We Shall Be Safe

The speaker discusses the damaging impact of fear and anxiety on believers. They explain that fear can immobilize and trap individuals, making them slaves to the control and opinions of others. However, the speaker emphasizes that when believers put their trust in God, they can experience safety and freedom from fear. Trusting in God allows individuals to be lifted above their fears and brings them to a place of safety and untouchability. The speaker encourages listeners to trust in God and experience the exchange of fear for trust and safety. They also extend an invitation to non-believers to accept Jesus as their Savior and experience salvation. Today we are going to the book of Proverbs 29 and verse 25. The word of the Lord says, Fear of man brings a snare, but whoso puts his trust in the Lord shall be safe. Have you ever wondered the damage or the impact that anxiety, fear, nervousness, anxiousness has on the believer? What do you think about it? There are thousands of people around the world, including Christians, that are totally helpless and hopeless because of fear, because of anxiety. We know that anxiety is even a diagnosed medical condition. But spiritually speaking, the Bible has a lot to say about fear. I understand that people oftentimes categorize fear as one thing and anxiety as another. But the original word in Proverbs 29 and verse 25 relates to fear as being anxious, speaks of it as anxiety. I also mention trembling. It brings the idea of what happens when an enemy is about to invade another troop. What happens is that the people become so nervous and it becomes evident, it is evident, you could see it, you could hear it. It is in the emotions, it's through the eyes, it's through the voices and perhaps the silence. Fear is crippling. People are trembling, hearts are racing. Their palms begin to sweat and the other emotions which comes because of fear. Yet the Bible addresses this and I want us to pay close attention to what happens when we allow fear to dominate our lives, when we allow fear to lead, when we allow fear to be in control. I know you may choose to disagree and say that fear is not in control or fear is not leading my life. Perhaps it's just that I am dealing with the situation of fear at this time. Let's face it. Every one of us, whether we want to agree or not, have had occasions or moments that we were fearful. When you do not know how things are going to turn out, when you do not know what is going to result, when you do not know when there is no assurance of whether things are going to be in your favor or against you, when you are not sure whether someone is literally going to harm you or hurt you, when you have no idea of what is about to befall you, logically speaking, people become fearful. But when we lean into the Scripture, when we understand the Word of God, when we see what God is saying to us and what He desires of us to do as His people, then we take a different approach. We respond to fear differently. That's why the writer of the Proverb tells us that the fear of men, when we are afraid, when we allow ourselves to be immobilized, when we are controlled by fear which is incited or instigated or brought upon because of others, the Bible tells us that creates a snare. And as I was thinking through this and I was actually paying close attention, I realized that this snare part, it is caused because we don't know how to respond. We don't know how to face the pending danger. We don't know how to answer a question. We are not sure. We are not confident of ourselves or we are not confident about the situation, what things are going to be. And as a result, we don't act or react or respond or react in ways that we are not supposed to. And as a result, there is a trap, a snare. In other words, there is really a hook, something that hooks you, something that holds you. So, when we allow men, when we allow people, whether it's directly or indirectly, have that sense of dominion over us, we have entered into a noose. We have entered into a trap. There is a trap that was set and we walk right into it. So, we are made to understand that when we fear people, when we are afraid, when we become anxious, when we become overwhelmed and allow anxiety to dominate our lives, our days, our family, what happens? There is a fear. There is a restraining power that the fear of men creates. You know what I'm talking about. Perhaps you may have been in a situation where someone threatened you, and that can be very frightening. Perhaps you have been in a situation where your employer is very controlling, very demanding, very evil, if I were to say that, and everyone runs and everyone bows and everyone is afraid or intimidated by the individual. You know many people use intimidation and all kinds of tactics to bring people into control and to wheel people into their web. Even parents and children and certain relationships that we deal with, people continue to have to come face to face or face to face with fear. And for the most part, some of them become handicapped. Some of them become prisoners. Some of them become slaves at the mercy of others. They can't act. They