Who is in control?

"It is true: what or who you need will control you."

(When People Are Big and God is Small, p. 14)

Prayer...

Lord, I need you.  But right now my need for ________________ is controlling me.  
It is causing me to ....

In you, God, there is...

Amen!!

Fear of People...

“1. We fear people because they can expose and humiliate us. 2. We fear people because they can reject, ridicule, or despise us. 3. We fear people because they can attack, oppress, or threaten us. These three reasons have one thing in common: they see people as “bigger” (that is, more powerful and significant) than God, and, out of the fear that creates in us, we give other people the power and right to tell us what to feel, think, and do.” 
― Edward T. Welch, When People Are Big and God is Small: Overcoming Peer Pressure, Codependency, and the Fear of Man

PRAYER FOCUS:  Don't let me get caught up in the fear of people!

When People Are Big and God Is Small

When People Are Big and God Is Small is a great book that specifically addresses the fear of man.

This post is taken from Justin Taylor's blog

“The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” Proverbs 29:25

“Fear of man is such a part of our human fabric that we should check for pulse if someone denies it.”–Ed Welch, When People Are Big and God Is Small.

In order to fear God, not man, here are the steps Welch sets forth in his book, which I’ve just started and would warmly commend:

Step 1: Recognize that the fear of man is a major theme both in the Bible and in your own life.

Step 2: Identify where your fear of man has been intensified by people in your past.

Step 3: Identify where your fear of man has been intensified by the assumptions of the world.

Step 4: Understand and grow in the fear of the Lord. The person who fears God will fear nothing else.

Step 5: Examine where your desires have been too big. When we fear people, people are big, our desires are even bigger, and God is small.

Step 6: Rejoice that God has covered your shame, protected you from danger, and accepted you. He has filled you with love.

Step 7: Need other people less, love other people more. Out of obedience to Christ, and as a response to his love toward you, pursue others in love.