“Resist not evil.” (Matthew 5:39)
I was the classic white knuckle flyer. From the moment I boarded the aircraft and until the moment it landed safely, I was a nervous wreck. So it was pretty interesting that my former career had me on a plane a few times a month. And guess what? The more I faced my fear of flying, the more it faded away. I was even calm as we flew through a terrible snowstorm in the mountains!
Jesus knew that the way to overcome fear was to face it. He said, “Resist not evil.” Fear is evil. It keeps us apart from God. Jesus knew that to run from it would cause us to shrink instead of grow in God’s grace and power. So how do we face our worst fears when it is human nature to want to turn away? We face our fear with the knowledge that God is with us. We walk right up to it and look it in the eye and see it for what it really is. When we face our fear with God, it goes away.
What fear is keeping the grace and power of God from you? How might you walk up to it and stare it in the eye?