Volume#6 Issue#4 May 2010 - Fear

If there is one thing that has a tighter hold on this city than Islam, it is a spirit of fear.  Some people are fearful that the violence from last summer will return here.  This sort of fear pits neighbor against neighbor and co-worker against co-worker, dividing them right along ethnic lines.  Others are scared of H1N1 and other such diseases.  I knew of one family that refused to send their children to school so that they wouldn’t get sick.  Some fear the future and not being able to get ahead and pay the bills or care for the family. Still others fear evil spirits.  Most of the YOU girls I know wear some sort of amulet on them to keep the jinn (Islamic word for demons) away. 

Fear motivates their actions and their lack thereof.  The encouraging thing is that all of this fear has made some people more open to hearing the gospel. One friend said she has seen a difference in us, that we are not living in the same fear. This has caused her to start asking questions and seeking freedom from fear.  Pray that she would continue to seek and find the freedom that is only found in Christ.

Jesus is the only source of perfect love, the type of love John talks about in his gospel, the type of love that could truly have a positive effect on the fear in this city. 1 John 4:18-19 “There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because He first loved us.”