Most of our fears are tangible and easily described. You know…heights, disease, oceans, flying, failure, death…to name but a few. But the sneakiest and most dangerous fear of all is RARELY discussed.
It’s the FEAR OF MAN.
Why does this theme surface in the middle of this month-long series on SEEKING SOLITUDE WITH GOD?
Because the FEAR OF MAN is a master chameleon that convinces us that spending time with God cannot protect us from man.
FEAR OF MAN is a “mentalist” playing with our mind without us ever recognizing his devious incursion into the space and time that were meant for US and GOD.
FEAR OF MAN is a poser spreading its message through people who wink at us to create the con of false sincerity.
The SIZE OF OUR GOD determines our level of defense against the FEAR OF MAN. If our God is small, those false smiles and winks will tease us, tempt us, and eventually trap us.
The best, and quickest, route to SHRINKING God is to not spend time with him. Eventually, our absence in his inner sanctuary will make him invisible in our life.
The only way to defeat them is to ENLARGE the size of our God and turn from living by the expectations of OTHERS to living by the expectations of GOD. This cannot be done only by attending church and reading Christian books. We must spend time in SOLITUDE with God to activate his power in our life.
Fear of Man makes us GLORY CHASERS, not GOD CHASERS. How can we believe Jesus if we fear man? How can we believe Jesus if we never spend time with him? How can we believe Jesus when we haven’t given him a chance to help us deal with the world’s grip on our life as we FEAR MAN more than we love God?
Our fear needs to be of God, not man. Does man offer a refuge? Does man offer sanctuary? Of course not. Our first priority is to properly recognize God as BIG and STRONG and man as TINY and WEAK. And we do that in SOLITUDE with him.
The bottom line? Our heart does not have space for man and God. But this has nothing to do with LOWERING our respect for people. It has everything to do with ELEVATING our commitment to God and spending time in SOLITUDE with him.
I ask God to guard my heart from the FEAR OF MAN and channel those thoughts to my commitment to spend time in SOLITUDE with him every day.
“The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” Proverbs 29:25
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
If the FEAR OF MAN is stalking you, why not ditch him right now and go to God in SOLITUDE?
“The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” Proverbs 29:25
