{"id":2436,"date":"2024-07-11T11:48:30","date_gmt":"2024-07-11T15:48:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/?p=2436"},"modified":"2024-07-11T11:48:30","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T15:48:30","slug":"are-you-letting-fear-control-your-life-dont-be-terrified","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/are-you-letting-fear-control-your-life-dont-be-terrified\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You Letting Fear Control Your Life? Don’t Be Terrified!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Photo by Kiwihug<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Every day, voices tells us to be terrified \u2013 \u201cwhat if this happens?\u201d \u201cHow will we survive that?\u201d Listen to God: \u201cDon\u2019t walk in the way of this people. Don\u2019t be terrified!\u201d<\/p>\n

Scripture:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/h3>\n \ Isaiah, chapters 8-10; Hebrews, chapter 8<\/p>\n Isaiah 8:11-15 (CEB):<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n**** ** The Lord spoke to me, taking hold of me and warning me not to walk in the way of this people: \u201cDon\u2019t call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy. Don\u2019t fear what they fear, and don\u2019t be terrified. It is the Lord of heavenly forces whom you should hold sacred, whom you should fear, and whom you should hold in awe.<\/em><\/p>\n ** ****God will become a sanctuary \u2013 but he will be a stone to trip over and a rock to stumble on for the two houses of Israel; a trap and a snare for those living in Jerusalem. Many of them will stumble and fall, and be broken, snared, and captured.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Observations:<\/strong> Don\u2019t Walk in the Way of this People; Don\u2019t Fear what They\u00a0<\/em>Fear \u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/h3>\n Chapter 8 begins with a prophecy of the coming judgment against Aram and Samaria. Those two nations allied against Judah; God had promised Judah that they would not succeed (see Isaiah 7:16<\/a>). Chapter 8 begins with a continuation of that promise. God tells Isaiah that before his newborn son knew how to say \u2018my father\u2019 and \u2018my mother,\u2019 Assyria would conquer both Aram and Samaria.<\/p>\n But that judgment would also \u201csplash over\u201d onto Judah, as a warning against its people. \u201cIt [the floodwaters of the Euphrates, the king of Assyria] will sweep into Judah, flooding, overflowing, and reaching up to the neck\u201d (Isaiah 8:7-8<\/a>). The then-current king of Judah, Ahaz, was not walking in the ways of his father Jotham and his grandfather Uzziah. God warned the people of the judgment that would come if they didn\u2019t change their ways.<\/p>\n And he warned Isaiah not to walk in the way of this people.<\/em> What was their way<\/em>? Looking everywhere for conspiracies, living in fear and terror. Why? Because they trusted in themselves and their own ways. God pointed Isaiah in the right direction: It is the Lord of the heavenly forces whom you should hold sacred, whom you should fear, and whom you should hold in awe.<\/em><\/p>\n Application:<\/strong> Don\u2019t Fear what They Fear, and Don\u2019t Be Terrified<\/em><\/h3>\n Last year when we came to this passage on the schedule, I reflected specifically on God\u2019s warning against fixating on conspiracies (\u201cDon\u2019t Call Everything a Conspiracy<\/a>\u201d). I think our culture has gone even further into that conspiracy-mania than before. We are deeply polarized. Each faction sees conspiracies in everything that the other faction does. Meanwhile, those of us between the two factions grow more and more disgusted at it all. God\u2019s challenge to Isaiah resonates with me: Don\u2019t call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy. Don\u2019t fear what they fear, and don\u2019t be terrified.<\/em><\/p>\n Don\u2019t Be Terrified<\/em><\/h3>\n*********** ** ***********I\u2019m particularly focused on the word terrified<\/em>, because so much of our political \u201cdiscourse\u201d has devolved into fear-mongering about the \u201cother side.\u201d I intentionally watch less and less television news these days, because so much of the \u201cdiscussion\u201d is simply a recitation of reasons to be afraid of what \u201cthe other side\u201d stands for. I believe that most of America is not<\/strong> terrified. Are they completely unconcerned? No. Do they not care who is elected to lead us? Of course they do. But experience has shown us that no matter how bad the predictions of impending doom, things never turn out as bad as the \u201cprophets of doom\u201d have proclaimed.<\/p>\n Particularly as followers of Jesus, nothing in this world should \u201cterrify\u201d us.\u00a0\u201cDon\u2019t be afraid of those who kill the body but can\u2019t kill the soul. Instead, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell\u201d (Matthew 10:28<\/a>). The broader context of Scripture tells us that this \u201cfear\u201d of God is not \u201cterror,\u201d especially not for those who walk in His way. \u201cThere is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear expects punishment. The person who is afraid has not been made perfect in love. We love because God first loved us\u201d (1 John 4:18-19<\/a>).