THE TRAP OF FEAR
"Let Your saving help, O God, protect me." —Psalm 69:30
When threatened with execution, Jeremiah fearlessly proclaimed: "As for me, I am in your hands; do with me what you think good and right. But mark well: if you put me to death, it is innocent blood you bring on yourselves" (Jeremiah 26:14-15). Jeremiah stood his ground and refused to let himself be intimidated. He was often fearful in his life (see Jeremiah 1:6, 8), but this time he was fearless, and "he was not handed over to the people to be put to death" (Jeremiah 26:24).
"There was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Uriah...He prophesied the same things against this city and land as Jeremiah did" (Jeremiah 26:20). Uriah, like Jeremiah, was a prophet with the same message to the same people. However, Uriah was put to death by King Jehoiakim and Jeremiah was not.
Jeremiah and Uriah were treated differently in this situation because they acted differently. Jeremiah was fearless while Uriah "fled in fear" before being arrested and executed (Jeremiah 26:21-23). Yielding to fear does not result in escape, but tragedy. The way of victory, and sometimes the way of protection, is fearlessness.
Nevertheless, no matter how counter-productive and self-destructive yielding to fear can be, we seem to be trapped. We can't seem to stop fearing. Our will-power is not stronger than our fear. Only in a God-fearing (Sirach 34:14), faith-filled (Mark 5:36), and loving (1 John 4:18) relationship with Jesus can we displace fear from our lives. "The Lord is my Light and my Salvation; whom should I fear?" (Psalm 27:1)
Prayer: Father, may the love in my relationship with You cast out all fear from my life (1 John 4:18).