The fear of the unknown, the unseen, unreal, the unrealized, and the phantoms that only exist in our imagination.
Recently I’ve had numerous people express their fears and concerns of how the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank might impact them. When it comes up, I ask them what they know about what did happen to SVB. To a person, they have had no real answer. The most any of them have offered is that it involved the bank not having enough money to pay the depositors. When we get to the bottom of it, they not only don’t have the foggiest idea of what happened, but they also have no idea about the underlying condition of the companies they have financial relationships with. Yet, despite not knowing what happened at SVB and not knowing what is happening at their own bank, they fear they may be in for trouble. Some are so fearful that they have actually started buying gold, silver or even Crypto-currencies in order to “protect” themselves. Protect themselves from what? The unknown, the unseen, unreal (?), unrealized, and phantoms of the imagination.
I’m not being critical of these people, but rather think they are representative of the human condition, when not focused on what God says about fear. In my experience, this isn’t unique to the situation with SVB. This type of fear comes up quite regularly. Bitcoin drops by 66%, tech stocks crash, housing prices drop, etc. Then there are the other nebulous fears; what if I make a fool of myself when I deliver a speech? What if I ask and they say “no”? What if I seek that promotion and don’t get it, or worse get it and fail? I know what I’ve done in the past, what if I’m found out for my shameful behavior? What if, what if, what if…?
John 14:27- "Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful."
Is God there in the tough times or only in the good times? Do we really believe that our witness is only worthy of Him when we’re healthy, wealthy and wise? Is God not faithful when we are unfaithful (or simply lacking in faith?)?
Matthew 6:25-34- "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky; that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they? And which of you by worrying can add a single day to his life span?"
I’m sure this doesn’t apply to you, but so many times I’ve forfeited the peace of God, instead accepting the counterfeit belief learned from the world that the outcomes depend on me and me alone. I’ve bought the lie that it is possible for me to determine what others think of me, or that their judgment of me is what matters. I’ve stayed up all night trying to overcome my fear of a certain failure yet to come, or of any number of things. I’ve had to confront my very real fear that everyone, my family included, would realize what a sub-par father or husband I am. What if my brothers and sisters in Christ realize I’m frequently so lost?
Well, guess what? I have two pieces of news for you: 1) everyone already knows how lost everyone else is, 2) people who abandon you during tough times are just giving you the information you need to accurately evaluate them. Have you ever asked for a raise or promotion at work, and been denied? It hurts, but on the two occasions it has happened to me, it allowed me to clearly see where I stood and to make the decision to leave and find a better path. My professional life moved forward much more rapidly because of a rejection, and I had greater clarity and peace in making my decision to leave. The same could be said about personal relationships and associations.
Our enemy is our fear of anything other than our fear of the Lord, and our call to be courageous is in Him not in our own abilities:
Exodus 14:13- But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will perform for you today; for the Egyptians (the enemy) whom you have seen today, you will never see them again, ever!”
My prayer is that I will be fearful of the unseen, the unknowable (fully), and the Spirit that indwells… God, and nothing else.