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Welcome to His Light, Your Path, with Pastor Rod Holler Sr.
Today's devotional is titled The Fear of Man.
Pastor Holler will look at the stories of Abraham and Peter,
showing how fear of others can lead us into trouble,
but faith in God brings peace and safety.
And now here's Pastor Holler's devotional, The Fear of Man.
Proverbs 29-25.
The Fear of Man bringeth a snare.
But who so porteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe?
This verse contrasts the fear of man against trusting God.
And this contrast is interesting.
The verse says the fear of man bringeth a snare.
But who so porteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe?
Notice that it does not say, but who so fears the Lord shall be safe.
It does say who so porteth his trust in the Lord.
The key point to this verse is that the fear of man is contrasted with trust in the Lord.
The passage is addressing a man's reaction to a difficult situation caused by a purpose.
Whatever this person has done to the believer has caused the believer to react,
either in fear or in trust.
In other words, how is the believer going to react to this situation?
Is he going to fear the man that is the immediate cause?
Or is he going to trust God with this situation?
Remember two key truths that are in Scripture.
They are, first, every man is to see his need for salvation.
Then he is to trust Jesus as his Savior and therein he has eternal life.
And second, now that the sinner has trusted Jesus for salvation,
he is to live daily by faith for God.
Every believer will face daily challenges.
One of those challenges is problems from other people.
For whatever the reason or whatever the cause, the believer will experience hardships from people.
The believer has two choices.
Either he can fear the person or he can trust God to handle this situation.
Let us consider Abraham, for an example.
He came to a place where he feared that he would be killed and his wife taken.
Therefore, he lied and said that Sarah was his sister.
She was taken by a bimolec, but God intervened and protected Sarah.
She was returned to Abraham.
Note the words between a bimolec and Abraham, recorded in Genesis,
chapter 20 verses 9 through 11.
Then a bimolec called Abraham and said unto him,
What has thou done unto us and what have I offended thee?
That thou has brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin.
Thou has done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
And a bimolec said unto Abraham, What saw us thou?
That thou has done this thing.
And Abraham said, Because I thought surely the fear of God is not in this place.
And they will slave me for my wife's sake.
His fear of man caused him to not trust God.
Peter also feared rather than trust.
When Jesus was taken to be tried, the disciples fled.
Peter stood by a fire to warm himself.
There he feared man, and he denied Jesus three times.
Matthew 26.75
And Peter remembered the word of Jesus,
which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
And he went out and wept bitterly.
So it is that fearing man is the opposite of trusting God.
When we fear man, we take matters into our own hands,
and we try to handle this situation in our flesh.
When we trust God, we are at peace.
God will honor our faith in him.
He will handle the matter and guide us according to his will.
Therefore, Proverbs 29.25
The fear of man bringeth the snare.
But whosoever puteth his trust in the Lord, shall be safe.
You have just heard Pastor Hollis devotional, the fear of man.
Remember, Proverbs 29.25
Remind us that the fear of man brings a snare.
But trusting the Lord brings safety.
We all face problems caused by others, but we have a choice.
Will we fall into the trap of fear?
Or will we rest in the security that God promises?
Tune in again tomorrow for another devotional,
from Pastor Holler, here on his light, your path.
