Today we are walking in:
STOP LETTING EVERYTHING SHAKE YOU — PART 2
Mishlei (Proverbs) 29:25
“The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in YAHUAH shall be safe.”
SNARE
Today we look to the word SNARE — H4170 — moqesh — a trap, a noose, a stumbling block, that which ensnares or entangles.
The Torah Testifies………
Shemoth (Exodus) 23:33
“They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make thee sin against Me: for if thou serve their elohiym, it will surely be a snare H4170 unto thee.”
Devariym (Deuteronomy) 7:16
“…Neither shalt thou serve their elohiym; for that will be a snare H4170 unto thee.”
The Prophets Proclaim………
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 8:14-15
“And He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence… for a gin and for a snare H4170 to the inhabitants of Yerushalayim.”
The Writings Witness………
Mishlei (Proverbs) 29:25
“The fear of man bringeth a snare H4170: but whoso putteth his trust in YAHUAH shall be safe.”
Tehilliym (Psalm) 91:3
“Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare H6341 of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.”
Now let us go deeper.
If you truly want to stop letting everything shake you, you must first understand why everything shakes some people in the first place.
The answer may surprise you.
Most people think they are struggling with difficult circumstances.
In reality, many are struggling with a fragile identity.
Because whatever controls your identity will eventually control your emotions.
Whatever determines your worth will eventually determine your reactions.
Whatever you build your confidence upon will eventually determine your stability.
This is why two people can experience the exact same situation and respond completely differently.
One person receives criticism and completely falls apart.
Another receives criticism, calmly evaluates it, and learns whatever wisdom it contains.
One person experiences rejection and immediately questions their value.
Another experiences rejection but continues moving forward with confidence.
One person encounters a setback and becomes discouraged for weeks.
Another sees that same setback as part of the journey.
The circumstance is identical.
The foundation is different.
And that foundation is identity.
Imagine building a house on sand.
The structure may look beautiful.
It may appear strong.
But when the storm arrives, the weakness is exposed.
The storm wasn’t the real problem.
The foundation was.
Many people have built their identity upon things that were never designed to support it.
Some build it on people’s approval.
As long as others praise them, they feel valuable.
As long as people celebrate them, they feel secure.
As long as everyone agrees with them, they feel confident.
But what happens when criticism comes?
What happens when approval disappears?
Their emotional world begins to shake.
Why?
Because their confidence was resting on something unstable.
Others build their identity on performance.
They feel valuable when they succeed.
They feel worthy when they achieve.
They feel important when they accomplish impressive things.
But what happens when they fail?
What happens when they make mistakes?
Suddenly their entire sense of worth is threatened.
Not because failure destroyed them.
But because their identity was attached to something fragile.
Others build their identity on possessions.
On appearance.
On status.
On reputation.
On position.
The problem is that all of those things can change.
Anything that can be taken away is a dangerous place to build your identity.
That is why some people live on an emotional roller coaster.
A compliment lifts them.
A criticism tears them down.
A good day makes them joyful.
A bad day makes them miserable.
A success fills them with confidence.
A setback fills them with insecurity.
Their emotions rise and fall with every circumstance because their identity rises and falls with every circumstance.
But Elohiym never intended for His children to live that way.
He never intended for your peace to depend upon public opinion.
He never intended for your confidence to depend upon constant success.
He never intended for your joy to depend upon favorable circumstances.
He intended for your identity to be rooted in Him.
That is why Mishlei (Proverbs) 29:25 gives us this powerful truth:
“The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in YAHUAH shall be safe.”
Think about that word:
Snare.
A trap.
A trap captures.
A trap restricts.
A trap keeps people from moving freely.
According to Scripture, one of the greatest traps a person can fall into is becoming controlled by what other people think.
How many dreams have died because of fear of criticism?
How many opportunities have been missed because of fear of rejection?
How many people remain stuck because they care more about public opinion than Elohiym’s purpose?
Fear of people is expensive.
It costs confidence.
It costs courage.
It costs growth.
It costs peace.
And often, it costs purpose.
Because when you become controlled by people’s opinions, you eventually stop living for Elohiym’s approval.
You begin living for theirs.
The problem is that people are impossible to satisfy consistently.
One day they celebrate you.
The next day they criticize you.
One day they support you.
The next day they question you.
One day they praise you.
The next day they misunderstand you.
If your peace depends upon people, your peace will always remain unstable.
Emotionally strong people understand something different.
Their identity is not determined by public opinion.
It is determined by Elohiym’s truth.
Criticism does not define them.
Failure does not define them.
Rejection does not define them.
Circumstances do not define them.
Elohiym defines them.
And when Elohiym becomes the source of your identity, something remarkable happens.
You stop needing constant validation.
You stop chasing approval.
You stop allowing every opinion to dictate your emotions.
You stop treating criticism like a catastrophe because you know who you are.
When you know who you are, other people’s opinions lose much of their power.
Think about Yahusha.
People praised Him.
People criticized Him.
People followed Him.
People abandoned Him.
People celebrated Him.
People mocked Him.
Yet through every season, He remained focused on His assignment.
Why?
Because His identity came from the Father—not from the crowd.
The same principle applies to us.
The more secure you become in Elohiym’s view of you, the less vulnerable you become to the opinions around you.
The more rooted you become in your purpose, the less distracted you become by criticism.
The more confident you become in Elohiym’s calling, the less power fear has over your decisions.
This is one of the greatest secrets of emotional stability.
Emotionally mature people do not derive their worth from temporary things.
They derive it from eternal truth.
They know who they are.
They know whose they are.
Because of that, they become much harder to shake.
But there is another reason people lose their peace.
Sometimes it isn’t because they care too much about opinions.
Sometimes it is because they give their attention to things that never deserved it in the first place.
They react to every comment.
Every offense.
Every disagreement.
Every distraction.
Every piece of negativity.
Before long, their energy is depleted and their peace is gone.
Which raises an important question:
What if one of the greatest forms of wisdom is simply knowing what to ignore?
No comments:
Post a Comment