<\/p>\n Don\u2019t Be Terrified; Trust God<\/em><\/h3>\n************* ** Perfect love drives out fear. God\u2019s love is perfect, and he imparts that love to us. As we grow in His love, He enables us to love others more perfectly. And because His love is perfect, we can trust Him.<\/strong> God is in control. Trust God! He guards us against the terrors of this world.<\/p>\n ** *************We fear because we believe that everything depends on us. Deep down, we know that we can\u2019t save ourselves. The more unsure we are, the more afraid we become, because it seems as though the situation is hopeless.\u00a0 But for those who trust in God, no situation is hopeless<\/strong>, because our hope is not in this world or its systems. My eternal destiny is far more important than what happens in this world, and my eternal destiny does not depend on any<\/strong> earthly leader, law, or election!<\/p>\n Don\u2019t Walk in the Way of This People<\/em><\/h3>\n*************** ** That doesn\u2019t mean that I can ignore political or cultural matters. As a citizen of this country, I have an obligation to be aware of issues, and to participate in whatever ways God leads me to. But the results do not depend on me; it is sheer arrogance to believe that I can control them. All that I can control \u2013 all that God calls me to control \u2013 is my obedience to Him. If I do what God directs me to do, I can trust Him with the results. That\u2019s why God says, \u201cDon\u2019t be terrified!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n ** ***************Prayer:<\/strong><\/p>\n Father, every day it seems that our \u201cleaders\u201d are using fear to try to motivate us to do what they want (\u201cDo Not Be Afraid<\/a>\u201d). Thank you for reminding us not to \u201cwalk in the way of this people.\u201d Our trust is in you, and we know that you do all things well. Your focus is on preparing us for your eternal kingdom. Guard us against the arrogance that would claim that our way is your way; remind us that you call us to follow your way. As Abraham Lincoln said, we\u2019re not concerned that God is on our side; our concern is that we are on God\u2019s side. Help us to listen to you each day. Lead us to walk in your way each day, and to not allow the fear-mongers to distract us from following Jesus. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Every day, voices tells us to be terrified \u2013 \u201cwhat if this happens?\u201d \u201cHow will we survive that?\u201d Listen to God: \u201cDon\u2019t walk in the way of this people. Don\u2019t be terrified!\u201d Scripture:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Isaiah, chapters 8-10; Hebrews, chapter 8 Isaiah 8:11-15 (CEB): The Lord spoke to me, taking hold of me and warning me not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4741,"featured_media":2433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[300],"tags":[1746,983,1749,521,623,1743],"class_list":["post-2436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spiritual-formation","tag-dont-be-terrified","tag-dont-trust-in-powerful-people","tag-dont-walk-in-their-way","tag-faith","tag-fear","tag-terror"],"yoast_head":"\nAre You Letting Fear Control Your Life? Don't Be Terrified!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Every day, terror surrounds us. "What if this happens?" Listen to God: "Don't walk in the way of this people. Don't be terrified!"\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/are-you-letting-fear-control-your-life-dont-be-terrified\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are You Letting Fear Control Your Life? Don't Be Terrified!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Every day, terror surrounds us. "What if this happens?" Listen to God: "Don't walk in the way of this people. Don't be terrified!"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/are-you-letting-fear-control-your-life-dont-be-terrified\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"My Journey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pastorrickrice\/about_work_and_education\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-07-11T15:48:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1540\/2024\/07\/kiwihug-P_GeWr5wNQc-unsplash-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"854\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rick Rice\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@DrRickRice\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rick Rice\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/are-you-letting-fear-control-your-life-dont-be-terrified\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/are-you-letting-fear-control-your-life-dont-be-terrified\/\",\"name\":\"Are You Letting Fear Control Your Life? Don't Be Terrified!\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-11T15:48:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-11T15:48:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/#\/schema\/person\/fcf8827bc25bf1bdcc20cc2cdca6d163\"},\"description\":\"Every day, terror surrounds us. \\\"What if this happens?