Last night, I was reading in Luke 7 about Jesus raising the widow's son. After he rose the boy from the dead in front of the people, it says "Fear seized them all and they glorified God." I knew at this moment that God was asking me a question:
Cynthia, do you use your fear to glorify Me?
My whole life, I have dealt with fear. Some of my fears have been rational and some have been irrational. Lately, I have been experiencing a lot of fear and anxiety about the future, specifically concerning a certain area of my life. In all of that fear, I have sought Jesus, but I have listened the wisdom and Godly counsel of others more than Him. I am very lucky--God has placed amazing people in my life that love the Lord, seek His ways, and speak into my life. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, the Bible calls for all believers to seek wise counsel (Proverbs 12:15, Proverbs 11:14, Proverbs 15:22, and Proverbs 19:20).
I like to consider myself a friendly and teachable person. Therefore, I do not have a hard time communicating with others, making friends, and receiving advice. However, I have a tendency to listen a little to closely to what people say and end up tuning out God's voice.
Scenario: You are taking college calculus. Almost everyone else in the lecture hall understands how to do problem number two, but you can't seem to get it. You ask for help and suddenly everyone in the room starts trying to explain it to you. Most of them are not wrong and could teach you how to work the problem, but the professor is the most equipped of them all and actually created the math problem (not to mention that he will create test that you will have to apply this knowledge on), so he is the one that you should be listening to. How easy is it for you to hear his voice among all of your classmates?
The Kingdom operates the same way. We are all learning. Some of us have figured certain things out, while others are still working. God has even blessed some of us with revelation to impart upon others to help them. However, He is the Author and Creator of your life. Would you rather ask someone who has been where you are, but has limited vision, or ask the God that created you and can see past, present, and future all at once? If you have so many voices speaking into your life (and loudly, at that), are you really able to discern the voice of the One who made you? He won't yell at us over the rest of the people. His Word reminds us that we must seek His counsel and wisdom (Proverbs 2:1-5).
I am not saying that we should not listen to Godly counsel and seek wisdom from spiritually stronger believers. What I am saying is that God must reign supreme. We must seek His wisdom, His plan, and His instruction first, then everything else will be added unto us (Matthew 6:33). That doesn't mean that you encounter a problem, pray about it for a few minutes, then call your mom, your best friend, your pastor, your boyfriend/girlfriend, and your coworker. Seeking Him first means that you seek Him at the beginning, throughout the issue, and after the issue is over. It means that you place His Word above all else and let words that do not align with it fall dead to the ground. Sometimes, this means dying to yourself and what your mind is trying to tell you. As a believe, you are not ruled by your mind, your heart, or your emotions. You are ruled by the Holy Spirit within you.
"Cynthia, do you use your fear to glorify Me?"
To be honest, my answer was no. I was letting my fear get the best of me. It was causing me to be overly emotional, sensitive, and insecure. I poured all that out on other people in my life, but received no consolation because it was a heart issue with God that could only be worked out with God. Once I gave it to Him, He asked me what I was so afraid of. Then, I was able to receive a better perspective with how I could glorify Him in the midst of my fear.
My question to you is this:
Do you use your fear to glorify God?
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