Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 228 | Fear God, Not Trouble

Episode Date: March 23, 2020

According to the Bible, there's a good fear and a bad fear. On today's episode of Theology Monday, we talk about how and why to exchange bad fear for good fear. Scripture references: Deuteronomy 10:12-21 Job 42:2 Psalm 2:11 Psalm 25:14 Psalm 31:3 Psalm 37:23-24 Psalm 86:5 Psalm 118:6 Psalm 119:105 Proverbs 14:26 Proverbs 37:8 Isaiah 8:12-13 Isaiah 41:10 Jeremiah 23:24 Matthew 6:31-34 Matthew 24:42-44 Luke 12:4-5 Luke 21:10-13 Romans 8:35-39 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Ephesians 6:10-20 Colossians 1:15-20 Colossians 3:22 1 Thessalonians 5:2 1 Peter 5:8 1 John 3:20 Revelation 6:8 Today's Sponsor: SimpliSafe is everything you need in home protection. Visit https://simplisafe.com/allie and get free shipping & a 60-day trial!

Hey, this is Steve Day. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual, and rooted in what we believe is true about God, humanity, and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles, faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort.

We ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular. This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos. If you're looking for commentary grounded in conviction and unwilling to lie to you about where we are or where we're headed, you can watch this D-Day show right here on Blaze TV or listen wherever you get podcasts. I hope you'll join us. Hey, guys, welcome to Relatable. Happy Monday. I hope everyone had a good weekend. I'm coming to you once again from the comfort of my own home.

I'm in a different part of my house. So you're just seeing all the different parts of my house that can apparently function as a set. I hope that you guys had a restful weekend indoors with your. your family, maybe with your roommate, maybe even with a couple of your friends. I think the rule is that we're supposed to stay under like 10 people. So maybe you managed to do that and watch some Netflix or worked or whatever you did. I hope that you were able to find some serenity and peace amidst all of this absolute chaos. And that's what we're going to talk about today. You guys have told me, you've given me feedback that you miss. Theology Mondays are really Bible topic

Mondays or topics that are analyzed from a biblical perspective Monday. And so I am responding to that feedback by bringing them back, at least for now, and you can continue to send me that feedback. It seems like now is the time that we need biblical encouragement, maybe more than ever. It's hard to say that because we need biblical encouragement and wisdom every day. But these are unprecedented historic times, and I think people are yearning for truth. They're yearning for comfort, they're yearning for some kind of clarity and peace. And God's word gives that like no other. So today we're going to talk about fear, good fear and bad fear, and why we should not be consumed with fear of any pestilence or any pandemic. That doesn't mean

we don't take it seriously. That doesn't mean that we're not wise and cautious. But we're going to look at what the Bible says about how we as Christians should be reacting and feeling in times of crisis and chaos. Hey, this is Steve Day. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual,

and rooted in what we believe is true about God, humanity, and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles, faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort.

We ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular. This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos. If you're looking for commentary grounded in conviction and unwilling to lie to you about where we are

or where we're headed, you can watch this T-Day Show right here on Blaze TV or listen wherever you get podcasts. I hope you'll join us. Let's get into today's episode. So we are living in super strange times. I just say that every day when we wake up. Like really weird, strange times. It feels like an alternate universe.

It doesn't help that where I live has been gloomy pretty much every day. Like we just haven't had great. weather, which has also just added to the, I don't know, the scary foreboding feeling that we are all kind of getting all of this, not just from the virus itself, but also from the government intervention that's happening, whether it's necessary or not. It just is overwhelming. It's a lot. It's a huge adjustment for all of us in big ways and small. When people are getting laid off from their jobs, businesses are shuddering. A couples are postponing their weddings, families are

