It Scared Me and I’m Afraid of Nothing

    Between 1875 to 1883, a professional thief known as Black Bart held a reign of terror for stagecoaches from northern California to Oregon.  He was responsible for at least 29 different robberies.  In all his robberies, Black Bart never had to fire a shot; he was only assaulted once beside when he was finally caught.  Most everyone was too afraid to dare to fight back against the notorious crook.  The fear of this notorious bandit was enough for most folks to hand over their valuables. The myth of Black Bart was in the end just that, a myth.  The man that all the people feared was a failed miner from Decatur, Illinois.  He arrived at his robberies on foot because he was terrified of horses.  In the end, He never fired his gun because he never had ammunition.  He was too afraid to load his gun.

    Fear causes people to do strange things.  It can cause some to give over their valuables to a man with a gun, even if that gun has no bullets.  It can convince us to choose popularity over our integrity.  It can force us to accept lies rather than the truth.  It can keep us from standing for what’s right because others tell us it’s wrong.  It can keep us from speaking to a friend who needs salvation because of the rejection we may experience.  Fear can have the power to control us without any real means to do so.  Fear’s power is only given to it. It has power only if we let it.

     That is why we should only let fear have its proper place. It is natural to have some fear but knowledge overcomes fear.  If the victims had known the real man behind the mask, do you think Black Bart would have ever robbed a stagecoach?  Jesus warned us to only fear what really capable of doing lasting damage (Matthew 10:28).  Satan will use our fear to imprison us in a paper cage if we let him.  Think about what we fear most, has God not given us a way to overcome these things?  Hebrews 13:6 tells us “so that we confidently say, "THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?"

    What do you live in fear of?  Has God made a promise about that? Don’t let you fear keep you from faith in God.