Fear vs. Fear of the Lord; For audio only PPN
Truth of the Spirit with Patti Brunner discusses Fear vs Fear of the Lord by sharing a sinister tale of demonic manifestation. The Catechism helps us to understand fear as a passion. Fear of the Lord allows you to step forward in faith no matter what difficulty arises. Fear is generally thinking something bad is going to happen. Here’s the truth: Bad things can happen to good people but mostly they don’t. God is with you all the days—and nights—of your lives.
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As we live in days that seem more like a science fiction movie than real life, the Lord wanted me to discuss fear with you. There is a fear in people that is not the “Fear of the Lord” that causes piety; but this fear is fear of losing control. One time a woman who was very near death asked me to come visit her and her boyfriend. She wanted my spiritual help. When I sought the Lord’s advice, before I went there, He told me to remind her that He loves her. The Lord also told me to dismiss all of my judgment, and that if I treated her with love she would find freedom from the fear that controlled her life. She told me that her boyfriend had been her friend when she was a teenager. She told me that her estranged husband, a drug addict, had infected her with hepatitis C and it had destroyed her liver and was destroying her other organs as well. I thought she might be afraid of death, but there was something much more sinister in the story she wanted to tell.
Welcome to Truth of the Spirit. I’m Patti Brunner. Our episode today is discussion on “Fear vs. Fear of the Lord”.
The woman I visited told me that the previous owners of her childhood home had held satanic rituals and she found satanic symbols on the floor underneath the carpet. She told me that her former husband had been dedicated to satan as a teenager. But the main fear in her heart happened when she was a teenager and a demon manifested in her bedroom. She hid under the covers and not knowing what else to do, called her friend on the phone who prayed with her. The fear of the manifested demon still gripped her heart.
As I prayed for her, the Lord prompted me to lead her back to that moment, so that she could see what God did as she and her friend prayed on the phone. Originally her head was under the covers but this time she was able to see the flash of God’s light, and the darkness had to flee. As she saw this in her mind, in her memory, I felt God’s awesome power around her. She felt it too. We then prayed, together, for the Lord to break soul ties. I asked the Lord to lift her former husband from his past and shine Light to dismiss his darkness. And I thanked the Lord for rejoining the woman and her friend together after so many years. We also asked for the healing of her body. She died a few months later, but her family let me know how much she had appreciated our prayer session and that these last months were full of peace. The comprehension of the Presence of God overcame all fear.
We all have a decision before us: to step forward in faith or to cower in fear. Fear of the Lord allows you to step forward in faith no matter what difficulty arises. Fear of the Lord allows you to meet the possibility of rejection head on. It allows you to step forward even in the face of being at a disadvantage. It protects you when there is danger by allowing the angels at your side to caution you, it allows you to seek remedy when one is available.
The Fear of the Lord is your emotion in right order. It allows you to speak truth and the Word of God with boldness even to those who are unbelievers. When there is a lack of true understanding of creation, of life and of death, the fears of this world are magnified in your mind, and the mind of all this generation.
Jesus Christ conquered death; and creation and life are God’s gifts to you. They are good gifts and there is no darkness that is in them except by the effect of sin.
Open your eyes. The world around you seeks the destruction of all that is good, of all that is Holy but the Lord does not desire destruction and so He sends us to speak his peace. He sends us to lift the weary to continue their journey. He sends us to heal the sick, give sight to the blind and to share the Good News.
Fear is generally thinking something bad is going to happen.
Here’s the truth: Bad things can happen to good people but mostly they don’t. God is with you all the days—and nights—of your lives. Rest easy that your hope is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth and who shall hold you in His hand! Ask God’s angels to protect you and ask for trust from the Holy Spirit. Know that your body can be destroyed by evil but that God will restore glorified bodies to those who love Him.
You might be wondering: How do we overcome the fears of life? ‘The fear that envelops the world right now is the fear of losing control: of life, of liberty, of health, of peace, of finances, of relationships, of life itself as manifested daily.’ The Lord says to us: “Do not fear “losing control!” When you surrender your life to God you freely place your heart and your choices in His hands. Being where God is, who loves and knows what is best for you, puts you on the pathway to life. When you accept the Will of the Father, even difficulties can be embraced for a season. So when the Lord in scripture says ‘Fear Not’, remember, that these are words to live by. Lives will be saved as you choose obedience to the Will of the Father. When you step out in faith, the world can be changed by your own obedience to the Will of the Father.
A confusing thing is the use of “Fear” vs. “Fear of the Lord”. After all, “Fear of the Lord” is a gift of the Holy Spirit, and actually one of the seven sanctifying gifts given in Confirmation as promised by Isaiah in Chapter 11. These gifts complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily obeying divine inspirations and lead us on a level path.
I was surprised as I looked in the Catechism and found very little about fear except to discuss it as a passion. The bible is a different story. Some say the bible mentions “Fear Not!” 365 times, one for every day of the year!
CCC # 1772 teaches us that “the principal passions are love and hatred, desire and fear, joy, sadness, and anger.” [#1771] “The term “passions” refers to the affections or the feelings.” –in other words, ‘our emotions’– “By his emotions man perceives and understands the good and suspects evil.”
The most fundamental passion is love. Love is attracted to good. When good is absent, love causes a desire and hope for good. When good is attained, there is pleasure and joy.
The dread of evil causes hatred, aversion, and fear of the coming evil; this ends in sadness at some present evil, or in the anger that resists it.
Fear in the world certainly contains the fear of being alone, which is ironic because fear isolates people.