planning funerals with no one in attendance. There's a lot of tragedy around us to be overwhelmed by that even goes beyond the effects of this virus. I know we spent Friday talking about the blessings in the midst of the storm and we should continue to think about those and to remember those. We should continue to thank God for his mercy, for his faithfulness, for time with our families for people seeing the necessity of compassion when maybe before they were stuck in their self-absorption. But we also have to take notice of the things, the bad things, the scary things that are happening around us. As I am recording this right now on Friday, the 20th, the National Guard has been mobilized in multiple states. California is on total lockdown. People

are out stockpiling guns, loading up on ammo while cities across the country. are enacting policies that forbid police from arresting criminals that commit crimes that are nonviolent. So we're talking theft. We're talking vandalism, prostitution. They're not allowed to arrest criminals for committing those crimes in a lot of cities. The ACLU at the same time is demanding that many prisoners be released from prison during all of this. And that's terrifying. That's how a pandemic turns into pandemonium and absolute anarchy. That if you don't want people clutching their guns that's probably not the route to take. These things are all arguably a lot more terrifying than a virus with a 97 to 99% survival rate. Like I'm just going to say that. Now,

I have said from the beginning that we should be taking this seriously. I am not flippant about the effects of this virus. I am certainly not flippant about anyone's life, especially if you are older or you are immunocompromised. Like, I don't want to take a chance with your life. I want us to all voluntarily socially distance. I want us to all, to the extent that we can self-quarantine, and I want us to be cautious and careful and why is it compassionate towards the people, not just in our circle, but also outside of our circle, the entire contagion that happens when we go outside and we're in contact with people, if we might be asymptomatic carriers of this disease. I want us all to be thoughtful about all of that. But at the same time,

we cannot ignore the social and the economic cost of our reaction to all of this. We have to consider the lives that are being ruined by shutting down so many parts of our society. That is also part of compassion, is considering all of those things. The people who have been or will be fired, the people dealing with severe loneliness, who maybe already struggle with depression and now this whole thing is exacerbating that. The people who require psychiatric care during the week and maybe the place, that they go is not open anymore. And so they can't get the typical care that they need. People cannot live in general, no matter what your psychiatric state is, people just can't live in isolation

for long. Eventually, the heaviness of the emotional effects of isolation and the financial effects of a shutdown will outweigh the heaviness of the physical disease. It just will, I think, it's just human nature, especially here in America. Americans are full of freedom. Even the people who say that they are advocates of socialism and communism, we all have this just inborn desire for liberty. We're just not going to tolerate this kind of shutdown indefinitely. For a little while, for the good of our fellow man, we will.

But indefinitely, without any light at the end of the tunnel, I just don't think people, especially Americans, who are very turned off and afraid. of tyranny and totalitarianism are just not going to tolerate it for long. The long term cost for Americans is just too high. I think many, many are considering that. And we should. It is a really tough situation that we're in. It feels surreal. Like I said so many times, like we are living in another world or some kind of science fiction novel. It doesn't help. It doesn't help that the media seems to be using this in a way. Some in the media are using this in a way that is that is unhelpful and counterproductive to say the least. That is less about information and more about hysteria

and more about politics worrying endlessly about what we call the virus rather than where the virus actually came from and why the virus keeps coming from the same place, what policies are in place, in the country where it originated and what kind of government do they have that is allowing these kinds of viruses to be spread. They're not as concerned with that as they are about political correctness and that is just making this entire situation worse. I'm trying personally not to be scared. I'm trying personally not to be anxious and angry. I've been telling you guys, all the things that I've been telling myself to, don't be panicked. Don't be worried. Trust God. Be wise. it's all going to be okay. So today's episode that we are getting into is just as much for me as it is

for you guys. Today, we are going to talk about, like I said, at the top fear, the different kinds of fear, what kind of fear is justified, what kind of fear we're actually called to and what fear we are not called to. As always, I don't have the answers, all the answers. I don't have the comfort to bring. I don't have the wisdom or the insight or the perspective that we ultimately need. I don't have any of that in comparison to the wisdom and the insight and the comfort and the perspective that comes from the living God and his word. So that's what we are going to dive into today. That's what we're going to be reminded of. The Bible has a lot to say about fear hundreds of times throughout the Bible. We are told not to fear, not to worry, not to be anxious,

