Read: Genesis 3:8-10 NRSV
They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ He said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’
If you flip through your Bible, or use the search feature on YouVersion, you’ll notice that the word “fear” is used an awful lot in Scripture. Depending on the passage, it sometimes seems like fear is something we shouldn’t feel (God and the angels are often telling us to “fear not!”), or something that we definitely should feel, (the Israelites are always getting into trouble for not “fearing God.”)
This week we will explore different kinds of fear in passages from the Old Testament and the book of Matthew, but as a quick introduction to the next emotion of our Inside Out series, fear can be lumped into two categories: fear that brings us to God, and fear that drives us away from Him. The Genesis account of Adam and Eve is an example, the first example, of the latter. This kind of fear is produced by sin.
Until they sinned against God, Adam and Eve had no reason to feel fear in Eden. They lived in harmony with God, with creation, and with each other. Sin broke the harmony and all those emotions of discord: anger, fear, anxiety, and sadness were introduced. The fear that they should have felt, the kind of fearful awe and wonder of a child towards her father, was replaced by the dread of punishment, the all-too familiar feeling that we are alone and vulnerable and not up to the task ahead.
What do you do when you are afraid? Fear in and of itself is not a bad thing. In our comfortable western homes we may not have as many urgent fears pressing down on us as some third-world nations, but there are plenty of everyday kinds of fears to keep us occupied: finances, health, family safety, political stability. These are all perfectly normal fears in a sinful world. But are we bringing our fears to God in prayer and action? Or are we using our fears to construct idols or excuse ourselves from our mission of kingdom-building? Are we so afraid of poverty that we become slaves to our finances? So afraid of illness that we become self-obsessed? Let us begin the week by offering ourselves, and our fears, to God.
Where are you?
Pray: Here I am, Lord.
