Fear Your Fear of Man

Article by Marshall Segal

If we knew how dangerous the fear of man really is, we might fear men less and fear our fears more. Other sins have beset me in my walk with Christ over the years, but few have so consistently eluded my radar like this one.

The fear of man often goes undiagnosed and unaddressed because of its subtlety. This fear knows how to wrap itself in the robes of love, pretending to count others more significant than itself, while secretly counting on others to fan the flame of its own conceit. The fear of man proudly proof-texts its weakness for people-pleasing: “I try to please everyone in everything I do” (1 Corinthians 10:33). But it quietly refuses to finish the sentence: “. . . not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved” (1 Corinthians 10:33). We often fail to confront, or even recognize, the fear of man, because it so often looks like love, and too many of us love to look loving.

But blow away the rose-colored smoke and break through all our favorite mirrors, and we find the fear of man is not the nice friend we thought it was. For all its subtlety, the fear of man is desperate, vicious, even cruel. Pretending to be love, it blinds us to love, even to Love himself.

Blinding Glory

Perhaps no text exposes the danger of the fear of man like Jesus’s warning to the religious rulers of his day:

I do not receive glory from people. But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. . . . How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? (John 5:41–42, 44)

He was warning a crowd of Jews who were furious because he had healed a man, even though the man had been disabled for nearly forty years. The crowd was so furious, in fact, that they wanted to kill him (John 5:18). While he healed the sick, the possessed, and the blind in droves, his own people could not see just how blind they really were.

Why did some fail to recognize and treasure the Son of God? Why did they consistently miss what it means to love our neighbors? What motivated them to eventually murder the Author of life? Jesus says, at the root, they received glory from one another and despised the glory that comes from God. Because they feared man, they could not believe Jesus. They listened to Love, and heard hatred. They looked at Safety, and saw danger. They stood before Joy, and felt misery. They were offered Life, and preferred death.

“We must find our refuge, not in the praise and approval of one another, but in the arms and heart of heaven.”

The scariest part about these man-fearers, though, is just how immersed they were in Scripture. Jesus laments, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:39–40). They searched the Old Testament Scriptures, likely far more than many of us do, and yet the fire of revelation did not burn off the fear of man. They were searching for glory, but not the glory of God. They prove that we can be at home in the Bible and yet still in bed with sin. And few mistresses corrupt and manipulate like the fear of man.

Subtle and Deadly

The fear of man is a repeated theme and warning throughout Scripture, but the phrase itself is used only once, in Proverbs 29:25: “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” While this is not the only verse about the fear of man, these few words are packed with help for discerning and fighting it.

The fear of man lays a snare, which teaches us two important lessons: the sin relies on disguise, and it intends to harm. When King Saul wanted to destroy David, he gave him his daughter Michal as a wife if David would kill a hundred Philistines. Saul said to himself, “Let me give her to him, that she may be a snare for him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him” (1 Samuel 18:21). Saul meant to kill David (1 Samuel 18:25). So, the fearful, self-absorbed king laid a snare (his own daughter!) under a thin veil of love and kindness, not knowing he had already fallen headlong into the greater, more deadly snare: the fear of man.

What happens next illustrates the awful harm the fear of man can do to a man. David kills not one hundred, but two hundred Philistines, and claims his bride. “When Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him, Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy continually” (1 Samuel 18:28–29). He was even more afraid. As with any other sin, if we feed the fear of man, it will not leave our table. It will eat away at everything — relationships, budgets, schedules, ministries, convictions, and sleep — until we perish or put it to death.

And how do we perish? How does the fear of man ruin a man? Notice, “Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David” (1 Samuel 18:28), and yet he still could not surrender or submit. Instead, he opposed and threatened David continually (1 Samuel 18:29). Because Saul feared man more than God, he set himself against God, and nothing could be more deranged or dangerous than making war with God.