not to fret. I'm going to read you some of the passages that remind. us first, who God is. So why we shouldn't fear? Because who God is serves as our justification for our peace. Then we will talk about the verses that implore us, that demand, that direct, that command, that we not be afraid. I've included these references in the description of this episode, so it may be a good idea for you ladies to jot them down, to write them out, to put them on your mirror, maybe over your kitchen sink, on your computer. wherever you will be spending a lot of time. Maybe we even work to memorize these scriptures.

It would be certainly very helpful. Psalm 119-105 says that God's word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Those of you who were raised in Christian school and in Sunday school probably know that one. Psalm 31-3 says God is our rock and our fortress for his name's sake. He leads us and guides us. Right now when we feel like we are a way, in deep and turbulent water. When we are walking down an uncharted path in the dark,

we need two things. We need both light and a leader. God's word says that he and his word are both. He is our light in the darkness. He is our guide through the wilderness. On our own, we will fall and fail and flail and fumble through the night. But with God, we can put one foot in front of the other trusting that he not only knows, the way that he has actually made the way that he has actually carved and charted this path before we

were even on it. Psalm 37 23 through 34. Not 23 through 34. Maybe that's supposed to be 24. I just need to fix that in my notes. The steps of a man are established by the Lord when he delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong for the Lord uphold his hand. There is no such thing as uncharted territory for God. God has never been lost. He has never been stumped. He has never been confused. He has never been surprised. He has never been thrown off, thrown for a loop, worried, anxious or afraid. He has never wondered how things would turn out. He has never had to wait and see what the outcome of any situation would be. God is completely in control. He is completely sovereign. His plan is sure. His purpose is secure. There is no power. There is no power.

there is no virus there is no government authority there is no policy no military force no human or supernatural enemy that can stop him hold him back or slow him down or hinder his will in any way they can't do it a job 42 is one of my favorite verses that i think about often and it says for i know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted god can do all things he is he is is omnipotent. 1 John 320 says that God knows everything. So that means he is omniscient. Jeremiah 2324 says, can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord. God is omnipresent. He is everywhere. He is all powerful. He is all knowing. He is ever present. He is also good.

Psalm 865 says, for you a Lord are good and forgiving. Abounding instead. fast love to all who call upon you. It is very hard for us to comprehend that he is all of these things at once in the midst of tribulation. How can a good, all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present God allow or perhaps even cause something like this to happen? Second Chronicle 713 says that God can and may send pestilence among his people. We don't always know the exact reason. It could be because we just live in a fallen and a fractured world in which disasters simply happen and calamity simply strikes. It could be a call to repentance. It could be condemnation and judgment.

It could be all of these things at once. But whatever God's purpose is, however mysterious it is to us right now, we do know that everything God does is ultimately for his glory. That we know for sure, for bringing honor to his name, for displaying his power, for sharing, his gospel, it may not always be immediately obvious that that's what's happening, but that's because we cannot always see the souls being saved or the good being done or the secret conversations or the quiet peace or the silent prayers. His glory may not be manifested exactly how we think it should through cures and tests and medical equipment, though of course I pray that it does and we should be praying for those things. It may be manifesting itself, especially right now, in the things that we

cannot see. And scripture tells us, 2 Corinthians 416 through 18 says this, so we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day for this light, momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. There are, of course, as in all things, eternal gains being made by God's power for God's glory. And we should look for them and we should ask to be a part of them, not because God needs us, but because it is our privilege and our honor to be a part of them, to be used by him.

