It’s hard to pass up an opportunity to include Star Wars in a devotional thought. And since today is May the 4th (as in ‘May the force be with you’), that’s all the opportunity I need.
“Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering” – Yoda
Through out the Star Wars saga, we see how pride and fear turned Anakin Skywalker from a seemingly happy boy to a crazed and obsessed young man and then finally to the hard-hearted Darth Vader. We see how he makes decisions based on fear, anger, and hatred. Progressively throughout the series, his mental state become more and more unstable. Eventually, the fear that he would lose his wife became a reality because of his fear that he would lose his wife.
A total work of fiction, yet sometimes all-too-real how dwelling on fear can change a person.
Simple question: Do you make your decisions based on fear or faith?
This past Sunday, I spoke about putting God at the front of the decision-making process. What would God have me do, rather than how can I fit God into what I want to do. A decision based on faith is proactive; a decision made on fear is reactive. We need to be proactive Christians. It takes intentionality to make decisions based on faith. It takes actively searching for God’s will in your life. It takes saying “Not my will, but thine.”
In 1 John 4, John is talking about having confidence on the day of judgement; not to have fear. “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.” When we make decisions based on faith, we do so out of love and trust in God. And if we are trying to please God, based on what He has told to do in His Word, then we have nothing to fear. Pleasing God may cause trouble and strife in this life, but it is all temporary. God’s love is eternal. And He wants you to have that peace of mind, that ‘Helmet of Salvation’ to protect your mindset, so that you can live proactively with God in the lead.
Don’t let fear drive you crazy and turn you hard-hearted. Purposefully replace fear with faith. And May the 4th be with you.
If you’d like another Star Wars themed devo, I wrote one last year about how Satan attacks us. You can read it here. Even if you don’t know much about Star Wars, it’s worth a read.