Today's Devotional

November 1,  2005

 

Subject:  If You Really Want To Be Scared

Revelations 6:15-17 - "And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;  And said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"

I had one of my high school students telling me about a haunted house she visited over the weekend.  She talked at length about how horrifying the experience was.  She was scared out of her wits and had to make immediate use of the facilities, if you know what I mean.

I'm always amazed at the lengths people will go through to experience that rush of fear.  Sometimes, I guess subjecting yourself to something fearful is necessary to overcome that fear, like if you're scared of heights and want to get over it so you climb a mountain or go skydiving or something like that.  However, subjecting yourself to the "eerie" type of fear, I find completely unnecessary because, based on what I've read in passages like the one above, there's going to be more than enough fear to go around in just a little while.

If fear is to be put into perspective then we must first fear God.  If that is our first fear, then all other fear is only temporary or fleeting.  The fear that the Lamb of God brings to the world is so mighty that all men will wish they were dead.  In contrast to the haunted house, where the people usually simply want to get out of the house, that's a tremendous difference.  

Perhaps some have done it in their churches or community groups, but as another Halloween passes, if you really want to be scared, capture the day of His wrath.   Maybe then some will see that the fear of God is the only fear they need.

Carlen