Too often we fear the wrong people and the wrong things.
People ought not to intimidate Jesus’ disciples. The worst that people can do is harm us physically. Even Satan cannot harm us apart from God’s sovereign will. Why is it then that we fear people and demons so much, and we fear God so little? People continually pronounce that we ought not to fear God, that He is a God of love. Conversely, we are encouraged to go to great lengths to appease and please people.
Yet it was Jesus Himself who encouraged us to consider who we ought to maintain a healthy fear of. God has far more ability to express His displeasure to us than does Satan. It is God will determine people’s eternal fates. It is God who will judge the living and the dead. It is God who will hold people accountable for their words and actions. The thought of standing before a righteous God as we give a full accounting of our lives ought to cause us to tremble.
Could it be that you have feared people too much and God too little?