Here are some other great verses about fear:
| 1 Timothy 1:7 | Psalm 55:1-2, 4-5 | Psalm 27:1 |
| Isaiah 41:10 | Psalm 34:4 | Philippians 4:6-7 |
| Matthew 6:25-34 | 1 Peter 5:6-7 | John 14:27 |
Tim Keller writes in his book Counterfeit Gods about a woman in his church who fell into this trap. For a number of years, she did not know if she'd be able to have children. And she was blessed, she and her husband, with three lovely children.
Tim Keller writes about how she had such an overpowering drive to give her children a perfect life that it made it almost impossible for her to actually enjoy them. And, very quickly, her whole life became wrapped up in her children and her over-protectiveness. Her fears, her anxiety, and her need to control every detail of their lives began to choke her.He says,
"It's not so much that she loved her children too much, but rather that she loved God too little in relationship to them, and that her desire for her children to be successful and happy was actually selfish and really about her need to feel worthwhile and valuable."This is a hard one to talk about because there is nobody in our lives, for those of us who have children, that we wouldn't think, "I'd give up my life for them to be happy and successful." But it's easy to invest in our children in order to get a level of joy and fulfillment from them that is ultimately found only in God. And the ironic thing is no child can bear the burden of that kind of love. And few empty-nesters remain in fulfilling relationship when the overprotected baby birds eventually fly away. And they all do fly away.
- How do we hold our children with open hands rather than clenched fists,
- How do we trust in God and not fear failure without any promise of the outcome?
- How do we not smother our kids with an overprotective suffocation?
- How do we model genuine trust of God?
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