And as we discussed on Friday, there are simple blessings that we should thank God for, that we should be looking for, like parents getting to spend more time with their children, children getting to spend more time with their parents, planned parenthoods across the nation being closed in some states, not all states, individuals in the private sector making sacrifices to help those who need it, politicians on both sides of the aisle coming together to do what's best for the country. There's a lot of confusion. there's a lot of evil, there's a lot of malice, there's a lot of malice, there's a lot of loss and sorrow, but there's also good. There's also God's glory and God has never for one second. In the midst of all of this stopped being in control or bringing about his purposes, whatever they may be. He is alpha, he is omega, he is beginning and end. He is creator. He is sustainer. He is savior. He is judge. He is king. He is over and through all of it. Here is how close. He is how close. He is a Colossians 1 15 through 20 describes this Messiah, this king of kings, this Lord of Lords that we

as Christians worship. He is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation. For by him, all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things. And in him, all things hold together. and he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the first born from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell

and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of the cross. And that same Jesus that was just described in that chapter who is over, through, and in charge of everything tells us not to. to worry. He says in Matthew 631 through 34, which you should read this whole chapter if you haven't. Therefore, do not be anxious saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear? For the Gentiles, seek after all of these things and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first, the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all of these things will be added to you.

Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Do not be anxious, Jesus says. The God of the universe says for tomorrow. Psalm 118 6 says, The Lord is on my side. I will not fear. What can man do to me?

Proverbs 378, refrain from anger and forsake wrath. Fret not yourself. It tends only to evil. Isn't that so true that fear and working ourselves into a tizzy leads only to evil and only to more anxiety? Isaiah 4110, fear not for I am with you. Be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Romans 835 through 39. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Child tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword. As it is written, for your sake, we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us, for I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present,

nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. But it's not that we shouldn't fear at all. We are actually to redirect our fear and change our fear into a different kind of fear, towards a different kind of target and that target is God himself. Deuteronomy 10 12 through 13 and 20 through 21 says this. He's speaking to Israel and of course this principle applies to his people today. And now Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you?

But to fear the Lord your God. To walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and to keep the command. and statues of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good. You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him. And by his name, you shall swear. He is your praise.

He is your God who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen. He is the one that we are supposed to fear. Psalm 2.11 says, Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Psalm 2514 says, The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him. How wrong does the world get that today?

The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. Proverbs 1426, and the fear of the Lord, one has strong confidence, and his children will have refuge. Of course, we know that Proverbs also said, says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Isaiah 8, 12, through 13, do not call conspeachers.

All that this people calls conspiracy and do not fear what they fear nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, Him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear. Let him be your dread. Jesus says in Luke 12, 4 through 5, I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who killed the body. And after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear. Fear him who after he has killed has authority to cast into hell.

Yes, I tell you, fear him. Colossians 322. Bond servants, obey and everything, those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye service as people pleasers, but with sincerity of heart fearing the Lord. This kind of fear that the Bible tells us to have is different by nature than anxiety.

Fear in this context means to respect, to come before in awe and humility, understanding his power, his absolute holiness, art undeservedness, a constant understanding that the righteousness that we have is not our own but Christ, the knowledge that God can do all things and that no purpose of His can be thwarted. Now, here's a question.

We know God's power. We know that we're not to fear the things of this world. We know that we are supposed to have in awesome or in awful, depending on how you want to look at it or use those words, fear of fear of God. Here's a question that people have, even knowing that, is all of this a part of the end times? The Bible does say that God will bring pestilence in the end times. Jesus says in Luke 21, 10 through 13, that he said to him, nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and in various places, famines and pestilences, and there

will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this, they will be, lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors from my name's sake, this will be your opportunity to bear witness. Revolution, Revelation, Revelation, Prophecised this. And I looked and behold a pale horse, and its writer's name was death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth to kill the sword with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth. So to me, these passages, these descriptions seem worse than what we are currently experiencing and what we have experienced. No, there are many parts of the earth,

obviously, that are and have endured much more persecution than we have here in the United States. So they might read this passages and say, yeah, that sounds a lot like me, people in China, for example, that are thrown into concentration camps for being Christians. They would probably say that's an accurate description. Maybe so. But I think that it would probably be more widespread than that. So this could just be kind of a precursor. I don't know. But lots of people right now, lots of people are claiming to have visions,

claiming to have a special word from the Lord. Lots of people are pretending to know prophecies that you've never heard of. Unfortunately, a lot of this is for attention. It's not of the Lord. We have to weigh what people say against the word of God. We don't follow suspicion. We don't follow feelings. We don't follow sensationalism.

