It inhibits spiritual growth and slams on the brakes of any revival.
It’s the bane of every revolution, especially spiritual ones.
It seeks to the status quo, caters to the comfortable, and discourages the radical.
It may be one of the tree primary reasons the church retreats behind it’s stained glass walls of irrelevancy.
Fear!
Oh, you can’t do that. It’s never been done before.
We don’t know what would happen if we tried that!
My studies and memories of revival impress me that fear had nothing to do with it.
Revival moves forward with Christians whose faith is refreshingly bold and courageous.
Until the church tames then. Then they become just as fearful as the rest of ‘em…and just as ineffective!
You are SO right, Pastor. If there was any ONE thing that bothered my Brian about me, it was my fear and how hard it was for me to trust GOD for the ‘big’ stuff (as if size matters to GOD.) Fear is a cruel and relentless taskmaster. Since Brian’s passing, some of its grip on me has been weakened, for I’ve experienced one of the things I feared the most, and I am learning to not merely survive, but THRIVE! Praise to His wonderful Name!
I highly recommend the book “The Praying Life.” It’s all about this process of trusting rather than controlling out of fear. Thanks for the comment.