Fearing People: Part 2
Written by Hayley Mroz / Read Part 1 here
What is the way out of fearing people? Proverbs 29:25 contrasts fearing people with trusting in God. According to the Bible, trusting God is synonymous with fearing Him. To fear God is to be captivated by God and attuned to His presence, not to what others may be thinking about us. To fear God is to listen more attentively to the voice of the God who views us as a masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10) and has compassion for us (Psalm 103:13) than to the voices of others (whether positive or negative). We will give the subject of how to fear God further attention in a future blog post.
Fearing God instead of others comes down to this daily (and multiple times a day) decision.
Will I keep God and His opinion of me because of Christ at the forefront of my mind and heart while I am in this meeting, at this party, with my family, or will I unnecessarily seek the approval of others in what I say and do?
There is always grace when we realize that the approval of others has become too important to us. It is God’s kindness to make us aware of our struggles.
If this post resonates with you, consider sharing about the struggle with a trusted mentor, friend, or counselor. They may be able to trace themes of fearing people in your life story, and to help you see what it would look like to fear God instead of people in the particular moments of your particular days. Despite what you may believe, you can bring the hurts of past rejection and present insecurities to our safe God and safe people. Doing so can help you understand how these experiences shape the way you are living today.
Here are a few questions for reflection that could help uncover a fear of people in your own life:
Whose opinion matters the most to you in a typical day or week?
Have you ever been rejected or disapproved of by someone? What conclusions do you think you came to as a result about yourself, God, other people?
What do you think your day tomorrow (or the rest of today even) would look like if you didn’t have to spend as much time thinking about how other people are perceiving you?
What do you think your day tomorrow would look like if you were more concerned about hearing and knowing God’s true voice than being consumed by the voices of others?
A wise mentor recently suggested the following simple prayer to me: “Lord, help me to love this person in front of me more than I fear them.” To that I would add, “Lord, help me to fear you more than I fear the person in front of me.”
These are simple words, but profound ones. And we are in desperate need of God’s help. Let these words be our prayer.
Additional Resource: When People are Big and God is Small by Ed Welch
Hayley Mroz is a counselor at Life Counseling Center. She enjoys counseling people who feel paralyzed by anxiety, stuck in insecurity and comparison, and those struggling with loneliness or a lack of purpose. Read Hayley’s full bio here.
To request an appointment with Hayley or one of our other counselors, click here.
