Don’t Let Fear Win… Hello weekend readers. First, I want to thank they many and I mean many who texted or emailed me about Pope Francis. Your prayers are precious for this wonderful man of God. I have to admit that it made me fearful of losing him because he has such an outreach to the entire world. He doesn’t mince words, he says what God wants him to say.

We don’t hear the truth very often today; but we do hear truths that are rarely true! Sadly, many people buy into these “fake truths” and it can be devastating. These “fake truths” suck us in and it is pretty easy to buy into the lies people cast out there. It does create fear and worse, it makes us afraid, and we wonder “what is coming next?”

When fear walks into our lives and we don’t realize it or we embrace it, we lose out in so many horrible ways, such as:

  1. A fear-filled person cannot love deeply, for themselves or others.
  2. Fear keeps us from giving to those in need and then we become hoarders.
  3. Benevolence is put on the shelf, why? Because we are afraid that there is no guarantee of a return.
  4. Fear gives us dreams that are wild and hurtful–and sleep doesn’t come.
  5. Fear pulls you into being afraid–of just about everything, job, finances, etc.
  6. Fear literally paralyzes people until they cannot think or do anything.

Sadly, fear is not just for the people who don’t have faith in God. Here is a recent show of fear in people from the Pew Research in October 2024. The findings were that more people who have faith in God have just as much and more problems with fear, anxiety, being afraid, and experiencing helplessness.

Jesus counters these fears in many Scriptures, but there are two that I felt would be perfect for our “fear” problems. In Matthew 10:28-31 [Message] He says: “Don’t be bluffed into silence by the threats of bullies. There’s nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life—body and soul—in his hands. What’s the price of a pet canary? Some loose change, right? And God cares what happens to it even more than you do. He pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don’t be intimidated by all this bully talk. You’re worth more than a million canaries!”

In John 14:27-29 [Voice] Jesus reminds us to not fear because: “My peace is the legacy I leave to you. I don’t give gifts like those of this world. Do not let your heart be troubled or fearful. You were listening when I said, ‘I will go away, but I will also return to be with you’. If you love Me, celebrate the fact that I am going to be with the Father because He is far greater than I am. I have told you all these things in advance so that your faith will grow as these things come to pass.”

Fear happened when Eden fell. Adam and Eve were so fearful, they tried to hide from God! I suspect a lot of us do that today as well–as if we don’t want God to know our fear and the dumb stuff we do! But that is exactly what God DOES NOT WANT US TO DO! You see, the main goal of fear is to keep us from God’s plan for our lives! So don’t embrace it, and for heaven’s sake, don’t allow it to win! The strength of God is in each one of us so go ahead, PUNCH FEAR IN THE FACE! If anything should be afraid, it should be fear itself because fear is the devil and he will NEVER WIN against our Holy God. Hallelujah – AMEN!