Fear

Bob Wille (Family)

Passed on, November 6, 2022
“I asked the Lord for help, and he answered me.
He saved me from all that I feared.”
Psalms 34:4

He has not learned the lesson of life
who does not everyday surmount a fear.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
 
"Fear is a pain arising from the anticipation of evil". "He who has overcome his fears shall truly be free". Aristotle
Isa. 41:13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

Fear is a frame of mind, not a state of heart.
 
"Fear is a pain arising from the anticipation of evil". "He who has overcome his fears shall truly be free". Aristotle
Isa. 41:13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

Fear is a frame of mind, not a state of heart.

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34 (NIV).
 
Thank you for your response.
Your comments are worthy of my thoughtful deliberation.
Blessings!

This is actually a fascinating subject and worthy of further discussion.

Fear is both good and bad. The greatest fear we have is the fear of the unknown. It is a battle we go through almost daily. There have been times when fear has served me well. There have also been times when fear did nothing for me. "Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" Matthew 6:27 (NIV)

I must admit that there are times when I start off my day with worry, but, after prayer and contemplation, I look at Matthew 6: 25 - 34 and put is back in proper perspective. I usually do this, as I drive myself to work. I start off worrying at 5:45 AM and get it together by 6:20 AM.

I believe that the Lord will provide; however, I find that some people do not know what it is that He provides. To some, they believe the Lord will provide, then just sit there and wait for it to come to them with no personal effort. This does not, in my opinion, work. What the Lord provides is opportunities, but it is still incumbent upon us to see the opportunity and do something with it. I can tell you from personal experience that God always provides the opportunity, which is sometimes difficult to see clearly until you take advantage of it. Thus far, with out exception, some of the darkest moments in my life ended up coming with the opportunity to turn these dark times into some of the best results I could have ever imagine. My own salvation was an opportunity that the Lord provided me during one of the darkest low point of my adult life.

Last Friday, I had an opportunity of making this clear to someone. I am currently doing an investigation on a school psychologist who basically committed fraud and, during her interview, lied to me. She ended up resigning, under the false belief that her resignation would result in us ending the investigation. It just does not work that way. She called me on Friday and appeared to be at the end of her emotional rope. She is now worried that her actions will result in the loss of her state license, which would obviously have a serious impact on her private practice, and her ability to support her family. The truth is that, while her work with our school board is over, the fraud was not associated with her practice. So, while I cannot tell her that it is unlikely that the school board will try to take her license, it's not going to happen. Also, because of my position, it would be inappropriate for me to quote scripture to her, but I still quoted Matthew 6:27; leaving out who made the comment and in what context. After about 20 minutes, I could hear the difference in her voice. Basically she committed the fraud because she allowed greed to rule her actions. Her actions made her about $500.00, but it ended her 15 year career with the school board. However, she is still a person and a mother and I sure understand why she is in fear of the unknown. I do now know if she is a believer and she made no comments to me to indicate that she is. All I can do is put her tribulation in the light of Matthew 6: 25 - 34 and pray that she puts all of this in proper perspective.

I also saw the impact of fear (well, the lack thereof), when I was the operations officer in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and was dealing with those that were captured in Afghanistan and brought to GITMO for potential military tribunals. This; however, is another story for another time.

We are imperfect beings easily overwhelmed by this fleshy existence. We are, after all, just human. As I look back at the darkest moments of my life, I can now clearly see why they happened and how our merciful and benevolent Father closed one door and unlocked another. He unlocked it, but left it to be to open it.

"For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:8 (NIV).

rtm3039
 
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Thank you for your testimony my brother in Christ. Yes. there are different types of fear, both good and bad. My introspective perspective is this:
Good fear keeps us out of harms way. Bad fear keeps us out of Gods favor.
 
Thank you for your testimony my brother in Christ. Yes. there are different types of fear, both good and bad. My introspective perspective is this:
Good fear keeps us out of harms way. Bad fear keeps us out of Gods favor.
When I was the Ops at GITMO, I did not do any of the detainee interrogations, but I did watch my guys do them and, on occasions, I would walk around the detention center and briefly talk with some of them. If nothing else, I have to admire their faith (however misguided it was) and commitment. The commitment to fly an airplane into a building, knowing that you will be the first to die, makes these people formidable.
 
Yes, because unlike many Christian's they have no fear. They truly believe what they are doing is holy, and for their god.
Can you imagine what we as the body of Christ can do with that kind of dedication, without the fear of torture or death?

Even Peter in his flesh denied Christ three times.
 
Yes, because unlike many Christian's they have no fear. They truly believe what they are doing is holy, and for their god.
Can you imagine what we as the body of Christ can do with that kind of dedication, without the fear of torture or death?

Even Peter in his flesh denied Christ three times.
They use to talk about their deaths like we talk about going on vacation.
 
That's the difference; what's normal for them to us is madness. So then is it madness to have no fear?
Talk about this turning into a philosophical discussion.
 
So then how does anyone on this site think a religious extremist can overcome fear, and we as Christians cannot? Is it an issue of bravery?
I think it is an issue of faith.

