Yea though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me.

Psalms 23:4, KJV

The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.

Franklin Roosevelt

I wonder sometimes just how much we lose to fear. We lose sleep, certainly, but so much more. We lose precious opportunities due to a fear that sometimes paralyzes us into inaction. Men have lost their self respect, women their virtue, and nations have even lost countless battles before they even began - all because of fear. I don't know how many times I have heard someone begin a statement of defeat with the phrase, "I am afraid". We are afraid that we will lose our health, our wealth, our jobs, and our true loves... 

"I think, therefore I am" says the philosopher. "I fear, therefore I accomplish not", says the one too afraid to even live. Of all the horrible diseases ever suffered by men from the time of the creation on, I believe fear is the greatest cancer that will ever be known. We have all observed so many people in our lifetimes who had incredible talent, only to watch them waste their gifts because they were simply too timid to use them. We have witnessed far too many people who were on the brink of great accomplishments, only to see them fail to realize them because they were afraid.

Maybe this is why we admire King David so much. Before he was king, he was a mere shepherd boy. But it would be wrong to think of him as lowly as that, because this shepherd boy would go on to fight and defeat both the lion and the bear because he was unafraid. He went on to defeat Goliath, a giant from who the armies of Israel fled, but not David. David realized that it was Goliath who stood opposed to God, and therefore it was Goliath who could not win. As it turned out, the only thing those who ran away really had to fear, was fear, but it was enough to leave them defeated.

How about you? What giants have you left unconquered for the simple fact that you were afraid? You were afraid that they would beat you, so you didn't even put up a fight. You were afraid that they would make you look foolish, so like a fool you fled from their presence. You were afraid of so many things, but you were not afraid of the only One, with Whose help you would never have to be afraid of anything else ever again. How could that be?

The Bible reveals the answer very plainly: "Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man."(Ecclesiastes 12). "The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom" is a truth repeated throughout the Word. If we could only learn the truth of these commandments, we would never have to fear anything else again in out lives. For these eternal truths have never changed: Fear God, and you will not have to fear anything else. Do not fear God, and you will end up being afraid of everything!

It's a truth we all need to learn, and we need to teach it to our children. This old world in which we live seems to have a fear for everything but the One that they should - God! It is when we learn the fear of God that we are able to put aside the unnecessary fears that grip so many. You know these fears, for they are the ones that keep you awake at night, fretting over things that God has promised to protect us from if we will but fear Him. Absent that proper fear of God we become an insignificant and small people who are ruled by their fears and cowardice. But, for those who fear God, belongs a new frame of mind. And this fearless mindset allows them to boldly stride through life, with a confidence that is reserved for the few who know that they can accomplish anything that God wants them to accomplish.

Which will we choose, I wonder? Will it be a fear that will relegate us to a subpar life of low achievement? Or will it be a fear of God that allows us to eschew the fear of all other things and that will allow us to live the life of excellence that God has called us to? The choice is ours! The wise will choose to fear God. The rest will just... fear.