Fear Traps, Trust Frees

“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.”
Proverbs 29:25

Nothing prepared me for what I saw when my little girl started preschool during Covid-19. Tiny masks covered little mouths and noses. Little ones stood outside the school building, eyes filled with confusion and uncertainty. Mamas stood there holding their little ones close, wondering if they should turn around and head back to their car. We all stood there waiting for our child to be escorted into the building by a masked stranger.

To make matters worse, it rained that day. As I stood in the rain looking at my little girl in her polka dot pink mask and feeling like the worst mama in the world, I began to doubt everything! Questions started rushing through my mind, along with all the tears and the feels. What am I doing? Will she pass out from wearing a mask for two and half hours? What if she gets sick? What if she’s scared? What am I doing? Whose idea was this anyway? Why is this happening? At that moment, I struggled. I struggled to trust that my little girl would be okay.

Fear has a way of trapping our hearts, especially regarding the things we care most about – our family, our children, our spouse, and even our future. We want to trust. We need to trust. But there are times when fear grips us, making trust almost impossible. You see, trust is freeing. It is the act of letting go of pieces of your heart into the hands of another. If there’s one person who doesn’t want God’s people to be free, it is the enemy himself. He would use any form of fear – fear of others, fear of the future, even our fears to keep us from experiencing the freedom of trusting the One who has forever won our hearts.

In Proverbs 29:25, King Solomon writes, “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” In this small but powerful verse, we find two contrasting outcomes. The first outcome is driven by fear. It is a harsh reality as to what happens when we trust anyone or anything other than God. It reminds us of the danger of allowing anyone or anything to become bigger than our God. The moment we allow the very thing we fear to trap us, claiming power over our heart, controlling our emotions, and dictating our behavior is when we lose, and the enemy wins.

But we don’t have to let fear become our story. We can choose the second outcome. We can choose trust. We can choose to trust in the One who has proven to be trustworthy again and again. We can allow God to be bigger and greater than our fears. The result of choosing to trust the Lord is not only freeing but also the very thing that will keep us dry and above water when we feel like we are drowning. No one can love us, care for us, provide for us, or even protect us better than He can.

On that rainy day, as I headed back to my car, I decided that my little girl was safe not because I was trusting in her teacher, the mask she wore, or even the little hand sanitizer I placed in her backpack. No, she was safe because of who I trust – the God who holds everything in the palm of His hands. And if the whole world was safe in His hands, then truly my little girl would be okay. In those moments where life becomes scary and fear tempts us, let us run to safety. Let us run towards freedom. Let’s run to Jesus! Trusting in Jesus will always provide a better outcome.

Discussion Questions:

1.What areas in your life do you struggle to trust God, and why do you think this might be the case?

2.How has fear been a ruling factor in your decisions, and how can you change this?

3.What specifically needs to change in your life or heart to move you from living in fear to living by faith?