Manna and the Fear of Man
I will be taking a deep breath as I press the key that makes Hopscotch and Manna visible to the public. This blog has been on my mind and heart for such a long time. Everything indicates that it’s the right time to begin writing and sharing my thoughts and education with others. God has poured his word into me and I have scoured the scriptures for a long time now. The funny part is that the more I learn and the more certain I am about the things God’s word teaches—I’m overly aware that there is so much more for me to learn. I am not an expert but a 40 something woman who is still a student of the Bible, a disciple of Jesus.
I have to battle the “fear of man” in order to take each step forward. I have found myself so afraid of someone pointing out my mistakes and failures that I have been slow to move on this page. Today, I spent some time in the open-air praying to God, and I kept thinking of the verses that remind me to “Fear not.” I bet you can relate. We let fear dictate so much in our lives, especially the fear of man (or the fear of what others will think). Proverbs 29:25 states, “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts the Lord is kept safe.” I don’t want to fear man and neither should you. The one we should want to impress, the one we should fear is the Lord. Deuteronomy 31:6 reminds us to: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them (man), for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you.” I reminded myself that the only one I really need to please is God.
One of my favorite scriptures is Psalm 139, and verses 23-24 say “Search me, God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” God knows my heart and he knows my anxiety and I will trust that he will lead me in writing as I try to share the things I know with you. I can’t promise I won’t make mistakes but I encourage you to search the scriptures for yourself and see if what I tell you is true. Paul compliments the Bereans in Acts 17:11 for searching the scriptures to see if what he taught them was true. He says they are of noble character because they did that. I feel strongly that I should teach you the things I have learned because Jesus commands it. In Matthew 28:19-20 he states, “Go and make disciples (students of His word) of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.” See… God commands me to encourage you to be students of His and to learn the scriptures and obey His commands. And He promised He will be with me when I do it.
It’s time for me to obey his command and throw off the fear of man as I work instead to please the Lord and love His people. I have found such fulfillment in Him that I can’t stop talking about Him and I just want to share this amazing gift with anyone who reads this blog. I happened across this scripture one day and I felt like I could relate to Jeremiah as he writes: “If I say, ‘I won’t mention Him or speak any longer in His name,’ His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones. I become tired of holding it in, and I cannot prevail,” (Jeremiah 20:9).
As the fear dissipates I look forward to the fun we are going to have here and the precious news I get to proclaim. I hope it is joy for your spirit and bread for your soul!
Grace be with you all,
Heidi