What are You Dreading?
What are you dreading? You are not a coward; whatever it is, you’re going to face it. Yet you still have a feeling of dread. Build on God’s promise. Say with confidence, “In this moment, in my present mind- set, the Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.”
Oswald Chambers.
The opposite of faith is fear, the opposite of hope is dread. Dread is a type of low-grade, deep-seated fear because it is amorphous, without specific shape. It is a feeling of impending doom. The great danger of living in the end times is that we know that there will be cataclysmic events, both man-made, devil-made and God-made. We thus can have a sense of dread instead of a sense of hope and faith. Hope by definition means a future expectation of God's favor which is the opposite of a sense of impending doom. Fear left unattended is debilitating because we are quite literally not in our right mind.
Fear takes us out of our logical and analytical mind (cerebral cortex) and puts us into our more primitive mind that thinks emotionally, fight or flight (limbic/amygdala). Fear prevents analytical processing so we can't make logical decisions. Fear also wars against our inner peace that is essential in order to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and we are unable to make Spirit-led decisions. Most people just try to push dread out of their minds through diversions like entertainment and vacations (think happy thoughts) but Chambers gives the Biblical way to combat dread. Focus on the promises of God to never leave us nor forsake us (think Biblical thoughts). Our great Keeper will see us through every trial and every tribulation, including the Great Tribulation. May we join with the Psalmist today to boldly declare "The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" (Psalms 118:6)
Oswald Chambers.
The opposite of faith is fear, the opposite of hope is dread. Dread is a type of low-grade, deep-seated fear because it is amorphous, without specific shape. It is a feeling of impending doom. The great danger of living in the end times is that we know that there will be cataclysmic events, both man-made, devil-made and God-made. We thus can have a sense of dread instead of a sense of hope and faith. Hope by definition means a future expectation of God's favor which is the opposite of a sense of impending doom. Fear left unattended is debilitating because we are quite literally not in our right mind.
Fear takes us out of our logical and analytical mind (cerebral cortex) and puts us into our more primitive mind that thinks emotionally, fight or flight (limbic/amygdala). Fear prevents analytical processing so we can't make logical decisions. Fear also wars against our inner peace that is essential in order to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and we are unable to make Spirit-led decisions. Most people just try to push dread out of their minds through diversions like entertainment and vacations (think happy thoughts) but Chambers gives the Biblical way to combat dread. Focus on the promises of God to never leave us nor forsake us (think Biblical thoughts). Our great Keeper will see us through every trial and every tribulation, including the Great Tribulation. May we join with the Psalmist today to boldly declare "The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" (Psalms 118:6)