Big Enough to Fear

That war against God brings us back to our proverb: “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” We know that the fear of man is subtle and seeks to harm, but Proverbs 29:25 tells us more than that. It also tells us how to be healed. The only remedy for this tyranny is a deep, abiding, and growing trust in God. We must find our refuge, not in the praise and approval of one another, but in the arms and heart of heaven. And we must fear him more than we fear them.

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
     that one may turn away from the snares of death. (Proverbs 14:27)

The fears are many and varied that lead to death, but one fear is a deep and overflowing fountain of security, stability, and joy. The fear of the Lord is the only fear that breeds peace, and not just any peace, but a peace that surpasses all of our meager ideas of peace (Philippians 4:7).

“Woe to us if we tremble before criticism and yawn before the cross.”

If God is small, peripheral, and relatively harmless, the shadows in the eyes of others will haunt us. Their expectations will corner us. Their disappointment will crush us. Their anger will undo us. To be free from the enslaving fear of others, God has to be big — bigger than their expectations, bigger than their disappointments, bigger than their anger, big enough to fear.

Let Him Be Your Dread

How could fear ever make us feel safe? How does the fear of the Lord conquer our fear of man? The prophet Isaiah begins to explain how:

Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he will become a sanctuary. (Isaiah 8:12–14)

Only when God becomes our greatest fear can he become our safest place. Let him be your fear, let him be your dread, honor him alone as holy, and he will become a sanctuary — a refuge from danger, a haven from wrath, a shelter in any storm.

The apostle Peter later picks up these verses when he writes to persecuted Christians, “Even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy” (1 Peter 3:14–15). To cure the fear of man, we must see the Christ who died for us as fearfully and wonderfully holy. To stop fearing wrongly, we must start fearing rightly. Again, Peter says,

Conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. (1 Peter 1:17–19)

Have no fear of men, but instead, live among men with a holy, trusting, even joyful fear of God. Don’t fall into the same snare that the Jews of Jesus’s day fell into, mistaking the Lamb’s wounds for weakness. Nothing we might fear is as powerful as this blood. No power of hell, nor praise of man, can compare with the staggering, even frightening, splendor of his majesty. Jesus is the dreadful King and Judge who has become a sanctuary — for all who believe and fear. Woe to us if we tremble before criticism and yawn before the cross.

Fear More, Fear Less

As subtle as the fight against the fear of man may feel, so much hangs in the balance — our ability to see and savor Jesus, our boldness as his witnesses to a hostile world, our willingness to lovingly correct and exhort one another, our freedom to obey the will of heaven, whatever it might cost us on earth. And the fight will be won not mainly by analyzing the thoughts, intentions, and words of others, but by relentlessly exposing ourselves to the fearful wonder of our Father.

“Only when God becomes our greatest fear can he become our safest place.”

“All experiences of the fear of man,” Ed Welch writes, “share at least one common feature: people are big. They have grown to idolatrous proportions in our lives. They control us. Since there is no room in our hearts to worship both God and people, whenever people are big, God is not. Therefore, the first task in escaping the snare of the fear of man is to know that God is awesome and glorious, not other people” (When People Are Big and God Is Small, 95).

The first task is not to diminish other people — their desires, opinions, and expectations. Rather, the first task is to elevate God — his power and wisdom, his love and wrath. Let the bigness of God expose and quiet your fear of man, and then free you to love, really love, the people you are prone to fear.

Marshall Segal (@marshallsegal) is a writer and managing editor at desiringGod.org. He’s the author of Not Yet Married: The Pursuit of Joy in Singleness & Dating. He graduated from Bethlehem College & Seminary. He and his wife, Faye, have a son and live in Minneapolis.

Posted at: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/fear-your-fear-of-man

Overcome Your Fear of Others By Fearing God

Zach Schlegel 

They were trapped. On one side a massive Egyptian army coming after them, on the other side the Red Sea. Hundreds of thousands of people, young and old, had just left Egypt, but now it seemed their doom was sure.

“When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly…They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness”” (Exod. 14:10–12).

