What Are You Afraid Of?
Verse of the Day
“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
Today’s Devotional
Jesus died to break the power of the devil. The devil holds the power of death. Or at least he did.
This verse mentions that humans are held in slavery by their fear of death. I fear a lot of things, but I’m not sure if death would be very high on my list of fears. I willingly admit that I am afraid of pain. In any form. Perhaps I do not fear death because of my faith in Jesus.
I read an article from verywellmind.com that lists the reasons why humans might fear death. Those reasons include:
- Fear of pain and suffering
- Fear of the unknown
- Fear of non-existence
- Fear of eternal punishment
- Fear of loss of control
- Fear of what will become of our loved ones
That’s a lot of fear wrapped around death. The Bible says over and over to “Fear not”. And specifically, today’s verse tells me that Jesus has already won the battles that still cause me fear.
Jesus came to live and die in order to defeat the devil. He did this to set us free from our bondage. Have you ever considered that your fears might hold you captive?
I believe fear is our default mode as humans. I also believe that I have to make little, daily, conscious choices to pull myself out of fear. I believe that the more time I spend with God, the easier it is to “fear not”, because I begin to truly believe that He is with me.
The only possible way for me to not let fear rule my life is by a personal relationship with Jesus. As I nurture that relationship, one of things I have noticed is that I am now able to become aware of my fears. Without being aware of the fear, there is usually unrelated bad behavior or thinking. So I have to pray for God to show me what is going on. Every time a new fear develops, I have to spend time intentionally laying it at His feet and allowing Him to help me grow in my faith.
I believe this is a lifelong process. My fears today are different than they were last year, or ten years ago, or yesterday. Satan may be ultimately defeated, but he still has whatever power I give him. The more I fear, the stronger he becomes in my life.
If Jesus died to defeat the devil, then I need to choose EVERY DAY to claim that victory and choose to live on the winning side of the war. Today I choose Jesus.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
What are you afraid of?
How can you lay those fears at the feet of Jesus?
What would it look like if you were to fear not, knowing that God is with you?
How can you live today within the victory that Jesus has freely given you?