WHAT IS IT WE FEAR?

-


 

JUNE 28, 2023

 

Psalm 139:7-12

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.





Over the last couple of days, we have noted that as humans we have the tendency to want to hide from God, Adam and Eve did. When you really think about it, it is quite ridiculous to think that we can hide from our creator. It’s kind of like playing with a child, and you walk into child’s room and seeing a lumped form under the blankets, and child thinking they are invisible to you.

One of God’s profound attributes is His omnipresence. This theological word simply means God is everywhere. That is good news for you and for me. We cannot run and we cannot hide from his love. I believe, that running and hiding in any situation and from any person has to do with our fear. Fear of harm, fear of consequences, fear of punishment perhaps. Remember that the Bible tells us that perfect love (God’s Love) casts out all fear.

Consider the words from 1 John 4:18: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” Another translation puts it like this, "Love will never invoke fear. Perfect love expels fear, particularly the fear of punishment. The one who fears punishment has not been completed through love." Next time you find yourself attempting to hide from God, "under the blankets" or "in the graden" remember God's unending love for you. There is no need to run and hide. If you are going to do any running, let it be to run into God’s loving embrace.

REFLECT


How have you, or do you find comfort in God’s omnipresence?


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FUN with GOD

-
Image
  June 13, 2024 PSALM 30:11-12 “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” I have learned that God loves to exceed our expectations and break open our boxes. For example today let us think about our Father in Heaven as a God who is "Fun". I was talking with a friend recently and we were talking about the varied perceptions of God that many people have. Sadly, the notion of God most common is that God is not loving toward all he has made, but a God waiting to exact some form of retribution for our actions that he might deem "sin". You know "God is out to get you" kind of thinking. My friend and I felt that this is a terrible misconception and distortion of the Bible's picture of God. I am convinced that the Bible contains evidence that God desires to reveal to us the immense joy of havi
Read more

BE ENCOURAGED

-
Image
  JULY 3, 2024 Psalm 8  Lord , our Lord,      how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory      in the heavens. 2  Through the praise of children and infants      you have established a stronghold against your enemies,      to silence the foe and the avenger. 3  When I consider your heavens,      the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars,      which you have set in place, 4  what is mankind that you are mindful of them,      human beings that you care for them? 5  You have made them a little lower than the angels      and crowned them with glory and honor. 6  You made them rulers over the works of your hands;      you put everything under their feet: 7  all flocks and herds,      and the animals of the wild, 8  the birds in the sky,      and the fish in the sea,      all that swim the paths of the seas. 9  Lord , our Lord,      how majestic is your name in all the earth! In this Psalm, David expresses wonder at how God displays His power through the most
Read more

METEORIC LOVE

-
Image
  JULY 5, 2024 I'm amazed at the human capacity for love. I will use myself as the case study. I have been blessed to have a beautiful and wonderful woman to love as my wife. When our first daughter was born, I was amazed to find that my heart expanded to a different channel of love. Some of you I am guessing know what I am talking about. My soul opened in a new way. When I thought I had expended all my love, along came children 2, 3, and 4. I would always wonder if I had the capacity to love more than I already did, could my heart expand more? Guess what my capacity for love kept growing. And now as a grandfather of 4, that love expands and expands with each one. I have said to my daughter about my Grandkids, “just when you think you have topped out your love for them,” which is quite substantial, "you spend an afternoon with them and your love for them grows again." There seems to be some new reservoir of love that opens and is released. Have you experienced that in you
Read more