When the history of mankind is set on a straight line and the placement of the effect of fear upon it, you will see it as a root cause of wars and disintegration of the joy of living truly connected with God. Fear, internalized, becomes despair. Fear externalized becomes hate and war. Fear, turned over to the Lord, becomes an opportunity to turn towards God for help. Fear conquered proves that love triumphs – as it always will. Fear of the Lord brings you to unity with the Lord.
Catechism 1767 tells us: “In themselves passions are neither good nor evil.” However, when we engage our reason and our decisive will, they become voluntary, and that’s a different story of good and evil.
“Passions are said to be voluntary”, St. Thomas Aquinas tells us, “either because they are commanded by the will or because the will does not place obstacles in their way.” He also said, “It belongs to the perfection of the moral or human good that the passions be governed by reason.”
In the Gospel of John chapter 14 verse 27, Jesus spoke to our emotions when He said: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.”
This is the fear of the Lord: peace! The evidence of being ‘Christ-filled’ or ‘Christ-centered’ is indeed the peace that pervades in your life.
St. Paul understood this as he wrote his letter to Bishop Timothy in 2 Timothy Chapter 1 verse 7, “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.” This is the fear of the Lord: power, love and self-control.
The everlasting need of the people is to be loved. It is indeed the purpose for which you were created. Sin, death, fear—all keep the fulfillment of love at bay. Repentance, obedience, acceptance allow the grace of redemption to remove the barriers that keep God’s love from penetrating your hearts, your souls, your very being.
Trusting the Lord in all things is the key to the kingdom of God. Trust in God is the key that unlocks the heart and sets it free. This is the fear of the Lord: trust in God! The Church relies on the Word of God as Truth. Doubt and fear destroy; hope and love restore.
You can spend your life in fear: fear of dying, fear of rejection, fear of failure; or you can spend your life fearing only God, caring only how He might judge your actions.
That brings us back to the discussion of Fear vs Fear of the Lord. Remember fear is defined as an emotion and a passion. At times the Lord has called me to not pray in doubt but in trust and fear of the Lord. Fear of the Lord brings peace because the turmoil of sin and decisions are set aside for the joy of the Lord.
In the Catechism paragraph #781. It says: “At all times and in every race, anyone who fears God and does what is right has been acceptable to him.”
Perhaps it will help you to consider having Fear of the Lord as being a “God-thinker”. The independent thinker plans his own life but can never calculate the thoughts and actions of others. Their freewill allows indiscriminate actions. The lives of people depend on many things—the environment, their families, the calculated and the rash acts of others. Each man’s freewill causes a free flow; and the merging of the flow gives the effect for any individual’s life.
The “God-thinker” prays and plans and hopes according to the Word of God. The “God thinker” thus can rely on the promises of God. For God is true to His Word—true to his Promises. Be a “God thinker”! As you make your plans in life, pray to hear God’s voice and direction. You will never regret following the path God has set clear for you. It is only by following the Will of the Father that you can be truly free of all anxiety.
When you stagnant or struggle, step back and ask the Lord to give the direction. Men think small but in God all things are possible. Sometimes God wants small things to be done. Other times He chooses “small” people to do great things to confound the rich and the wise and to surprise those who live totally in pride.
The indications of following the Will of God are peace, joy, consolation, contrition, and happiness. Fulfillment is felt but the longing for more is evident. Seek the Lord, and He shall be found. Call to Him – He is near.
Whenever you seek the Lord, your God, the Lord is available to be found and so enters your heart and mind. The mind is full of many things – memories, responsibilities, distractions, longings, and the knowledge of the true God. When the activities of the day crowd the focus away from God, you find yourself in ‘stress’. The greatest ‘stress reliever’ is to empty out the problems and issues of the day into His hands – The hands of the Creator – the hands of the all-powerful, all knowing – all loving God who made the universe and all that is in it. When you trust the Lord your God and submit your will to the Divine Will you will find the answer to ‘lack of time’ ‘lack of energy’ and ‘lack of focus’. These ‘distractions’, provided by the hater of men and the hater of God, shows forth the desire of the Father for an abundant life for you.
Continue to swing forth in your tasks. Do not worry when the swing seems to fall back – this is not a ‘falling back’ but only so the Lord might ‘push the swing’ higher. Enjoy the ‘ride’. Fear not. God is with you.’
If you fear life you will die. It is that simple. Fear strangles the flow of the Spirit. Perfect love cast out all fear. When illness or infirmity invades the body it can be an opportunity to trust God, to petition God for healing and relief or to offer to God the suffering as recompense. Each of these responses brings life. Should illness turn one to despair and deny hope in any good then it chokes the flow of the Spirit and death of the soul begins.
The weeds seem to overtake the good at times and the tender of the fields can become discouraged. But fear not, dear beloved ones; the rain that falls on the “weeds” also has been nourishing the wheat. The crop is ready for an early cutting. It shall continue to produce and the 30-60-100 fold will soon be evident.
Psalm 91 tells us: Do not fear the darkness of the night nor the arrows that fly by day.
The difficulty is overcoming fear of taking the first few steps. Be as a child—hold the hand of the Father and He will quiet your steps until you are strong enough to move quickly. The Lord says, “The bruised reed I shall not bend!” Fear Not!
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not fear. He makes for me green pastures to lay in; “to safe waters he leads me he restores my strength. Lord, guide me along the right path for your name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of death, I fear no evil for you are at my side. Your rod and your staff are my comfort and my hope.”
You’ve been listening to Truth of the Spirit. I’m your host, Patti Brunner. Be sure and subscribe to our channel. It’s free and makes it easier to find our other episodes. Then come back for more. Because with the Holy Spirit, there’s always more! Amen.