It’s not hard to relate to the Israelites here. As I write this, millions of people around the world are locked down in quarantine from the coronavirus. Many feel trapped: the threat of sickness, economic hardship, loneliness and uncertainty about tomorrow – it’s a recipe for fear. We all have Red Sea moments and would prefer to avoid them if we could. When we read through the account of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, the exit came with a dramatic display of 10 plagues: blood, frogs, flies, gnats, livestock die, and boils. Now God could’ve wiped out the Egyptians with one word. Why the plagues? What’s God up to? Before the seventh plague of hail, God instructs Moses to tell Pharaoh, “For this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth” (Exod. 9:16).

When Moses came to Pharaoh with the news it was time for him to let God’s people go, Egypt’s pompous ruler asked, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD” (Exod. 5:2). In his hubris, Pharaoh thought little of God, but the Exodus narrative shows how foolish he was to ignore the LORD. After Moses warned a seventh plague of hail was coming, he added a merciful warning to shelter man and beast lest they be killed. Their response? “Whoever feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses” (Exod. 9:20). Those who feared God, obeyed what He commanded.

In Scripture, fear is more than feeling terrified. The fear of man certainly includes that, but it also means revering people, needing them, or valuing their opinion so much that our decisions end up being controlled by them. We obey what we fear. We fear failure, over commit, get defensive, avoid risks, compare, envy, or twist the truth often because of what others will think of us.

Pharaoh didn’t fear God, he feared people. Perhaps he thought, “The Israelites have been our servants for over 400 years; I’m not about to be the one responsible for losing them. The cost of losing slave labor would be disastrous to our economy! I’m not about to let this Israelite deity threaten me, I’m Pharaoh!” Desperate to have others see Him as important, powerful and in control, Pharaoh hardened his heart and paid the price.

The sad irony is that when the people of God were pinned up against the Red Sea, they had the same problem Pharaoh did: the fear of man. I’m not saying they weren’t in a tough spot – I’d probably be shaking in my boots given the situation – but remember what they’d witnessed! The showdown between God and Pharaoh, his magicians, and his gods was a joke! God isn’t threatened when the nations rage, He laughs (Ps 2:4). With a mighty hand (Exod. 3:19), God delivered His people from a powerful nation that had enslaved them. When they left, it was Egypt shaking in fear, not Israel! If they could’ve remembered who was on their side, they could’ve laughed at the enemy instead of panic.

The ten plagues in Exodus 7-12 show us the glory of God. When God passed through the land of Egypt during the last plague God said, “on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD” (Exod. 12:12). All the idols of this world are nothing (1 Cor 8:4): “They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them” (Ps. 115:5-8). God is different than man-made idols. He is the living God who sees our plight, hears our cries, moves mountains, and saves (Exod. 2:24-25).

Our problem, like the Israelites, is we tend to focus on that which worries us such that we lose sight of God, fall into fear, and let it control us, not God. Our Red Sea moments remind us the iron bars of fear exist because of a myopic view of God (see 2 Pet 1:9). I imagine if we could look back on today when Christ comes back on the final day, we’ll ask, “Why was I afraid?”

Pinned up against the Red Sea, all Israel had to do was remember God’s promise to get them to the land flowing with milk and honey (Exod. 3:8) and the greatness of God revealed in their Exodus. Because God doesn’t change, the God who parted the Red Sea, is our God. We may not have Pharaoh breathing down our neck, but our Red Sea moments aren’t reasons to fear, they’re opportunities to see what God can do. We may not know what or when He will act, but we need to hear what Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD” (Exod. 14:13a). The clearer we see God, the less we will fear man (Prov. 14:26).

Knowing how prone the people of God are to forget, God instituted the Passover meal as a means to remember and bolster faith (Exod. 12). When future generations would celebrate this feast and ask ‘What does this mean?’ They were to answer, “By a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery” (Exod. 13:14).

In the same way, when we struggle with fear God has given us a meal to remember and bolster our faith (1 Cor 11:23-25). When we remember Christ, our Passover lamb (1 Cor. 5:7) we’re reminded of a second exodus. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, our mighty God delivered us from sin, Satan and death. With our King firmly fixed in our heart and mind, we’re able to say, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?” (Ps. 56:3–4)

Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared at the blog for Credo Magazine and is used with permission.

