Fear Masquerading As Wisdom...
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 6:02AM Greetings, Dear Friends!
And to those visiting, I say welcome! I post every Wednesday and my sole purpose is to nourish your soul along the way. Each month I give away a $10.00 Starbucks gift card to someone who posts on my blog. So share a story or an insight, bless lots of people, and just maybe you'll win a jolt of java for you and friend!
It's time to announce this month's winner...
Joy Ballard, congratulations! Email me at: info@susielarson.com with your mailing address and I'll get your gift card out to you within the next week or so. Blessings to you all and thanks for your posts!
Now on to my topic...
I like Wednesday mornings. I wake up extra early to do my Watchman Prayer (an hour designated to pray for the families and ministries at my church), I get to talk to one of my mentors when I call to hand the prayer baton to her. Those few minutes of deep spiritual dialogue give me food for thought the rest of the day. And, another great thing about Wednesdays is that I get to connect with YOU!
This morning, my mentor and I talked about what it means to venture out in faith to the unknown zone. God is moving in our midst. Are we willing to go where He leads?
My mentor said something struck a cord with me. Here's what she said: "All too often, we don't want to look foolish or take certain risks, so we stay safe and miss God. Which is really just fear masqueraded as wisdom."
Just what kinds of fears are we talking about here? Fear of man, fear of the unknown, fear of discomfort, and fear of looking foolish; these are the ones that come to my mind. What will people think if I fail or look foolish? What if God asks me to do something that really costs me? Do I really want to take the risk of being uncomfortable?
But let's look at Jesus' life. Is there anything about His time on earth that catered to other's opinions, looking foolish, or personal comforts? At some point we have to get free from such things if we want to live Kingdom lives here on earth!
God is on the move! And He wants us to move with Him!
Are you clinging to safety and comfort and calling it wisdom?
Sometimes it is wise to stay put when everyone else is running. But sometimes it's just safe, and not wise at all.
Here's an excerpt from my book, "Embracing Your Freedom":
"Being a believer involves faith. And faith involves risk - calculated yet heroic steps that lead us out of places of self-protecting and into places of God-provision. Embracing our freedom means we are willing to press past our fears because freedom is better...When God says, 'Go!' it's more dangerous to stay behind. There is less risk in moving into the unknown than in lagging behind in disobedience and unbelief" (p.210).
Put your hope in the Lord. Travel steadily along HIS path. He will honor you, giving you the land. You will see the wicked destroyed (Psalm 37:34).
Here's another verse that I love:
Do not fear ANYTHING except the Lord Almighty. He ALONE is the Holy One. If you FEAR HIM, you need fear nothing else. HE will keep you safe (Isaiah 8:13-14).
May we embrace faith and be truly wise.
~Until next week
Reader Comments (14)
Fear has been an unwelcome guest in my life since young childhood.
I have learned to push past it. Fear is fleshly and I do the opposite of what it is saying to me! (by faith, I rebel against fear!)
Your encouragement through the years has been great help to me Susie! Thanks! (I think I first heard you speak five or six years ago)
I'm sure I'm read that passage before. The part about about finishing the race is a well-known verse to many people. I never realized that Paul said that right after he made the elders aware of what was certainly awaiting him. Wow! What an example of facing fear and following after Jesus.
He showed them signs and wonders when He delivered them out of bondage, and then more signs...and then more signs, and then God ACTUALLY COMES DOWN from Heaven and meets with Israel from the mountain.
They still turned away when Moses was gone for 40 days. (Even though the Glory of God was visible by smoke on the mountain...)
I was wondering, "How could they turn away after seeing the 10 plagues, and the Red Sea part, and to have seen the wall of fire God gave them at night, and the cloud of shade to protect them from the sun during the day?"
I realized that God must be immeasurably pleased when one of His children simply loves, trusts and truly has faith in all He has said.
He is still looking for those who will believe.
Now I know why Jesus said that the person who believes without seeing is so blessed.
I love what you wrote. I love the idea of rebelling against my fears! What a courageous, excellent thought. Thanks for your consistent words of encouragement. God has used you to bless me on many occasions. :)
I know what you mean. When I think of some of the heroes of the faith, I get overwhelmed by the comfort and smallness of my life. I want so much for my faith to please God and for my courage to override my fears. Lord, let it be. :)
How wonderful to hear from you! I'm honored that you stopped by. May God continue to bless you and keep you as you walk closely with Him. Your faith walk - at your young age - greatly inspires me. :) Bless you!
It is true, we are so quit to forget; so quick to turn away; so quick to look down. That is why Jesus stopped in His tracks every time a faith-filled person crossed His path. I picture Him looking down from Heaven on us, and jumping for joy when we choose to trust Him and believe Him for the impossible. May we please Him greatly by our faith!
Man those are good words to remember. I have been realizing lately how much I want to avoid looking foolish in the eyes of man. Thanks for this post Susie, good thoughts to ponder.
I have been fighting fears more than usual lately but I will continue to walk forward into the very unknown with my Lord. Like I've said before, I just don't know exactly where the Lord wants us to go with our adoption (and now potentially fostering journey). To be quite honest, all directions seem diffcult. Our heart is to adopt or foster kids in the system and these are kids who have suffered in various ways, emotionally, physically, etc. So how will that look?
I also fear the emotional toil on me if we foster (when we say goodbye) or if God calls us to foster and not adopt because I still long to adopt but I know that this life is NOT about ME! I know this but I have to consistently fight against it.
Even though the way ahead seems dark to me, I know that He will lead me by the hand and light the path just in front of us. I have been feeling weak but I know that He is so very strong and I take comfort that His power works best in weakness.
I was feeling so empty today and came to the Lord feeling weak and vulerable. These were some of the words He gave me from a quote by Annie Flint "When we reach the end of our hoarded resources, Our Father's FULL giving is ONLY begun"
He is GOOD, He is faithful and I'm so thankful He is here to guide me!
Susie - I continue to pray for you and can't wait to spend some time together at Hearts!!
Thanks for your post. Isn't that the crux of it for all of us? We miss out on so much because we fear what others might think. Imagine the impact we will make as we shake the dust off of our shoes and follow the Lord wherever He leads! That's the stuff of miracles and adventure!
You are a natural born writer! I love what you wrote. "We can all recognize fear pretty easily. But what I just realized is that sometimes we don't recognize opportunities for faith." So often, we just need to take a little walk around our circumstances and look at them from a different perspective; one that includes God's power and provision. There lies the opportunity for faith!
I've mentioned this before, but your journey is such a brave one and I trust that God will light the path for you every step of the way. May He calm your fears, establish your plans, and protect you when you're vulnerable.Bless you, sister. See you in March!