Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Don’t fret; it leads only to evildoing.
Psalm 37:8 (emphasis added)

Fretting is fine on a ukulele, but terrible for your soul. A fret is any of the thin strips (usually some kind of metal) that sit laterally at specific positions along the neck (or fretboard) of a stringed instrument. They stretch across the full width of the neck. Their purpose is to divide the instruments into fixed segments which represent one full semitone. This is how the player knows where to put their fingers to get specific notes to play. It’s a verb – or it gets used as one – that means pressing down the string behind a fret. Fretting is then the system of their placement.

It’s funny. If you don’t place your fingers on the right segments, you won’t get the right notes. Without the frets, it would be a total guessing game. Without the frets to mark your path, you would not be able to easily make music. The frets are the map. The frets are the framework. The frets are the boundaries and the border of the music. So frets are important. And frets CANNOT be ignored if you want success in what you do.

Like much in life, this musical lesson is very applicable to our spiritual life. If we want to function well, we need to have frets to boundary and border our lives. The Word gives us guidance and lays down our paths. It is a trusted road. “For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). “But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth’”” (Matthew 4:4). It is the frets by which we can be obedient, because we always know the will of the Father when we follow the Word.

Today’s verse warns against anger. Anger is a feeling that we often choose to emote. It is considered one of the typical feelings of thinking beings. In fact, the world paints it as positive and useful when expressed appropriately. The world says it is normal. The world says you can learn to control it. To express angry feelings in an assertive manner – respectful of yourself and others, making clear what your needs are without hurting others. The world says this is healthy and good for you. They suggest regular exercise, learning relaxation techniques, and counselling.

However, doctors also agree that the long-term physical effects of anger include increased anxiety, high blood pressure, and headache. Naturally, they say that only uncontrolled anger causes this. ‘Unmanaged’ anger has been linked to: headache, digestion problems (such as abdominal pain), insomnia, increased anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, skin problems (like eczema), heart attack, and stroke. The reason is the constant flood of stress chemicals and associated metabolic changes that go with that ‘unmanaged’ anger. One of the key things that you use to manage it is to recognise and accept that the feeling of anger is normal and part of life and can be healthily emoted.

The Word disagrees. “A fool vents all of his anger, but a wise man brings himself under control” (Proverbs 29:11). “So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; for the anger of man doesn’t produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:29-20). What’s the solution? Relaxation? Exercise? Accepting it as ‘normal’? No. James goes on: “Therefore, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21). Anger is not a positive thing. Anger is not a useful thing. Just because we FEEL anger does not mean we have to CHOOSE anger. We can choose love instead. Love isn’t an emotion of fuzzy wuzzy huggies. Love is a choice to enter in and project the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-24).

The only ‘anger’ that is acceptable is righteous indignation. The God-given energy of upsetedness over unrighteousness, injustice, and defiled worship of the Lord Most High. It is always a defence of others and the principles of the Kingdom – as directed by the Lord. It is never self-centred, self-defence, or done under one’s own steam – this includes anger at injustice done against yourself. Righteous anger is always outward and ALWAYS at the direction of the Lord. We see it when sin offends the Lord (Psalm 7:11). We see it when Jesus sees the hardening of the hearts of those around him (Mark 3:5). We see it when the temple is twice desecrated and Jesus takes a stand for right worship (Matthew 21:2-7 & John 2:14-17).

Anger becomes a sin when fear gets involved. Pride is a form of fear, which makes prideful anger a sin (James 1:20). Anger keeps us from being obedient to God (1 Corinthians 10:31). He commanded us to love one another (John 13:34). But as we saw in Proverbs 29:11, angry speech is a poison common to man. That is one reason why we MUST put down the flesh. “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if it is so that the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if any man doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if you live after the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are children of God. For you didn’t receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”” (Romans 8:9-15).

If we choose to be consistently anxious or worried, we are fretting. If we dwell on our anger, we are fretting. Whenever we do things that feed into fear-based behaviours and feelings, we are fretting. Whenever we do things that take us in the opposite direction of the Lord, we are fretting. We are placing boundaries and borders around our thoughts that have nothing to do with God. We are limiting our thinking. We are limiting our walk with the Lord. Worse, we can be separating ourselves from Him. Because He IS PEACE (1 Corinthians 14:33). He IS LOVE (1 John 4:7). When we are born again, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us (1 Corinthians 3:16). We get resurrected from our state of sin into the resurrection of Jesus, gaining His righteous spirit in place of our dead one (1 Peter 2:24, Romans 8:10, 1 Corinthians 6:11). We do not have a spirit of anger or a spirit of fear.

