The Captivity of Fear

Fear holds you captive.

By this, I mean that when we are afraid, it holds us in a restricted position. What we could have possibly done, we can do no longer, or at least not to the original potential. My wife sometimes shares a story of fear that she has related to the abnormally large cockroaches that we would sometimes encounter when we lived in Hawaii. Truthfully, they were water bugs, but their similarity to a cockroach was remarkable, especially in a dimly lit situation. On one occasion, a water bug had taken up residence in a door frame that she needed to pass through, but the mere fact that it was in that door frame was nearly enough to keep her from going through. She eventually mustered up the gumption and ran through the door. Her fear nearly kept her from doing what she needed to do, even though that particular task was not necessarily a noble one.

In comparison, the prophet Jeremiah was given a task by God to warn Israel of the coming judgment of God. The judgment was rooted in the fact that Israel had forsaken God, they had turned to other Gods and were worshiping the products of their own hands rather than the God who had delivered them. Jeremiah offered rebuttals, noting his youth and that he was not a good speaker. But God admonished him and reminded Jeremiah that He was with him in this endeavor. 

The call on Jeremiah's life to be a voice that spoke into the brokenness of the people is not a unique calling given only to Jeremiah. We who are followers of Christ have been given a similar task to go and make disciples of all people. We are called to speak light into the darkness. We are called to speak life over death. And in the current state of our modern society, in many cases, it is that very kind of speech that is sometimes labeled as "hate speech" or "discriminatory." 

I imagine that had this kind of label existed in Jeremiah's day, perhaps he, too, would have been charged with the same accusation. Perhaps Israel would have pushed back at his prophetic warning with a cry of discrimination and say that his tone was hate-filled. Perhaps they would have mocked him and said that his ideas, his convictions were outdated or irrelevant because things had changed and what they once believed to be true was no longer.

If those threats were Jeremiah's reality, then he might have been afraid. Afraid of being rejected. Afraid of not fitting in. Afraid of being labeled and isolated. Afraid of being canceled or silenced. He might have even been afraid of being persecuted or killed. 

But before any of this could be expressed, Jeremiah receives this empowering word from the Lord:

"You must prepare yourself for battle and be ready to utter every word I command you. Don't be frightened before them, or I will frighten you before them."
(Jeremiah 1:17, CEB, emphasis added)

The instruction that Jeremiah was given by God was certainly a daunting one. He was to be a voice of admonition and a voice of correction. God had called Jeremiah to speak against the people's way of life and their collective rejection of God and His commands. Jeremiah was going into the fray, and there was certainly going to be push back (or even worse), yet God's instruction stood. And along with that instruction came this: don't be afraid of them, or I will make you afraid.

Too many followers of Christ today are afraid of what might happen if they speak up. They are afraid of all the potential repercussions - which may very well end up happening - and it is that fear that has taken them captive from walking the path to which God has called them. And if God's word to Jeremiah rings true still today - and I believe that it does - the fear that has taken many Christians captive today is a result of God saying "If you're going to live in fear, I will make you afraid."

But God also tells Jeremiah this: "They will attack you, but they won't defeat you, because I am with you and will rescue you." (Jeremiah 1:19, CEB) There is no promise of freedom from potential persecution, but there is the promise of God's rescue. There is the promise of God's presence. It never fades or fails. 

God is calling His children to speak up and speak out into a culture that, much like the Israel of Jeremiah's day, has forsaken God, worships anything and everything else, in particular that which they have created with their own hands. Our culture worships success, celebrity, politics, money, and today we are seeing the rapidly growing worship of sin. God's call remains the same: "Utter every word I command you." 

Let's not operate in fear, for fear will hold us captive and keep us from accomplishing the work God has given us to do. Let's not operate in fear, for fear silences the voice in the wilderness that declares the call of salvation and the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Let's not operate in fear, for if we do, we remove the anointing of the One who has called us and we stay locked up in a prison of uselessness.

May it be so.