Anything Frightening?

Back to my conversation at the party. After chatting a few more minutes, my friend asked me another question: “Do you think fear is a unique temptation to women?”
 
“Yes, I do,” I replied. Scripture seems to bear witness to this. While all Christians are frequently urged to trust God, women are specifically exhorted in 1 Peter 3:6: “do not fear anything that is frightening.”

I love Scripture’s honesty! It admits right upfront that there’s stuff that is frightening. In fact, Scripture often predicts we will face much trouble and hardship in this life.

And nowhere is this more true than with our children. Where else in life do we have more significant responsibility (eternal souls), face such daunting challenges (sinful heart, hostile world), and feel so inadequate and ineffective?

But we are not to fear anything that is frightening. We are to trust in God.

Trusting God is not a one-time decision or something we can accomplish in a thirty-day challenge. We will have to fight to trust. Some days we must fight hourly, even on a moment-by-moment basis. Like raising children, growing in trust is a life-long effort.

But we are not alone. We have the Holy Spirit inside of us to guide us into all truth. We have our Sovereign Father ruling wisely and graciously over all. We have our Savior’s righteousness to run to when we fail.

Many things are frightening, but we have many more reasons to trust God than to fear.