“Of all the passions, fear weakens judgment most.” Cardinal de Retz Memoirs

Every person faces fear at one point or another in their lives. In each of our fears we face decisions. We can either face these alone or with the help of the Lord.

Fear distorts and paralyzes. It grips the judgment of our thoughts and squeezes the life out of rational thinking. Fear acts upon its emotion–I feel like this is the right thing to do. It reacts to threats and as more and more threats present themselves, it entices one to make poor choices.

What threats do we face that cause us to fear? Loss of security, power and position? Status, possessions, reputation? These and many other things provoke fear. When one dwells upon the fear of these loss possibilities, the fear becomes an obsession. That obsession causes us to form alliances with others to comfort us, to give us advice, and to counsel us in making decisions we feel incapable of making alone.

As Christians, we have a Helper who best meets that need for counsel. However, all too often, we do not turn to our Lord—instead, we turn to man. When we do, we risk the chance of falling into another’s power, thoughts and views of the best course of action we should take. Our reliance on the world to justify an injustice or avenge a wrong committed against us, does not weaken the power of God, but it weakens our faith in God. When we trust in someone more than God, we become like the children of Israel who trusted in accounts of giants.

When our faith is weakened, we begin to trust in the shadows of darkness. We run to the shelter of those shadows and make our plans. We cower in our fears of insecurity, pride and self-sufficiency. Woe to us. We are now living in rebellion of our Source of Protection, our Shield, our Guide, our Hope.

“Woe to the rebellious children, says the Lord, who take counsel and carry out a plan, but not Mine; and who make a league and pour out a drink offering, but not of My Spirit, thus adding sin to sin; that set out to go down into Egypt, and have not asked of Me; to flee to the stronghold of Pharaoh and to strengthen themselves in his strength and to trust in the shadow of Egypt.” Isaiah 30:1,2.

The Lord is not happy with children who trust after others—neither individuals, entities, or systems. Programs fail, as do methods, ideas and plans. God expects His children to run to Him for help, not Egypt. God expects His children to trust in His laws, precepts, and principles—not the interpretations of man. God expects His children to dwell in the cleft of His Hand, to rest in His palm and relax in the shadows of His might—not in the shadows of secular protections, voices and white-washed rules of law which have watered down the principles and precepts of His Word.

God expects His children to “be still and know that He is God”. He expects His children to lean not unto their own understanding, but to trust in Him and acknowledge Him in all their ways and then He will direct their paths.

And should we trust in the shadows of Egypt instead of the Lord, we will be left in the shadows of Egypt without a lamp to light our way, a fire to guide us by night, or a cloud to guide us by day. Just as surely as the Lord was angry with His children at Horeb for their stubborn rebellious attitudes when He threatened to withdraw His presence, He will leave us to our own ways—to stumble, to fall and deal with the consequences of our actions. God will not be mocked by His children. He has written His law on our hearts, not on stone and He expects us to follow Him—not ourselves, not others. When we trust the shadows of Egypt and Pharaoh, God tells us exactly what will occur as a result: “Therefore shall the strength and protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame, and the refuge in the shadow of Egypt be your humiliation and confusion.” Isaiah 30:3.

As I consider the shadows I stand beneath for help in life, I pray I find myself beneath the shadow of the cross, relying on the Savior Who hung there and the law for which He came to fulfill in the inspired Word of the Father. How about you?