Proverbs 29:25

Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord will be kept safe.

This is an interesting verse to reflect on.

Does it mean that when we become a person who ‘trusts in the Lord’ they will be kept from harm (kept safe)??

Or could it mean that if harm comes to a person (that they are not safe) that it is because they didn’t trust the Lord enough?

Is it possible to consider that we may have done something wrong in our faith if harm or tragedy were to befall us??

Is it possible to consider that God chooses to let us be harmed because He determined our faith was not up to His standards?

Trust in “man” and you are preparing yourself to be caught in a trap (a snare)…trust in the Lord and you will be kept safe.

I believe there is a significant amount of importance in dissecting this verse…this theology.

Too many people could get lost in confusion that they must not have enough faith otherwise they would not be in a situation where there is fear….that God would not have allowed it to happen if they had enough faith.

Dangerous territory to cross into.

These thoughts position a person to feel abandoned by God, to not feel good enough before Him, or that God is anything other than loving and sovereign.

Let’s look at this verse in a different translation to find better understanding~

The fear of human opinion disables, trusting in God protects you from that
(MSG).

Don’t fall into the trap of being a coward- trust the Lord and you will be safe
(CEV).

Suddenly, the context changes doesn’t it??

This is not a verse like it first seems!

See how important it is to really study the Word?? It is way too easy to take a verse out of context and make it into something IT WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE.

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The book of Proverbs is a compilation of sayings and writings primarily authored by King Solomon. Its purpose is to give wisdom to those who read it…for others to obtain knowledge and then to apply what is learned to their lives.

Solomon is discussing the wisdom of following the advice of a person that could easily -accidently or purposefully- lead someone astray over the wisdom in following the commands of God that will keep a person on the path of life.

The wise counsel that is given to us in this particular verse is in regards to a warning about doing what may be wrong out of fear what others may think if you don’t.

The fear of others opinion is not a fear we have discussed much…as adults, many of us may claim we are not driven or persuaded by the opinions of others.

I don’t think that is true.

Since the popularity of Facebook has grown, we -adults- have become more and more acuitely aware of what others have going on in their lives…and we would be lying to ourselves if we said that we were unaffected by the comparison game.

Before social media became a daily factor for a large majority of us, there was still the component of keeping up with the Jones’s.

Anyone else remember that saying?

Who on earth were the OG “Jones’s” we have all been trying to keep up with?

We have worried about what our houses looked like to other people: is it big enough, clean enough, decorated well enough…can you smell my cat litter, is my furniture shabby because I have two teenage sons that jump on it so my husband says “I can’t have nice things while they are here”???

We have worried about what our cars looked like to others- ever apologize when someone gets in the car because it was “dirty” or “old”??

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We have worried about our kids measuring up to the successes of other kids~ there would not be such a thing as a helicopter mom if this were not true.

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We worry if our kids failures will reflect poorly on us…you know I’m right about this one. It hurts to admit it, but it is true.

We worry what will happen if we speak up or speak out…Political corrected-ness has take over so many of us~ we do not want to become offensive, do we?

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This kind of fear may not be as all-consuming as some of the other areas we have tackled, but it is no less significant.

Worrying what someone else may think of us leads to personal insecurity. When we become insecure we lose sight of our personal value.

And that causes us to become afraid.

It is that fear that becomes the snare that traps us.

Frankly, it is that fear that becomes the snare that enslaves us. A fear that can hold a person captive is a necessary fear to overcome.

Trusting in the Lord will keep you safe…

When I am feeling insecure, I find I am looking inward.

When I am feeling secure, I find it is most often when I am looking outside of myself.

Worrying how I look, how I perform, how I sound, how well do I write….all that is me me me stuff.

I’m stuck in my own head and place my value into the hands of others. Suddenly, what they think of me is what determines my worth.

Anyone else see the foolishness in that???

Yet, I doubt I am alone in doing it. Allowing it. Willingly falling into the snare of that release of what makes me me into the hands of another….Someone who does not know all of me. Someone who may not have my best interest in mind. Someone who does not love me the way I desire to be loved.

The empty abyss of approval found in the number of likes on Facebook can be easily wiped away when another post is seemingly ignored.

I “trended” on Twitter once…it was pretty cool~ not gonna lie. I had over 1,000 retweets on a post I had made (big deal stuff in my little world). I’m not sure why that tweet was such a big deal…but nothing I’ve shared since has come even close to that kind of recognition.

I’m thankful I don’t stay awake at night thinking about all that…but, I do wonder if or when “fame” could cross my doorstep…

It’s sad but true.

I have a dream to be a speaker. I believe that the Lord placed that dream on my heart a few years ago~ let me tell you it had to have been HIS idea because the idea never crossed my mind before! I’m a Registered Nurse for crying out loud!

I’m in school to become a minister within the Church of the Nazarene…I started attending classes to learn about the Bible so I could better explain it and apply it in life and in different teaching opportunities.

I never thought about becoming a pastor before starting those classes…I never thought about speaking the words of encouragement that are on my heart before taking those classes.

When asked about the call on my life the Lord has laid on my heart, I would be embarrassed. Who says “to be a speaker of encouragement”?? Who would declare “God has given me a gift of talking so I believe I am called to speak and tell my story of His faithfulness”?

Who would listen?

And who would listen with a straight face??

I kept silent when asked…ashamed of what people would say or think if I spoke up. In my circle of ministry, people are either lead pastors, children or youth pastors, or worship pastors. I don’t exactly fit into any of those categories.

So I was embarrassed to be so bold as to say what God has called me to do.

Instead I would talk to those I trusted the most about it and would seek earnestly for the Lord to take this dream from me because it seemed silly and impossible.

And then He would give me a glimpse of the possibility. He would provide an opportunity to use my gift.

He would grow my confidence…and that would increase my trust in Him.

Sometimes dreams don’t make sense. Sometimes opportunities seem to be improbable. Sometimes opinions are different from those around you. Sometimes life skills cause you to stand out.

It doesn’t mean your opinion is wrong. It doesn’t mean your dreams can’t come true. It doesn’t mean the opportunities won’t be plausible if you go for them.

The thing is this:

Are you positioning yourself where you are looking only within for your validation?

OR

Are you positioning yourself to trust in the Lord for who He created you to be and to do what He created you to do?

Does your validation come from others or does your value come from who you are in the Lord?

Trusting God and not the opinion of others means I am spending time with God so I know who He is so I can better trust Him with my life.

Trusting God and not the opinion of others means I choose to believe I am who He says I am because I believe He is who He says He is.

Trusting God and not the opinion of others means I am looking for His will for my life and not to others to decide my fate for me because He knows me best as my Creator and Father.

Trust in man and risk falling into a trap…Trust in God and be safe.

Be UNAFRAID.