Fear is an interesting emotion. God
gave us fear to protect us. It’s not a bad thing. Fear creates the “Fight or
Flight” reaction in our bodies. The rush of adrenaline causes us to flee
danger, or fight it off. Fear gives us the strength to outrun an attacker. It
gives us people the strength to lift a car off of an accident victim. Fear
protects us and keeps us safe by encouraging us to lock our doors, install
security lighting and alarm systems.
Satan found a way to manipulate
something God created for our good into something that cripples us rather than
helps us. Fear of the unknown fills us with fear and anxiety about something we
can do nothing about. “What if” causes many people more anxiety than actual worst
case scenarios. Satan took the fear that God gave us to help us survive when
attacked and manipulated it to make us afraid of things that may or may not
happen. In the worst situations, the fear of the unknown keeps people in
situations that are not good for them.
I see this in abused
women. They stay with their abuser because they know what to expect with him…or
her. In a recent conversation with an abused woman, I was asked, “but what if I
leave and I end up worse than I am now?” She would rather stay where she is and
KNOW what the danger is (her husband) than to leave him and face the unknown.
I see it in people who have
grown up in abuse or extreme poverty. Sometimes, the unknown is more
frightening than their current troubles. Given the opportunity to have a safe and
comfortable place to live, plenty of food, and no threat of abuse, they choose
to stay in their current conditions. One woman told me “But this is all I know.”
I also see this same thing in new Christians. I
remember being afraid that God (or the church) was going to ask too much of me.
I was afraid that God was going to take away everything that gave me pleasure
or enjoyment. I was afraid that I would not be “me” any longer if I totally
surrendered to Christ, so I held tightly to things I was unwilling to give up
and rebelled against things I felt were too demanding. Even though Christ
promises life and live abundantly, I clung to that which I knew…even things
that stole my peace, kept me up at night, and caused me guilt because I KNEW
what to expect from these things. I did not know what to expect from God. I see
this play out over and over again in new Christians. When given the
opportunity, I am eager to explain that I absolutely lost the “me” I was before
Christ. My ONLY regret is that I did not completely surrender to Christ sooner.
There are other circumstances
where this plays out. These are just the situations I have witnessed in the
past few days. In all these situations, my heart broke for women who do not see
the value God places on their lives. In each situation, my heart broke for a
woman who cannot see what God can do in her life. This is only one of the many
ways that Satan uses something good against us.
God’s word says
The thief comes only to steal and
kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John
10:10