Since we do not have these spirits, we have a choice. Do we listen to the feelings that have risen up, or do we listen to our spirit and the Holy Spirit? Do we agree with what the Lord God says about us as revealed in His Word, or do we agree with what the world says is our lot in life? “For God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7). Self-control is the restraint exercised over one’s own impulses, emotions, or desires. We have been given self-control by the Lord God Almighty. Since we can CHOOSE to restrain our feelings, we can CHOOSE to be angry or CHOOSE not to be. It can feel hard. But that isn’t real. What is real is the Word and the Word says “Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness” (Isaiah 41:10). “But I will sing of your strength. Yes, I will sing aloud of your loving kindness in the morning. For you have been my high tower, a refuge in the day of my distress” (Psalm 59:16).

We do not have to emote anger. Feeling it is certainly natural. Wanting to vent it is normal. But we have self-control. We have a spirit of righteousness inside us. We have the Holy Spirit within us. We can rely on the Lord. We can stand on the Word. We can choose to deny anger a place. We can take that feeling and stab it with the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of the Lord. This is NOT hanging onto it. This is NOT bottling it up. This is refusing to let it cross the threshold and gain entrance to our mind, emotions, heart, or spirit. It can go packing to the cross and whine over there. No one will be impressed with it’s hissy fit. We can stand on the Word and declare our peace. We can declare the Lord is our fortress and lifts us above all our troubles. When we are not IN the troubles, we won’t be buffeted by their emotional feelings. In the boat, not in the storm. Secure and safe and self-controlled by the power of the Word and the strength of HIS testimony (Revelation 12:11).

If we choose anger, if we vent wrath, if we dwell on worry and anxiety, we are mediating on thoughts, feelings, and choosing emotions that lead to behaviours that are antithetical to God’s morals, words, and teaching. If we won’t live in faith, by faith, and through faith, we will sin. It is only by the manifested obedience that is faith which keeps us on the path the Lord lays out for us. The Lord tells us what to do, where to go, what to say, and how to say it. When we are obedient IN ALL THINGS (Acts 13:22), we are after God’s own heart. THAT is an epitaph I would like to have. Wouldn’t you? First step: put away anger. Fret with the Word, not with feelings.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: Psalm 23:6

Seed time and harvest. You’ve heard it before. What about Ecclesiastes 11:6? In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening don’t withhold your hand; for you don’t know which will prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both will be equally good. That’s a good reminder that seeding is a process, not an instant gratification. The enemy dreamed up instant gratification as a desperate gamble to keep you out of seeding. Worked with Adam. Works for us too, unfortunately. Because seeding is an awesome responsibility. It’s easy when we know what we want to seed for. Financial security for example. If we’re seeding in faith, we need to keep our faith up for it. Prospering spiritually as we seed so that when the harvest comes in we can handle it in a way God approves of. And there are lessons that God wants to teach us at every level of seeding that we do. Remember, we are blessed in order to be a blessing so sowing for it should never stop. But what about big things? Non-material things? How do we sow for that? Jesus tells us that we can store up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21). Do we even have somewhere to store things in heaven? Do we need to seed for that? No. That one is so important that the Lord Himself seeded for it. He did it before the foundation of the world. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been killed (Revelation 13:8). Spiritually, Jesus died on the cross before creation in order for the seed of our redemption to be planted. It grew and grew all through the Old Testament and God continued seeding into it with His faith and speaking through the prophets so that we could add our faith to His. By the time Jesus was born there was so much faith for the redemption of humanity that all of hell couldn’t stop it. God loves you so much He seeded for your place in Heaven. He has kept seeding His faith that you will be there all this time. And will keep it up until you get there. There is a place for every human being that has ever been born. As you look around the world, why not join your faith with His and seed some into the expectation of God’s trustworthiness in making a place for everyone – and that the ministers of the harvest will rise up so that everyone will GET to their place in heaven. Amen.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.