"Of all the passions, fear weakens judgement most." Cardinal de Retz Memoirs
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear [or dread] no evil." Ps.23:4
Every person faces fear at one point or another in their lives. Fear of rejection. Fear of criticism. Fear of failure. Fear of loss. In each of our fears we face decisions. We can either face them alone or with the help of the Lord. Unbelievers face fears alone. Even when they lean on another, that person cannot dispel the fear inside that heart. Fear colors all one's thoughts. Fear grips the judgement of our thoughts and squeezes the life out of rational thinking. Fear acts upon its emotion--I feel like this is the right thing to do. I feel threatened and so I will react this way or that.
What threats do we face that cause us to fear? Loss of security? Of power? Of direction? Status? Position? Possessions? Reputation? These and many other things cause us to fear. When we dwell on the fear of these losses, the fear becomes an obsession. That obsession causes us to form alliances with others to comfort us, to give us advice, to counsel us in making decisions we feel incapable of making alone.
As Christians we have a Helper who best meets that need for counseling. However, all too often, we do not turn to our Lord--instead, we turn to man. And when we do, we risk the chance of falling into another's power, thought and views of the best course of action we should take. When we trust in someone other than and more than God, we fail in our Christian walk. Our reliance on the world to justify an injustice or avenge a wrong committed against us, does not weaken the power of God, but it weakens our faith in God.
When our faith is weakened, we begin to trust in the shadows of darkness. We run from those shadows of death to our hopes, dreams and goals. We cower in our fears of insecurity, pride and self-worth. Woe to us. For we are now living in rebellion of our Source of Protection, our Shield, our Help, our Hope, our Guide.
"Woe to the rebellious children, says the Lord, who take counsel and carry out a plan, but not Mine; and who make a league and pour out a drink offering, but not of My Spirit, thus adding sin to sin; that set out to go down into Egypt, and have not asked of Me; to flee to the stronghold of Pharaoh and to strengthen themselves in his strength and and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!" Isaiah 30:1,2
The Lord is not happy with His children who trust after others--either individuals, entities or systems. He expects His own to trust in Him for each and every detail of their lives. The farmer must trust in God's rain and sunshine. He must trust in God's provision in drought or in flood. His seed must be sown in fertile soil, not upon stoney ground--in the Word of God, not the words of man.
God expects His children to run to Him for help, not Egypt--nor government aid, nor strongholds of court systems. God expects His children to trust in His laws, precepts and commands--not the concepts and interpretations of man. God expects His children to dwell in the cleft of His Hand, to rest in His palm and relax in the shadows of His might, not in the shadows of Egypt--secular protections, voices and white-washed rules of law which have watered down the law of Moses.
God expects his children to "be still and know that He is God." He expects His children to "lean not unto their own understanding," but to trust in Him and acknowlege Him in all their ways and then He will direct their paths. And should we trust in the shadows of Egypt instead of the Lord, then we will be left in the shadows of Egypt without a Lamp to light our way or fire to guide us by night nor a cloud to guide us by day. Just as surely as the Lord was angry with His children at Horeb for their stubborn rebellious attitudes when He threatened to withdraw His presence, He will leave us to our own ways--to stumble to fall, and to deal with the consequences of our actions. God will not be mocked by His children. He has written His law on our hearts, not on stone and He expects us to follow Him--not ourselves, nor others.
When we trust in the shadows of Egypt and Pharaoh, God tells us exactly what will occur as a result. "Therefore shall the strength and protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame, and the refuge in the shadow of Egypt be your humiliation and confusion." Isaiah 30:3
As I consider the shadows I stand beneath for help in life, I pray I find myself beneath the shadow of the cross, relying on the Savior Who hung there and the law for which He came to fulfill in the inspired Word of the Father. How about you? selahV [copyrighted, selahV Today, 2007]
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