Posted at: https://ftc.co/resource-library/blog-entries/overcome-your-fear-of-others-by-fearing-god/

CHRISTIANS LIVE TO PLEASE GOD ALONE

by Katie Faris 

Do you ever read a verse in the Bible and associate it with a particular time in your life? I read certain verses, and I immediately picture myself among a circle of teenagers memorizing Scripture for Sunday school under the encouragement of godly teachers. Or I remember a crisis with my children and how God used a Bible passage to illuminate truth and provide comfort in a specific and personal way. God used a friend and Galatians 1:10 to unpack a spiritual principle for me in my teen years that has been so helpful.

We were walking uphill as my friend recited, “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Gal 1:10). My friend struggled with an eating disorder, and one of her high school sports coaches recognized its impacts on her health. He happened to be a Christian, and in a compassionate way, he sought not only to care for her physical health, but he also brought this verse to speak to her heart. It was in this season of struggle that God placed her on a path of both physical and spiritual healing.

My friend’s coach helped diagnose the root issue of her battle as a heart tendency that is common to many of us. My friend cared about the “approval of man.” She cared so much about what others thought about her—or she perceived them as thinking—, that it impacted how she treated her own body.

God used this friend’s story to help me see what the ESV Study Bible note says about this verse: “Paul poses two absolutely incompatible goals: pleasing man, or pleasing God. There is no possibility of combining the two.”[1] The very act of conversion opposes “pleasing man.” When we become servants of Christ, it’s impossible to please man any longer. If our goal is to please man, we would never become Christians in the first place.

Jesus said something similar, “You cannot serve God and money.”[2] It’s impossible to serve two masters. “Either [you] will hate the one and love the other, or [you] will be devoted to the one and despise the other” (Matt. 6:24). It’s never “serve God plus something else.”

Perhaps this is the first time you’ve considered this, and you’re not sure whether or not man-pleasing is a struggle for you. Then ask yourself the same question that Paul asks, “Or am I trying to please man?” Maybe some of these questions will help you:

• Do you get upset because you feel like your spouse doesn’t appreciate you?

• Are you concerned what other people will think if your child misbehaves in public?

• Are you worried about your performance and what it reflects about you?

• How do you handle negative criticism?

Our answers to these questions may reveal whether or not we’re man-pleasers. Paul’s words about work in Colossians are especially helpful in diagnosing this issue. He tells slaves—think labor force, in our day—not to work by “…way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” (Col 3:22b-24).

Christians live to serve Jesus. With sincere hearts, they fear the Lord. Regardless of their occupation, if they work to him, he will reward them.

The phrase “fear the Lord” reminds me of something my husband Scott used to tell our sons when they were younger. Before bed, he would say, “Fear God, not man.” We do well to speak these words to our own hearts: “Fear God, not man.”

Proverbs tell us that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Prov 9:10). If we begin with God’s holiness, majesty, and power, then other things—and people—in our lives take their proper place. If we truly fear the Lord, the thoughts and opinions of others won’t matter nearly as much as what God thinks of us and our actions. If we live to please God, we no longer primarily live to please other people.

So my question is, why do we still try to please both God and man? What’s functioning inside of us when this happens? Hopefully drawing attention to it will help us recognize this temptation when it comes and better equip us to resist it.

The story of Israel throughout the Old Testament tells of a people who were called, chosen, and redeemed by God. Nevertheless, they repeatedly wandered from him and exchanged worship of the true God for the worship of idols.

Our hearts are also prone to wander and quick to worship idols, including the idol of approval. When we care more about pleasing others than we do about pleasing God, we’re actually worshiping a false god; in the context of the book of Galatians, a false gospel is at work.

The enemy of our souls knows our tendency to worship what is false, and more than once, Paul tells us to be aware of our enemy’s tactics:

• “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith…” (1 Pet 5:8-9a).

• Again, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Eph 6:11).