Jeremiah 23 demonstrates how God feels about lying prophets. And here are parts of that chapter. Thus says the Lord of hosts, do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesied to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, it shall be well with you.

And to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, no disaster shall come upon you. I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesied lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who steal my words from one another.

Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who use their tongues and declare, declares the Lord. Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the Lord, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their records, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all declares the Lord. We need to watch out. We need to be careful.

We need to understand that as 1st Peter 58 says that we have to be sober-minded and watchful, knowing that our adversary the devil is prowling around looking for people to devour, not just by bringing calamity into people's lives, not by just tempting them to worry or fear or lust or envy or covet or whatever it is, but also by believing these suspicions. We talked about this on Friday, and I also listed this passage from Isaiah 8 today, and I'll say it again. The Bible says, do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy,

and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, Him you shall honor as holy, let him be your fear, let him be your dread. so we have to be careful about following these rabbit holes of suspicion and of conspiracies that don't align with God's word. God's word is our guide. It is our standard. It's what we weigh people's words against. And any prophecy that is creating confusion or anxiety really needs, we really need to discern

whether that is of the Lord. God is not the God of confusion. He is the God of peace. We need to be vigilant against these. kinds of attacks on our mind. First Thessalonians 5-2 says, for you yourselves are fully aware. So this is going back to the prophecies that people are saying that, okay, this is of the end times. I've seen this vision. I know that this is happening. Here's what's coming about. Here's what the Lord is doing. He told me this. So just so we remember, here's what First

Vescelonius 5.2 says, for you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. Matthew 2442 through 44 says this, therefore stay awake. For you do not know on what day your Lord is coming, but know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore, you must also be ready. For the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect. So we have to be ready. We have to be watchful. We have to be vigilant. We might be taking a break from many parts of our lives, but I can tell you the devil is not taking a break. He is probably working overtime right now, especially as so many people are stuck in isolation and are tempted

by absolute dread. Like I said, 1st Peter 5'8, the devil is prowling around looking for someone to devour and we have to be watchful. And we have to remember the words of Ephesion 6 that talk about being strong in the Lord. So I'll read that and I've read this passage many times on this podcast. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day

and having done all to stand firm. Stand therefore having fastened on the belt of truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace and all circumstances take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit

which is the word of God praying at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication to that. end keep alert with all perseverance making supplication for all the saints and also for me god through paul is saying paul is writing this that words may be given to me and opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel for which i am an ambassador and change that i might declare it boldly as we ought to speak so i hope that the word of god has encouraged all of you who are listening to this the moms the sisters the daughters, the friends, the students, the employees, the volunteers, the nurses, the doctors,

the grocery store clerks, the people who don't get a day off, people who are afraid, people who are anxious, people who are worried, people who are looking for truth and clarity and anchor, a buoy, something to hold them together. Jesus is that. He is that. He is what you are looking for in the midst of all of this. He is the God who made the waves and calms them at his word. So I encourage you to look at the scripture that I've listed in this description and meditate on them, memorize them, hold them in your heart, and go back to them every time you feel that anxiety crop up. That's what I'm going to do. Okay, guys, love y'all.

I'll see you all back here on Wednesday. Hey, this is Steve Daste. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual, and rooted in. what we believe is true about God, humanity, and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles, faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort.

We ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular. This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos. If you're looking for commentary grounded in conviction and unwilling to lie to you about where we are or where we're headed, you can watch this Steve Day show right here on Blaze TV or listen wherever you get podcasts. I hope you'll join us.