Momentum For Monday, July 31st 2023

"The wicked run away even though no one pursues them, but the righteous are as confident as a lion." (Proverbs 28:1)

Fear will always be an experience of those that stretch themselves out of their comfort zones in any capacity. This is natural and should be expected. Let it be understood with clarity, this is not what the writer is trying to communicate here. It is the irrational and unreasonable fear that is accompanied by those who do not wield the "helmet of salvation" (Ep. 6:17) which is protected by the mind of Christ they do not own (1 Cor 2:16).

Wicked people refuse to follow God and his benefits. Respectably, they have this right to chose to not follow God, but the consequences they encounter are literally frightening, which the writer eludes to in the first half of the proverb. Sin brings the results of cowardice which is another result from a bad conscience. Those that belong to God, not perfectly or without sin (but only because of grace), experience his divine protection, peace, and confidence.

The more someone is seeped in sin and distances themselves from God, the more their heart, mind, and soul are given over to haunting terror. They become ruled by fear until it starts to influence every decision they make. More and more, fears become illogical and impractical to anyone else but them. Hope and peace get smaller and smaller and it always feels like the other shoe is about to drop.

One of the best benefits of being God's child and in constant relationship with Him, is in the spectrum of mental and emotional health. God will call you to your limits and you will feel fear, but trust in Him will not allow for that fear to overtake you. The confidence of the righteous is not in their own capacity, but God's. Any area where fear is prominant and magnified larger than God, is an area where God’s love has yet to be experienced and matured in your life. Take some time and consider where God’s love needs to be experienced in your life further or still.

 “There is no fear in love [dread does not exist]. But perfect (complete, full-grown) love drives out fear, because fear involves [the expectation of divine] punishment, so the one who is afraid [of God’s judgment] is not perfected in love [has not grown into a sufficient understanding of God’s love].”

(1 John 4:18)