Wednesday, January 26, 2021 Some material taken from Is Fear Good or Bad? It Depends
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other
beast of the field that the Lord God had made… But the serpent said to the
woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your
eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis
3:1;4-5
Fear: The Result of Sin
Fear and sin both have been around since the Garden of Eden. In fact, the birth of sin brought about the birth of fear. Before sin entered the world, there was nothing to fear. When we have sin in our lives, it creates a mountain of fear – fear of being found out, fear of consequences, fear of losing people or relationships we love and value. Somehow that same serpent that whispered to Eve in the Garden of Eden whispers to us too, telling us the same thing he told her. “Go ahead, it will be fine. You won’t die. No one will ever know. It‘s ok – you deserve it…”
Fear entered the world with sin. When God came looking for
Adam, he answered “I heard You in the garden,
and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” Genesis 3:10
For the first time in their lives, fear gripped the hearts of Adam and Eve
because of what they had lost and the One they had to face. They were afraid
because they immediately knew they had done the wrong thing because they did
what God had said not to do.
Adam and Eve’s fear arose from disobedience. When we have
sin and disobedience in our lives, fear almost always accompanies it, because we
know we have done wrong things. We know we have stepped outside the bounds of
God’s will and allowed sin into our lives. That doesn’t mean that God takes His
hand away from us, but it does mean we have made ourselves vulnerable to
consequences of sin.
Three results of sin that Adam experienced:
Death - Adam felt vulnerable for
the first time.
Outside of the bounds of God’s will we are not safe like we
are inside His will. Safety was lost outside of Eden. Once evicted from the
friendly confines of paradise, the man and woman were forced to face a world
fraught with danger and increasing hostility.
Our very human minds and bodies are all too aware of the
danger around us. Our understanding of our own weakness brings us much fear at
times. Knowing that we have put ourselves in a more vulnerable position creates fear.
Disconnection - Adam felt
vulnerable because he became separated from his Provider God. The death that he
experienced immediately after he sinned was the loss of his vital connection
with God. He knew he was at risk.
Anytime we involve ourselves in sinful behavior, we
disconnect ourselves from God. This disconnection can cause fear when we
realize what we have done. We feel even more vulnerable and alone. We have cut
ourselves off from God emotionally, relationally, and spiritually, just as Adam
had done.
Desperation - Adam lost control
of his world. He was banished from the Garden, estranged from his wife, alienated
from his God, and desperate to figure out how to survive in a hostile
environment.
Feeling out of control will strike fear in our hearts. We all
fear what we can’t control, and we all fear something happening to those we
love and cherish.
Sin causes all kinds of problems for us - it causes fear, disconnection, desperation, and even death. It always only offers momentary pleasure and empty promises. It is never worth the price we pay. Thankfully, we have a loving Heavenly Father who forgives, has mercy, and RESTORES. When we repent, He restores our connection with Him, calms our desperation, and gives eternal life.
In my distress I called upon the
LORD, and cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, And my
cry for help before Him came into His ears.
Psalms 18:
