Do You LIve in Fear? – ????

[Bible Speaks]

Do You LIve in Fear? - What Can Your Do About it? - Why is there Fear? - Does God Care? ~ YOU ARE NOT ALONE! ~  (Long but we need to Cope!) I am a Survivor! 

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(1 Peter 3:13-15) . . .Indeed, who is the man that will harm YOU if YOU become zealous for what is good? 14 But even if YOU should suffer for the sake of righteousness, YOU are happy. However, the object of their fear do not YOU fear, neither become agitated. 15 But sanctify the Christ as Lord in YOUR hearts, always ready to make a defense before everyone that demands of YOU a reason for the hope in YOU, but doing so together with a mild temper and deep respect."

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Why Do So Many Live in Fear?

A CLIMATE of fear envelops mankind. It is an invisible but discernible mood, an atmosphere that affects nearly everyone, even though it often goes unnoticed. What has produced this atmosphere? What makes some people feel frightened when they leave the house? Why do many feel unsafe at work? Why do many fear for the safety of their children? What dangers make people fearful in their own home?

Of course, there are numerous causes of fear, but we will consider four dangers that can affect people constantly—urban violence, sexual harassment, rape, and domestic violence. First, let us examine violence in cities. The subject is especially timely now because almost half of mankind live in urban areas.

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You have Dangers in Cities

The first cities were probably built for protection, but many people now see cities as danger zones. What was once seen as sheltering has become frightening. Crowded city centers provide ideal conditions for muggers, and in some cities, poor neighborhoods with few streetlights and few policemen are dangerous to enter.In many countries a vast gulf has developed between the living standards of the rich and the poor, resulting in simmering resentment. Hordes of people who feel deprived of basic needs have ransacked the exclusive neighborhoods of the elite. That hasn’t happened yet in some cities, but the situation seems like a ticking time bomb that is bound to explode—no one knows when.

The threat of thieves and revolutionaries would seem enough, but there are other causes of anxiety adding to the climate of fear.

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The Horror of Sexual Harassment

For millions of women, whistles, obscene gestures, and lecherous stares are a daily nightmare. Says Asia Week: “Surveys reveal that one Japanese woman in four has been sexually assaulted in public, with 90% of the incidents taking place in trains. . . . Only 2% of victims take any action when mauled. Most cited fear of their molesters’ response as the main reason for their silence.”

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Fear of Rape

Women have more to fear than just the loss of their dignity. Sexual harassment sometimes implies a threat of rape. Understandably, rape is a crime that many women fear even more than murder. A woman may suddenly find herself alone in a place where she fears she may be raped. She may see a man she doesn’t know or doesn’t trust. Her heart races as she frantically tries to assess the situation. ‘What will he do? Where can I run? Should I scream?’ Frequent experiences like that exact a cumulative toll on women’s health. Many people choose not to live in an urban area or prefer not to visit cities because of such fears.

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“The fear, the anxiety, the distress are all a daily part of urban life for many women,” says the book The Female Fear. “Women’s fear of rape is a sense that one must always be on guard, vigilant and alert, a feeling that causes a woman to tighten with anxiety if someone is walking too closely behind her, especially at night. It is . . . a feeling women are never totally free of.”

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Fear of Violence at Home

The private practice of beating wives into submission is a gross injustice carried out worldwide—and only recently recognized as a crime in many places. In India one report claimed that “at least 45 per cent of Indian women are slapped, kicked or beaten by their husbands.” 

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Spousal abuse is a serious global health hazard. Concerning women between the ages of 15 and 44 in the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that more are injured by domestic violence than by car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined. 

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Domestic violence is therefore much more serious than an occasional argument that develops into an exchange of slaps. Many women live in fear of injury and death at home. A national survey in Canada showed that a third of women who had suffered domestic violence had at some time feared for their lives. In the United States, two researchers concluded: “Home is the most dangerous place for women and frequently the site of cruelty and torture.”

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Does Fear Affect the Way You Act?

Living as we do with fear all around us, we may be unaware of how many of our daily decisions are governed by fear. How often does fear affect the way you act?

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Has fear of violence led you or your family to avoid arriving home at night alone? Does fear affect your use of public transportation? Have the dangers of commuting affected what employment you take? Or has fear of fellow workers or fear of people you would have to deal with affected your choice of work? Has fear affected your social life or the entertainment you can enjoy? Perhaps fear of meeting unruly drunks and crowds has dissuaded you from going to certain sports events and concerts? Has fear affected what you do at school? For many parents, fear of their children becoming delinquents is a factor influencing their choice of schools, and fear certainly explains why many of them choose to pick up their children who could walk home or use public transportation.

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Indeed, mankind lives in a climate of fear. But fear of violence has been with us for most of mankind’s history. Can we really expect anything different? Is freedom from fear just a dream? Or is there solid reason to expect a future in which no one will fear anything bad?

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Common Now but Not Forever! ***?

Will It Get Worse or Better?

What does the near future hold as respects fear? Will fear keep on increasing, or will it be overcome? Let us again note what Jesus told his apostles.

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He pointed to something that lies in the near future—great tribulation. Here are his words: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in lamentation, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”—Matthew 24:29, 30.

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(Matthew 24:29-30) 29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in lamentation, and they will see the Son of man . . ."

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So we can expect that the great tribulation will soon begin. Other Bible prophecies indicate that its first part will be a reprisal on false religion around the globe. Then will come the shocking developments just quoted, including celestial phenomena of some sort. What will be the effect on millions of people?

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Well, consider a parallel account of Jesus’ reply, where we find amplified prophetic comments:

“There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth anguish of nations, not knowing the way out because of the roaring of the sea and its agitation, while men become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”—Luke 21:25, 26.

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(Luke 21:25-26) 25 “Also, there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth anguish of nations, not knowing the way out because of the roaring of the sea and [its] agitation, 26 while men become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken."

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That lies ahead of us. But not all humans will then be in such fear as to make them become faint. On the contrary, Jesus said: “As these things start to occur, raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near.”—Luke 21:28.

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** w95 10/15 pp. 7-8 Fear—

** g05 8/8 p. 4 Why Do So Many Live in Fear? 

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102005562?q=fear&p=parACCEPT

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