Fear – particularly the constant fretting over what people will think, or what they might do to us, causes us to make bad decisions. We make choices that we think will just make the situation go away. And in so doing, we forfeit the blessings that come with trusting in God.

God will often then create new circumstances that test our trust, because trusting in God in all things is a lesson that must be learned. And so God will make us take this test again and again until we see the snare of our own creation, and look unto Jesus instead (Heb 12:1-2).

Test the Lord’s promise – you will be safe – and watch Him come through.