnificence. He made the world, and all in it. Are we to fear anything in the world when God made it?
Stop talking like the world talks, full of fears, replace the fears of this world by the fear of God .
Instead of seeking God for things, seek Him for Who He is. See Malachi, the Sun of Righteousness, sit in the realm of this truth, let His rays penetrate into your inner being, that you may be full of God, being full of God, You have God Himself, and from Him, flows all things. Sit under His rays, let God be God, God is, God of the "I AM", be part of this, flow from this great truth. Know that God loves me just as I am, I don't have to perform. Let God be all that He is, let Him flow thru me, and all else descends into secondary levels.
Read Psalms, Epistles, be astounded at Who God is, He is worthy of our praise, be astounded at our salvation, what God has done and will do, God is worthy, He is central to the universe, Lamb of God slained before the world.
Overcome fear by a greater fear -- the fear of God!
Amen!