Fear God Alone

Fear God Alone

Read: Luke 12:4-7

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.”

Luke 12:4

“I need nothing but God, and to lose myself in the heart of Jesus.”

—Margaret Mary Alacoque

IN WORD The context of this verse in Luke 12 is persecution from those who would silence the gospel message. But Jesus’ message here can apply to our daily lives, whether we face life-threatening persecution or not. For in fact, we often do fear others more than we fear God. We let people intimidate us and we let circumstances restrict us, and in the process we end up conforming to others’ expectations, cultural constraints, and a host of other ungodly influences.

Do you ever feel pushed around? Jesus tells us to fear only God. His will is to be the overwhelming influence in our lives. We must realize that neglecting His will is drastically more costly than facing the consequences others may impose on us when we do His will. Carrying out God’s purposes and living according to His character must be our highest priority, despite any opposition or criticism we might face from those who do not understand.

IN DEED Whose opinion is largest in your eyes? Are there people in this world who have disproportionate influence on you? Many of us frequently try to please everyone else and then fit God’s will in around our obligations. But nowhere in the Bible does God say we are obligated to make everyone else happy. Nowhere does He say we should sacrifice His purposes in order to keep peace with others.

God will put all of us in situations from time to time that test our allegiance. He will allow people and events into our lives that will seem huge and powerfully influential over us. And their influence will run contrary to God’s will for us. What is our response? Whether we are facing persecution for the sake of the gospel or just making daily decisions in the trials of life, we are to be preoccupied with God. Jesus urges us to remember that God is more powerful than our trials and our intimidators, and our allegiance is only to Him.