When we recognize and acknowledge that living for the approval of others is actually a form of sin, we’re better equipped to resist it with biblical truth. The truth about living to please others is that we’ll always fall short. We’ll eventually fail. We’ll never be good enough. Living this way is unsatisfying and leaves us always questioning ourselves and concerned about what others think. It’s elusive, a chasing after the wind.

On the other hand, if we as believers embrace the fact that we’ll never fundamentally be able to please others, it frees us to live completely for Jesus. As Paul says later in Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20).

There’s good news when we’re tempted to live for man’s approval. Here, too, the gospel meets our everyday lives. Yes, all sin is serious, but God’s grace is always greater. In a different letter, Paul reminds us that:

“No temptation has seized [us] that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry” (1 Cor. 10:13-14).

God is faithful to provide a way of escape. We flee the idol of man-pleasing by turning our eyes and gazing on Christ. Our beautiful Savior gave his life on the cross to rescue and redeem us from all of our sins. He is patient with us, and his kindness leads us to repentance.[3] When we confess our people-pleasing tendencies to him, he is faithful to forgive and cleanse us.[4]

We need to stop pretending that we can live for the approval of both God and man. If we think we can please both, we’re deceived. It’s Christ and Christ alone.

[1] ESV Study Bible, p. 2246

[2] Matt. 6:24

[3] Rom 2:4

[4] 1 Jn 1:9

You Must Disappoint Someone : How to Say No to Good Things

Article by  Jon Bloom Staff writer, desiringGod.org

Why do you spend your time doing what you do? Why do you say yes to doing some things and no to doing other things? Are you saying yes and no to the right things? These are unnerving, exposing questions to ask.

Most of us would like to believe we say yes and no to our time commitments based on objective, logical assessments of what appears most important. But that is very often not the case. Very often we make these decisions based on subjective assessments of what we believe others will think of us if we do or don’t do them.

“Who are you unwilling to disappoint?”

How other people perceive us — or how we think they’ll perceive us — has an extraordinary influence on how we choose to use our time. Coming to terms with ways we seek people’s approval or fear their disapproval will force us to face humbling truths about ourselves and may require repentance and uncomfortable change.

But given how brief our lives are, and how limited our energy and other resources are, we need to heed what God says to each one of us through the apostle Paul:

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5:15–17)

And one way to carefully examine our use of time and energy is to invite the Holy Spirit to search our hearts and see if and where we are inordinately influenced to say yes or no out of a fear of man.

A Surprisingly Clarifying Question

I attended a conference recently where ministry leaders on a panel were asked to describe how they remain focused on their core calling while deluged with demands. One of the speakers posed this question to us: “Who are you willing to disappoint?”

At first this might seem like a negative and perhaps unloving way to decide what we should or shouldn’t do. But it really isn’t. It’s actually a clarifying question. It isn’t asking us who are the people we will choose not to love. It’s asking us what we are really pursuing in our time commitments. Whose approval are we seeking? God’s? Other people’s? Of those, whose?

I think this is what Jesus was getting at with Martha in Luke 10:38–42. Martha was “distracted with much serving” (Luke 10:40). I imagine nearly everyone in her home that day thought she was doing a good thing. Martha herself thought this, which is why she requested Jesus’s support in exhorting Mary to get busy helping. She didn’t seem to be aware of her own motivations. But Jesus was. He saw the deeper motivations in both Martha and Mary.

Martha was “anxious and troubled about many things” (Luke 10:41). Martha’s time commitment was being motivated by anxiety, not love. Given the context, it’s reasonable to assume her anxiety stemmed from what all her houseguests would think of her if she stopped waiting on them and did what Mary was doing.

Mary had “chosen the good portion” (Luke 10:42). Superficial observers of the situation might have concluded Martha chose the good portion and Mary was being inconsiderate. I would guess Mary felt this irony. She knew Martha very well. I imagine she knew she was disappointing Martha by listening to Jesus instead of helping serve the guests. But in that moment, Mary was more willing to disappoint Martha than to disappoint Jesus. And Jesus commended her.