can't go. They can't do. They can't be. They can't become because they are afraid. They can't answer because they are afraid. They cannot go because of what others will say. They cannot do because of the criticism is so strong and overwhelming. Fear is real. Not only fear is real, but the snare that it creates, the trap, the prison, the prison that fear creates. And I do understand there is a dimension of fear that is mental. So people can enter into a mental state of prison where they are captivity. They enter into captivity of their own minds, of their own thoughts, of their own actions. No one is putting a gun to their head. No one is abusive verbally to them. No one is physically or emotionally abusive. No one is trying to intimidate or control them. Because assumptions, because of thoughts, because of ideas, because of family stories, because of things that they dread, because of things that they have conjured in their own thinking, they become fearful. But what this text is telling us today, it's not the fear that happens mentally, but it's the one that is brought upon from an external source. And that is man. That is someone else, people. You know, people can sense when you're afraid of them. People can sense when you're intimidated. People can sense when they have you in their clutches, in their hands, and between their fingers, when their words have so much power over you. The scripture tells us when this happens, what happens as a result, or what follows as a result, is that there is a snare. There is a trap. Something opens. It's as if there was a bait and you fell for it. You fell for it. And now you are held hostage. You are kidnapped by the power of someone else. However, there is a sense of relief that rises from this very verse. And the sense of relief is from the second part, which says, But whoso puts his trust, his confidence, whoever relies, whoever comes to the place where their hope, their faith is in the Lord, shall be safe. This is an extreme, beloved friends. This is something which only God can do. One moment, you are paralyzed. One moment, you can't move. One moment, you're trembling. The next moment, you put your trust in the Lord. The next moment, you move from fear to trust. Yes, it's possible. We move from fear to trust. When we move from fear to trust and not trust in people, not putting our confidence in people, not putting our hope in people, that reliance is not in people. Because fear was created by man, but the only way things are going to change, the only way that we can see a better side of the situation is when we understand. When we understand that there is a better side. When we look for that better side. When we go after the better side. And you may say, what is that better side? For 20 years, for 30 years, for 40 years, I have been in this relationship. I have been at this organization. I have been in so many places. My interpersonal relations with others is totally miserable. And now you tell me there is a better side. Yes, there is a better side. And the better side is this. The people who put their trust, the people who have come to rely on the Lord, those who have God to be trustworthy, those who understand their power, the power and trust in God, those who learn, those who enter into that deep sense of awareness and relationship, those who pretty much allow themselves to be taken over by what comes with the promises of God. And what comes with the promises of God is in the second part of this verse, 25 of Proverbs 29, which says, When you put your trust in the Lord, you will be safe. They that put their trust in the Lord shall be safe. Now, I know when you hear the word safe, what comes to mind when we hear the word safe, that means the absence of trouble, the absence of danger, the absence of things that would harm you or hurt you. But the original Hebrew gives us an understanding that is a little bit more, that is way more, I should say, from what we are accustomed to in our modern language. And the word leans into the idea when it speaks of being safe, it speaks of being inaccessible, being brought into a place where one is elevated, being brought into a place where one becomes untouchable, not in myself, not in yourself, not in our own abilities, but because we are now enveloped in trusting God. What do you see? Because the hand of God has become strong, because the hand of God is now in control over and above and around that situation. What happens? What is the result of that trust in God? Instead of fear, there is an exchange. Instead of fear, there is a reward. Instead of fear, there is a recompense. Instead of fear, there is something marvelous which happens. God brings you into a place, not man, God sets you into a place where fear no longer has power, where anxiety no longer has power, where anxiousness ceases, where the snare is destroyed and is broken, and the way that it is broken is as we trust in God. When we trust in God, that fear disappears. And the way it disappears is simply through God elevating, simply through God taking you to a place where, a place in which that you are not reachable, you are no longer accessible, accessible to the