Now there's a thought I find that scares me. Is my faith so weak that in the face of torture with unspeakable things (in the hands of a terrorist), would they force me in the pain of my flesh to deny God? Would God give me a way to bear it? Talk about a test of faith I hope none of us ever have to endure, like the early Christians did in the face of a lion in an arena.

I would certainly die for Christ which liveth in me, but I say that now in the comfort of my home.
 
So then how does anyone on this site think a religious extremist can overcome fear, and we as Christians cannot? Is it an issue of bravery?
I think it is an issue of faith.

Now there's a thought I find that scares me. Is my faith so weak that in the face of torture with unspeakable things (in the hands of a terrorist), would they force me in the pain of my flesh to deny God? Would God give me a way to bear it? Talk about a test of faith I hope none of us ever have to endure, like the early Christians did in the face of a lion in an arena.

I would certainly die for Christ which liveth in me, but I say that now in the comfort of my home.
I vote for an issue if faith with a little sprinkling of insanity. Maybe strapping explosives around your waist and pulling the plug is the act of faith, but knowing you are going to kill innocent people is the act of insanity?
 
This is actually a fascinating subject and worthy of further discussion.

Fear is both good and bad. The greatest fear we have is the fear of the unknown. It is a battle we go through almost daily. There have been times when fear has served me well. There have also been times when fear did nothing for me. "Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" Matthew 6:27 (NIV)

I must admit that there are times when I start off my day with worry, but, after prayer and contemplation, I look at Matthew 6: 25 - 34 and put is back in proper perspective. I usually do this, as I drive myself to work. I start off worrying at 5:45 AM and get it together by 6:20 AM.

I believe that the Lord will provide; however, I find that some people do not know what it is that He provides. To some, they believe the Lord will provide, then just sit there and wait for it to come to them with no personal effort. This does not, in my opinion, work. What the Lord provides is opportunities, but it is still incumbent upon us to see the opportunity and do something with it. I can tell you from personal experience that God always provides the opportunity, which is sometimes difficult to see clearly until you take advantage of it. Thus far, with out exception, some of the darkest moments in my life ended up coming with the opportunity to turn these dark times into some of the best results I could have ever imagine. My own salvation was an opportunity that the Lord provided me during one of the darkest low point of my adult life.

Last Friday, I had an opportunity of making this clear to someone. I am currently doing an investigation on a school psychologist who basically committed fraud and, during her interview, lied to me. She ended up resigning, under the false belief that her resignation would result in us ending the investigation. It just does not work that way. She called me on Friday and appeared to be at the end of her emotional rope. She is now worried that her actions will result in the loss of her state license, which would obviously have a serious impact on her private practice, and her ability to support her family. The truth is that, while her work with our school board is over, the fraud was not associated with her practice. So, while I cannot tell her that it is unlikely that the school board will try to take her license, it's not going to happen. Also, because of my position, it would be inappropriate for me to quote scripture to her, but I still quoted Matthew 6:27; leaving out who made the comment and in what context. After about 20 minutes, I could hear the difference in her voice. Basically she committed the fraud because she allowed greed to rule her actions. Her actions made her about $500.00, but it ended her 15 year career with the school board. However, she is still a person and a mother and I sure understand why she is in fear of the unknown. I do now know if she is a believer and she made no comments to me to indicate that she is. All I can do is put her tribulation in the light of Matthew 6: 25 - 34 and pray that she puts all of this in proper perspective.

I also saw the impact of fear (well, the lack thereof), when I was the operations officer in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and was dealing with those that were captured in Afghanistan and brought to GITMO for potential military tribunals. This; however, is another story for another time.

We are imperfect beings easily overwhelmed by this fleshy existence. We are, after all, just human. As I look back at the darkest moments of my life, I can now clearly see why they happened and how our merciful and benevolent Father closed one door and unlocked another. He unlocked it, but left it to be to open it.

"For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:8 (NIV).

rtm3039
Wow! I am blown away by the true story you related, and that even in the circumstances as presented, you express sympathy for her.
The command to "love one another" sometimes seems impossible considering the situation.
But you are truly taking the "Godly approach" in this example, and I commend you for it.
 
Wow! I am blown away by the true story you related, and that even in the circumstances as presented,
you express sympathy for her.
The command to "love one another" sometimes seems impossible considering the situation.
But you are truly taking the "Godly approach" in this example, and I commend you for it.
 
I do believe you are right Ray. Its an issue of faith and insanity, even though they believe themselves to be sane.
After all you did say they speak of killing like we speak of vacation. That's creepy stuff yanno it?

I can remember over hearing my mother and my grandmother having horrid conversations about things that happened during WW2. I can only imagine the horror of what people without fear can do. My heart goes out to you, and thank you for serving our nation. You helped keep people like me here at home safe.
 
Wow! I am blown away by the true story you related, and that even in the circumstances as presented, you express sympathy for her.
The command to "love one another" sometimes seems impossible considering the situation.
But you are truly taking the "Godly approach" in this example, and I commend you for it.
When I was really young, maybe 20, I was a covert drug investigator. Many times, I had to interact with the drug dealer, as well as his family. I learned early that even people who brake the law and also husbands, wives, fathers and mothers. There really is no need to stop treating people like people, even if they elect to make crime their primary business.
 
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