1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
God doesn’t want us to carry cares in our lives, because fear, anxiety, and concern do not come from God. Jesus has given us His peace, which is different from the peace the world offers. The peace the world offers depends on circumstances and therefore changes, but our environment is constantly changing, so we can lose our peace very quickly when things change.
We must remember that the devil seeks to steal the Word from our lives to rob us of our peace and joy. Unable to appear before us in physical form, the weapon he uses is to instil fear and anxiety in our lives. Fear, by definition, is an attitude of being continually anxious.
2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Fear does not originate from God, nor does God use it to teach us a lesson. Instead, God has given us a spirit of power, of love, and a sound mind. Therefore, a sound mind and a heart and a mind that are filled with God’s peace belong to us. However, we have a part to play in taking hold of what belongs to us when the devil uses fear to immobilise us and hold us in bondage.
For many, their chief fear is the fear of man. It can be verbal—what they say to you or about you, or non-verbal—what they do to you or behind your back. Fear of men keeps many from taking a stand for what they know is right.
The devil intimidates us with fear of what people can and will do to us. This leaves us self-conscious, afraid of what others may think of us and how it may affect our promotion. We fear offending bosses, superiors, suppliers and, at times, friends. Subconsciously or consciously, we have given power to what they think of us and what they say about us, letting it torment us with fear of isolation or rejection.
One of the greatest miseries is to place our happiness and peace subject to what people think and say about us! Therefore, refuse to allow or empower people to determine your joy and peace! Instead, we should stand on our biblical conviction and our walk with the Lord.
Psalms 27:1-2 (NKJV) The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell.
We should also learn to be like David, whose trust in God gave him the strength for life. All that mattered to David was that God was with him, whether he was facing the lion, the bear, Goliath, the Philistines, King Saul, or any other enemies—nothing frightened him.
Reflection: Have you allowed the fear of man to rob you of your peace? How is God inviting you to replace this fear with the truths about Him?
Sermon Series: Are You Casting Your Cares to the Lord？
我还怕谁呢？
彼得前书 5 :8务要谨守、警醒，因为你们的仇敌魔鬼如同吼叫的狮子，遍地游行，寻找可吞吃的人。
神不愿我们在生命中背负重担，因为恐惧、焦虑和愁烦绝不是从神而来的。 耶稣已经赐给了我们祂的平安，这平安与世人所赐的全然不同。世人所给的平安取决于外在的环境，因此转瞬即逝；然而，我们的环境是在不断变化的，所以当事情改变时，我们很快就会失去那份平安。
我们必须记住，魔鬼一直企图偷窃我们生命中的神的话语，以此来剥夺我们的平安与喜乐。 魔鬼无法以肉身的实体显现在我们面前，所以他使用的核心武器，就是在我们的生命中不断灌输恐惧与焦虑。从定义上来说，恐惧本质上就是一种让人持续陷入焦虑的心态。
提摩太后书 1 :7 因为神赐给我们不是胆怯的心, 乃是刚强、仁爱、谨守的心。
恐惧绝非源于神，神也绝不会用恐惧来教训我们。相反，神赐给我们的是刚强、仁爱、谨守的心。因此，健全的心思，以及被神的平安所充满的心怀意念，本就属于我们。然而，当魔鬼企图用恐惧来使我们瘫痪、将我们捆绑时，我们必须承担起自己的责任，去得着并持守那原本属于我们的应许。
对许多人而言，他们最大的恐惧就是惧怕人。这种恐惧可以来自言语上—别人对你说了什么，或在背后议论你什么，也可以来自非言语上—别人对你做了什么，或在背后对你使了什么手段。对人的惧怕，使得许多人在明知什么是正确的事时，却不敢挺身而出、坚守立场。
魔鬼总是用别人能够或将会对我们造成的伤害，来威吓我们。 这让我们变得过于在乎自我，害怕别人会怎么看我们，以及这是否会影响我们的升职。我们害怕得罪老板、上司、供应商，有时甚至是朋友。潜意识或显意识里，我们已经把掌控权拱手让给了别人对我们的看法和评价，任由孤立或被拒绝的恐惧来折磨我们。
人生最大的痛苦之一，莫过于将自己的幸福与平安建立在别人的眼光和言谈之上！因此，决不要允许或任凭他人来左右你的喜乐与平安！ 相反，我们应当坚立在圣经的真理确信上，坚守我们与主同行的步履。
诗篇 27:1-2: 耶和华是我的亮光，是我的拯救，我还怕谁呢？耶和华是我生命的保障，我还惧谁呢？那作恶的, 就是我的仇敌， 我的敌人，前来要吃我肉的时候，就绊跌仆倒。
我们也应当学习大卫的样式，他对神的信靠成为了他生命的生命力。对大卫而言，唯一至关重要的就是神与他同在。无论他面对的是狮子，熊，歌利亚，非利士人，扫罗王还是任何其他仇敌—没有任何事能让他惊惶胆怯。
默想：你是否容让了对人的惧怕夺走了你的平安？神正如何邀请你用关于祂的真理来取代这种恐惧？
讲章系列：你是否将你的忧虑交托给主？