Proverbs 29:25
Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.
Isaiah 51:12
“I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mere mortals, human beings who are but grass,
Psalm 118:8
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.
1 Samuel 15:24
Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them.
Galatians 1:10
Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Acts 5:29
Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!
Proverbs 19:23
The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
I’m sure that I am not the only one who has ever been afraid of another person or group of people. I don’t know the statistics, but I would wager a guess that fear of people is high on the list of fears. In this world of chaos and evil, we are justified to be afraid. We are afraid of someone’s reaction if we don’t agree with them. We are afraid to defend someone because we may become the target. We are afraid to go to concerts or other populated venues because of recent mass shootings. It is normal to be afraid. I have lived a life afraid of people. I shrink from confrontations. I hate listening to the news because it scares me. We have had two standoffs in my own city of 80,000 people in the last couple of months that has led to the loss of life. We hear more about drugs, robberies and murder and it scares me.
It shouldn’t scare me. As a child of God, I should never fear man. I only need to fear God. I should never try to do well to impress so and so. I only need to glorify God. I should never give in to the manipulations of a bully out of fear. I need to trust God to work in the situation. I should never fear someone who wants to hurt me. My God is all powerful and is more than capable of protecting me from those who want to cause me harm.
Is the fear of man keeping you from your God given purpose?
In fact, 1 Samuel 15:24 tells us that fearing man is a sin! Acts 5:29 tells us that we MUST obey God rather than humans. In Deuteronomy 31:6 we are told NOT to be afraid of man, because God is with us. God tells us to be strong and courageous. Easier said than done, I know. I also know that if we live our lives in fear of man and what he can do to us, we will never be able to truly live. I have sacrificed to many years living in fear of what man can do to me. I am choosing to trust and obey God. I am choosing to allow God to protect me in those situations when I am facing an angry person or a possible negative reaction to news I have to give. We can’t run from people. We can’t bury our heads in the sand. Our only option is to trust God.
Patti Burris 