intentions of man, accessible to the pending danger, accessible to what was planned. In other words, you will walk right into the trap, and the trap will attempt to snare you or to hold you, but it cannot hold you. The reason why it cannot hold you, it's because of your trust in the Lord. You see, when we trust God, there is safety. When we trust God, God himself walks with us, as the psalmist declares, that even though I walk through the valleys of the shadows of death, I will fear no evil. And the reason why he could declare that and make such a powerful statement, it's because he knew, because he had experiential knowledge of what it meant to trust in the Lord. Trusting in the Lord, it's not something that we simply utter. It's not something that we simply say, I trust in the Lord, I trust in the Lord. Because many people have said that they trust in the Lord, but they have ended up in a snare. Many people have said that they trust in the Lord, and nothing seems to work. But when we trust in the Lord, what works for us, what happens is that God brings us out. God removes you from the situation. And even if, like in the case of Daniel, he allows you to be lowered into lions' den, the lions will not be able to bite or to destroy or to devour you. And the reason why this does happen, it's because when we trust in the Lord, there is a defense that is set up. There is a barrier that is placed. Did you hear this? When we trust in the Lord, God erects a barrier. God sets a bulwark around us. He becomes our refuge. He becomes our high tower. He becomes that shade by day. And He becomes that shield. He becomes everything to us. And as a result of this, we don't submit or succumb to anxiety or fear. Because now our trust is in God, and the snare is destroyed. The snare is broken. And instead of a snare, there is safety. I need to say that again. Instead of a snare, there is safety. Instead of the enemy actually coming and destroying and launching his attacks and making a total mess of who you are, what God does, He makes you inaccessible. He takes you out of that range, out of the target range. They may stretch their bow, the psalmist declares. Oh, glory to God. But in the name of the Lord, I shall destroy them. In other words, the things will rise, the enemy will rise, situations will rise, matters will literally strengthen themselves against you. But at the end of the day, you cannot be scared. Because there is safety when we trust in the Lord. I want you to think about it. Think about it. Give it some serious thought. I want you to see yourself in a place of fear where you are trembling, where you are anxious, where you are overwhelmed, where the anxiety is literally snuffing all the breath out of your lungs. And see how you have moved from that place of disturbance to a place where the Lord God Almighty says, If you trust Me, you will become untouchable. If you trust Me, you will run for a troop, you will leap over a wall. If you trust Me, you will stand before giants. They may speak, but in the name of the Lord, you will destroy them. If you trust Me, you will literally walk out of captivity and you don't understand. You won't know how it happened, but it happened because it happened. Because wherever the trust is, whenever we trust in God, whenever we rely on God, whenever we place our confidence, what happens is that we move from a place of anxiety. We exchange anxiousness to elevation. We exchange anxiety to safety. You got it. We exchange. There is an exchange. And we are not the one doing the exchange, but the God that we serve is doing the exchange. So when I say we exchange, what happens is that our faith is no longer in our fear. Our faith is no longer in defeat. Our faith is no longer in things that, oh, this is not going to work. This is definitely going to be bad. No, no, no, no, no. Instead, we now look from a place where we see that God has lifted us up. I want you to catch the picture. Fear suppresses. Fear oppresses. Fear intimidates. Fear presents chains. Fear chains. Fear shackles. But when we trust in God, watch it, when we trust in God, we are lifted. When we trust in God, we are brought out of horrible pits. When we trust in God, we are lifted from low places. When we trust in God, there is a reverse. There is a reverse. So fear presses us down. The trust in God lifts us up. Fear says you are going down. When we trust in God, it says that we are going up. Fear says that this is not going to end well. Trust says that the end is far greater than the beginning. You see, fear says this is not going to work out. But trust says it has already, it has already, it has already been worked out. Remember this, that when we fear men, that exchanges our strength, our power, our confidence, and we are brought into the clutches, we are brought into captivity, we become servants of people. But when we trust God, when we trust God, there is a reverse. When we trust God, there is something which happens. When we trust God, God comes in. When God comes in, what He does is that He gets in our place. I want you to hear this. When we trust God, God gets into our situation. When we trust God, God opens the