Written by Christian Speaker Network Member, Jeff Simpson
Most of us have become so accustomed to fear that we no longer recognize how much of our lives are organized around it.
We rarely call it fear. Instead, it appears as anger, judgment, control, perfectionism, people-pleasing, defensiveness, blame, and withdrawal, and these are ways we protect ourselves from what we fear most. Over time, we learn to wear masks so well that we forget we’re wearing them.
Before disobedience entered the story, Adam and Eve lived in peace with God and with one another. There was no fear, shame, hiding, or blame. God’s voice was enough.
But humanity chose to trust another voice above the voice of God (Gen. 3:1-7).
Adam’s first recorded words after disobeying God were, “I was afraid” (Gen. 3:10).
With disobedience came fear.
Adam covered himself and hid from God. When confronted, he blamed both God and Eve (Gen. 3:12). What began as disobedience quickly produced fear and the many ways we protect ourselves from it.
Those patterns did not remain in the garden.
We are still afraid, and we still hide.
Like Adam, we still sew together our own fig leaves and hide among the trees. We rely on self-sufficiency, performance, and all sorts of other ways to avoid exposure and protect ourselves from what we fear most. We hide from one another behind masks, excuses, and carefully curated images. Sometimes we even hide from ourselves, refusing to acknowledge what is really happening inside us.
Truth be told, most of the struggles we experience in our marriages, families, churches, friendships, and daily lives are modern expressions of the fear that first appeared in Genesis 3.
Looking back, I can see how often disobedience and fear influenced my own heart. Most of us do not admit that we are afraid. We say we are fine, okay, frustrated, offended, disappointed, or angry, but beneath much of our self-protection is fear.
Increasingly, one of the ways God convicts me is by bringing me to a simple confession, “I am afraid.” I am afraid of rejection, judgment, loss, failure, and things I cannot control.
And when I acknowledge those fears, I begin to recognize places where I still trust other voices above God’s. I begin to see how those fears manifest themselves as control, anger, blame, judgment, and subtle ways I try to protect myself instead of trusting God.
Through His death and resurrection, Christ reconciles us to God (Rom. 5:10). Through the ongoing work of His Spirit, He teaches us to confess honestly, take responsibility, and trust Him again. Bringing those fears into the light before God, and sometimes with trusted people, by saying, “I am afraid,” has become one of the ways He continues His transforming work in me.
As He transforms me “from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor. 3:18), self-protection gradually gives way to surrender.
I’ve known these truths for years, but like many believers, I have not consistently practiced them. James tells us we deceive ourselves when we are hearers of the Word but not doers (James 1:22). God is using the simple confession, “I am afraid,” to bring truth from my head into my daily life.
As I continue to surrender every part of myself to Him and trust His voice, I am finding that obedience becomes less about trying harder and more about yielding to His Spirit’s work.
The same God who spoke Creation into existence still speaks life, truth, and order to His people. His voice has never fallen silent. And He has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control (2 Tim. 1:7).
Fear entered, and hiding never stopped.
But neither did God’s pursuit of His people.
Through Christ and the ongoing work of His Spirit, He is restoring what disobedience disrupted.
Jeff Simpson is the founder of Restoring Order. Drawing from decades of military and government leadership, ministry, suffering, and personal restoration, he helps people carrying significant responsibility regain perspective when situations become too complex, confusing, or personal to see clearly. Through biblical wisdom and practical insight, he helps people face hard problems, painful situations, and important decisions with wisdom, responsibility, and faithfulness.
Learn more at Restoring Order or connect with Jeff through ChristianSpeaker.net.