\\\" Listen to God: \\\"Don't walk in the way of this people. Don't be terrified!\\\"\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/are-you-letting-fear-control-your-life-dont-be-terrified\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/are-you-letting-fear-control-your-life-dont-be-terrified\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/are-you-letting-fear-control-your-life-dont-be-terrified\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Are You Letting Fear Control Your Life? Don’t Be Terrified!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/\",\"name\":\"My Journey\",\"description\":\"Reflections on Scripture and my discipleship journey with Jesus\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/#\/schema\/person\/fcf8827bc25bf1bdcc20cc2cdca6d163\",\"name\":\"Rick Rice\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/df1478ca9a4a0eeffce528852ca2e9ba?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/df1478ca9a4a0eeffce528852ca2e9ba?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Rick Rice\"},\"description\":\"Rick Rice has a B.A. in Business Management from Olivet Nazarene University. He earned a J.D. degree from Notre Dame Law School and a Doctor of Ministry from Trinity Theological Seminary.\u00a0 He's a husband, father, pastor, lawyer, and follower of Jesus. He enjoys hiking, cycling, and golf.\u00a0\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pastorrickrice\/about_work_and_education\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrRickRice\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/author\/rrice\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Are You Letting Fear Control Your Life? Don't Be Terrified!","description":"Every day, terror surrounds us. \"What if this happens?\" Listen to God: \"Don't walk in the way of this people. Don't be terrified!\"","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/are-you-letting-fear-control-your-life-dont-be-terrified\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Are You Letting Fear Control Your Life? Don't Be Terrified!","og_description":"Every day, terror surrounds us. \"What if this happens?\" Listen to God: \"Don't walk in the way of this people. Don't be terrified!\"","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/are-you-letting-fear-control-your-life-dont-be-terrified\/","og_site_name":"My Journey","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pastorrickrice\/about_work_and_education","article_published_time":"2024-07-11T15:48:30+00:00","og_image":[{"width":854,"height":1280,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1540\/2024\/07\/kiwihug-P_GeWr5wNQc-unsplash-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Rick Rice","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@DrRickRice","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rick Rice","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/are-you-letting-fear-control-your-life-dont-be-terrified\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/are-you-letting-fear-control-your-life-dont-be-terrified\/","name":"Are You Letting Fear Control Your Life? Don't Be Terrified!","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-07-11T15:48:30+00:00","dateModified":"2024-07-11T15:48:30+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/#\/schema\/person\/fcf8827bc25bf1bdcc20cc2cdca6d163"},"description":"Every day, terror surrounds us. \"What if this happens?\" Listen to God: \"Don't walk in the way of this people. Don't be terrified!\"","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/are-you-letting-fear-control-your-life-dont-be-terrified\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/are-you-letting-fear-control-your-life-dont-be-terrified\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/2024\/07\/are-you-letting-fear-control-your-life-dont-be-terrified\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Are You Letting Fear Control Your Life? Don’t Be Terrified!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/","name":"My Journey","description":"Reflections on Scripture and my discipleship journey with Jesus","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/#\/schema\/person\/fcf8827bc25bf1bdcc20cc2cdca6d163","name":"Rick Rice","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/df1478ca9a4a0eeffce528852ca2e9ba?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/df1478ca9a4a0eeffce528852ca2e9ba?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Rick Rice"},"description":"Rick Rice has a B.A. in Business Management from Olivet Nazarene University. He earned a J.D. degree from Notre Dame Law School and a Doctor of Ministry from Trinity Theological Seminary.\u00a0 He's a husband, father, pastor, lawyer, and follower of Jesus. He enjoys hiking, cycling, and golf.\u00a0","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pastorrickrice\/about_work_and_education","https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrRickRice"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/author\/rrice\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4741"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/myjourney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}