In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid.  What can mere man do to me?

Psalm 56: 4

I saw a book title this week that said, When People are BIG and God is small.

While I didn’t have time to read it, the book covers the subject of fear and specifically the fear of others. What will they think of me if I stand up for my convictions?  What if they stop talking to me?  What if I lose my friends?

If you’ve ever felt the inner conflict of peer pressure (and I believe all of us have), you’ll understand the failure of well known characters from the Old and New Testaments who struggled with trying to please others for the moment instead of living to honor God no matter what.

Consider the words of Jesus from Luke 12:4

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.”

and from Proverbs 29:5, “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.’

Relying on Scripture is easy on Sunday, but what about the rest of the week?