This week.
Oh, my heart.
Too much.
Too much.
Bombings and pain,
displaced people,
grief and loss,
war and terror,
fear.
My husband was a Television and Radio major in college.
He had a professor of media who has had a long and illustrious career in the industry.
He shared with his class that the predominant emotion for the highest Nielson ratings or numbers of viewers
is
FEAR.
If it bleeds, it leads.
Here is a great article on fear and media, as well as other cited sources for further study.
The Bible has over 50 verses related to fear.
And there are two types.
The first type is the kind of fear that is encouraged.
And it is VERY specific.
We are encouraged to
fear the Lord our God.
The earliest translations are more related to wisdom and reverence of God, and that is certainly not something to be taken lightly, nor is it an excuse of being of lesser importance.
In fact, I would argue that it is a discipline we as Christians need to exercise more often.
The second type of fear mentioned in the Bible is
a spirit of fear.
And this type is wreaking havoc.
And it is NOT FROM GOD. (2 Timothy 1:7)
In fact, in the case of the 365 times the Bible says “fear not” in the Bible (King James allegedly only has 103), it is in reference to this second type of fear.
The type of fear that causes
anxiety
depression
anger
hatred
suspicion
pain
grief
broken relationships…
you get it.
I have dealt with levels of anxiety all of my life – and was even diagnosed with PTSD after the very scary birth of my firstborn.
A dear friend, mentor, and clinical psychologist encouraged me to chronicle how many times I felt fearful – the second type of fear – throughout any given day.
Have you ever tried this?
It was quite daunting to me, and over the course of a few days, it became more and more clear to me how so many of my thoughts and actions blossomed from that seed of fear.
I am not going to preach to you about how you should or should not respond to recent horrific events.
I am going to encourage you (and me!) to exercise more of the former type of fear and a whole lot less of the latter.
I believe with all my heart and soul and mind that this is the only path
to Jesus,
and therefore,
LOVE WINS.
