Kyle Kauffman

How does fearing God overcome our fear of failing at something in this life? We are often terrified to step out and try something new or to step up and lead something because we are scared of failing and not living up to expectations. We are often scared to let either ourselves or others down. Deep down many people tend to feel inadequate, insufficient, and unqualified. We believe that God can do anything, but we are not so sure he can do anything through us. But a proper understanding of who God is and how he works can enable us to take risks with our lives. Because we know that what’s most important is not our success or failure. We know that the results ultimately lie in God’s hands. And we are confident that he will use even (especially) our failures for good.

Kyle Kauffman

There are so many things in this life that are uncertain. It’s easy for our minds to dwell on the uncertainty and try to play out all the ‘what ifs.’ When we do that, we often imagine the worst and anxiously worry about the bad things that could happen to us and to our loved ones. We grasp for ways to control the outcome of the future, but the uncertainty still remains. When we meditate on all that is uncertain, we tend to become fearful and anxious. God instead invites us to meditate on what is certain… by fixing our minds on what is true… his character, his words, his promises.

Kyle Kauffman

We rarely speak of fearing God today and even when we do, we can still end up easily misunderstanding what it means to fear God. Though we all know what it feels like to fear something the idea of fearing God often remains unclear and fuzzy to us. We wonder if we should still fear God today. And if so, what should that fear look like? Does fear mean that we should be afraid of God? Or is fear only something non-Christians should experience because they have not yet come under God’s grace? Fear of God can feel like something that we read about in our Bibles and yet are unsure about in our lives. But we need to recognize that a right fear of God is actually the doorway into wisdom, hope, joy, and peace.

Kyle Kauffman

There are all sorts of things we may fear in this life. Sometimes fear can be a minor phobia and at other times it can be a crippling panic. Fears can be obvious and very clear. But fears can also remain hidden and be hard to identify. Fear in and of itself is not a bad thing. There are certain things we are right to be afraid of. But fear is a very powerful emotion and it has the ability to enslave us, control our lives, and guide the decisions we make with our lives. Because what we fear will ultimately affect how we live. It’s important to understand what causes us to fear and what lies behind our fears in order for us to better understand why we fear. Ultimately, we want to see what is happening in our hearts that leads us to fear certain things or people. And then to see that the solution to our fears is not simply to stop fearing, but rather to put our fear in the proper place where it belongs.