doors. When we trust God, God opens the windows. When we trust God, He closes what must be closed. When we trust God, He gives us another way around the situation. When we trust God, sometimes He permits us to go through the fire. When we trust God, sometimes He allows us, glory to God, to walk through that flood. When we trust God, we will stand at the Red Sea and wonder which direction will we go. Guess what? Before you know it, while the enemy is approaching, while the situation becomes unbearable and unexplainable, God opens the way. It reminds me of what happened when Israel stood at the bank of the Red Sea and Moses and the people, they panicked. And God spoke to Moses and said to Moses, Moses, something is here. What's in your hand? Lift up your rod and stretch off your hand. And as Moses did exactly what God said to do, fear disappeared. Anxiety was crushed. Anxiety was removed. Anxiety was lifted. Everything disappeared. You know, let's face it, friends. Every now and then, there is something that seems to come upon us quickly, come upon us unexpectedly, come upon us to weaken us, to embarrass us, to make us tremble, to bring us to a place that we begin to panic. Perhaps you've been there. I know many people who've been there. However, I also know many people, including myself, who've been to a place where we looked fear in the eye and we caught our breath in the space of anxiety and we trusted God. Our sleeves were rolled up. Our loins were guzzled about and we trusted God. We trusted God even when deep down inside we did not have the certainty, we did not know for sure how things were going to turn out. That's what trust is. When you don't know, physically speaking, realistically speaking, when you don't know what the other side will hold, but you can trust God. It's almost like the disciples of Jesus Christ. One day Jesus said to them, We're going over to the other side in the Gospels. And they all got into the boat and everything was nice and everything was great. Everything was wonderful. As they were on the Sea of Galilee, the Bible says, a great storm arose and it began to pound against the ship and Jesus was in the lower part of that ship asleep. And someone came and said, Master, do you care that we perish? And Jesus awoke the Bible says and He rebuked the sea. In other words, He spoke to the element that was causing anxiety. And that's what God has been doing for His people. And that's what God wants to do for you today. If you trust Him, that's what God has done for me and many others. Because sometimes we embark on a journey. Sometimes we start things out. Sometimes we go about certain things and everything seems to be moving well, going well, sounding well. And everything seems to be smooth sailing. But then we hit a pothole. Every now and then we come face to face with an angry lion. Life, call it a situation, an event. Something that we have no control over. For a minute, for a day, for some time. Perhaps we find ourselves helpless. But then we trust in the Lord. Then we fall back on what always works. We fall back on what has never disappointed us. We fall back on what we know is trustworthy. What is that? Our confidence in God. When we put our confidence in God, when we put our trust, when we continue to rely upon Him, something wonderful happens. The anxiety shifts. It is removed and we are brought into a place of safety. Scripture paints that image of someone who is hopeless at sea. Just like in the Gospels. And the mighty hand of God scoops them up just in the nick of time and brings them to a place of safety. Though the billows may roll, though the tides may rage, though the waves may roar, there is safety. We are safe. We shall be safe. There is safety when you trust God. And safety, it's a very strong term. And I don't want us to release the word safety or to be safe just in the sense of pending danger. It can be transactional safety. When you're bound to make a poor decision, when you're pressured, when you're bound to do something or perhaps you're in the middle of something and then God simply turns things around. That's what God does. That's what happens when we put our trust in the Lord. That's what happens when we put our trust in the Lord. Listen friends, if you're connected with me today, if you've heard this word, but you're not a Christian, I know that there is a dimension of fear that is real to you. But I want to give you an opportunity to trust Jesus as your Lord and personal Savior. He died for sins according to the Scripture. He was buried and He rose again. The Bible declares, if anyone would believe in Him, he or she shall be safe. I invite you to believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God. Invite Him to your life to be the Savior and Lord of your life. And you shall experience salvation. To learn more about the Christian work, feel free to reach out to us at True Life Radio. You could send us an email, info at trueliferadio.net We'd love to hear from you and we'd love to guide you as you become a disciple of Jesus Christ. Welcome to the family. God bless you. Thank you for connecting. 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