The exposing question for Martha was, who was she willing to disappoint?

We Serve Those We’re Unwilling to Disappoint

And that’s the question for us too: who are we willing to disappoint? Or, who are we unwilling to disappoint?

We all choose to serve those we’re unwilling to disappoint. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, though it certainly can be a bad thing. God actually designed us to function this way. He made us to be motivated by what we love, and we always fear to disappoint the one(s) we love.Now, I know the apostle John said, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). But he was addressing a different kind of fear, the fear of “punishment” or condemnation. John meant that God’s children no longer need to live in terror of God’s wrath.

But perfect love does indeed produce a certain kind of fear:

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 10:12)

This kind of fear is not merely the terror of wrath, but the fear we have when we don’t want to disappoint the one(s) we really love. The kind of fear that “serve(s) the Lord with gladness” (Psalm 100:2) is the fear that comes from the thought of disappointing the one we treasure most. We fear to lose the treasure.

Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve

But serving those we’re unwilling to disappoint can be a very bad thing, even a tyrannical thing, if our loves are idolatrous. If, whether out of anxiety, selfish ambition, narcissism, or some other sinful love, we are motivated by someone else’s approval over God’s approval, our service can become our destruction.

And the thing is, like Martha, we might not be fully cognizant of our own motives. We might think we’re doing good things when we’re not. One indicator to look at is how often we feel “anxious and troubled.” Notice I didn’t say “weary.” It’s clear from the New Testament that a heavy workload, and even suffering and persecution, can be given to us by God. But an anxious, troubled spirit might mean what’s motivating our busyness are efforts to please the wrong persons.

“Life is too short, and God too precious, to give our years and our strength to the fear of man.”

If that’s true, we’re likely due for a reevaluation of our time commitments. We should ask the Holy Spirit to search our hearts and try our thoughts (Psalm 139:23). We should ask ourselves the hard question: who are we willing to disappoint? Or who are we unwilling to disappoint? Are we unwilling to disappoint God? Are we unwilling to disappoint others? Are we unwilling to disappoint our own selfish preferences? These questions can help us untangle motivational knots.

And if we’re tempted to avoid facing the answers, let’s remember that life is too short and God is too precious to give our years and our strength to the fear of man. Joshua exhorts us from the ancient past: “Choose this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15). Let’s respond with him, “We will serve the Lord” with all our heart and soul in the gladness of love-inspired fear (Deuteronomy 10:12; Psalm 100:2).

Jon Bloom (@Bloom_Jon) serves as author, board chair, and co-founder of Desiring God. He is author of three books, Not by Sight, Things Not Seen, and Don’t Follow Your Heart. He and his wife live in the Twin Cities with their five children.

Originally posted here: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/you-must-disappoint-someone

Psalm 118 A Remedy for the Fear of Man

Psalm 118:1-4

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

His love endures forever.

Let Israel say:

“His love endures forever.”

Let the house of Aaron say:

“His love endures forever.”

Let those who fear the Lord say:

“His love endures forever.”

Think about the amazing gift of God’s love.  It is not His rejection and wrath that last forever. When God looks at His children, those who have trusted in Christ as their Lord and Savior, He sees us clothed in Christ’s holiness and righteousness.  When we are in Christ, when we are united in Him by faith, God loves us like He loves His own Son.

His love endures forever.  (Not the love of friends or those who we try so desperately to get approval from.  Only His love is forever.)

His love endures forever.  (God’s love will never change.  There is nothing we can do to make God love us more.  And there is nothing we can do to make God love us less.  God’s love is about Him, not us!)

His love endures forever.  (God’s love doesn’t change.  God’s love is not based on our performance or anything we do or don’t do.  God’s love is about what Christ has already done on the cross.)

His love endures forever.  (It is possible to lose the love of friends, parents, spouses, boyfriends and girlfriends, but God’s love will never end.  It is forever!)

Are you resting in the love of God or are you chasing after a lesser love from other people?

Adapted from a booklet by Amy Baker