“I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor?” {Isaiah 51:12-13}
Have you ever suffered bouts of insecurity over what others think of you? For example, you come home from an event and you had talked and socialized with people, and then this nagging thought comes over you that makes you feel bad about yourself. You remember a scene that made you wish you didn’t say what you said. Of course you never in a lifetime would think of hurting or offending anyone intentionally, but by their reaction to what you have said you beat yourself up wishing you never talked at all.
That’s just one example of how what we perceive others may think of us can affect us and even debilitate us. Whether our friends, co-workers, neighbors, relatives, and especially a family member, they can send us into high depression and get us wishing we didn’t have to deal with people anymore. Yet for most of the time if we really think this thing through, it’s all in our minds. We assume the thoughts they think about us. We’re the ones creating the conversation in our minds that reproach us, not them. We assumed they’re thinking about us in that way, but it’s really our own imagination running wild. Half the time people don’t really think about us as soon as we’re out of their sight. Often people in general think of themselves, as much as we think of ourselves, so half the time they’re not thinking about what you said at all anymore. It’s really all in our heads.
I hate to say it, but these thoughts of insecurities and reproaches are really from the enemy of our soul who likes to see us unhappy. So, whenever these thoughts come to afflict me of fearing I had said something that might have offended another person, I just go to the Lord and talk to him about it. I first ask him to forgive me if there was something I should not have said or done, and then I would ask him next to comfort that person that I might have offended. I also ask that he would touch their hearts not to think evil of me and to forgive me. The Lord has time and time again been so merciful and so gracious to me and has comforted me through this. He lets me know that all is well and there’s nothing to worry about anymore, because he’s going to take care of it for me. I believe him and I can move on.
Years ago I had an experience that sent me wishing so much to avoid people. I was so afraid of what they would think of me and what they must be saying about me over a situation that occurred through no fault of my own. But you can probably guess who came to the rescue for me: the Lord! He showed me this wonderful verse in Deuteronomy 31:6. He told me,
“Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
Knowing that he was for me liberated me. He truly is a wonderful and gracious God. He knew and understood what I was feeling, and gave me the courage through this verse to accomplish what I needed to do. I was able to go through and overcome this hard time in my life by remembering that the Lord is with me and not to be afraid or to be ashamed of myself.
“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” {Romans 8:31}
Speaking of fearing what others might think of us, remember the Lord when he was hanging at the cross and his enemies reviled him and mocked him and said to him:
“He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.” {Matthew 27:42}
Talk about mean people, and we think we have it bad! These people weren’t just saying these things behind the Lord’s back, they were right out saying these mean words to him while he hung dying on the cross. But Jesus couldn’t do anything about it. Even if he wished he could prove himself, it wasn’t the will of God for him to come down from the cross to show that he really is the Son of God and not an impostor. God’s will was that he would hang there and go through the shame of being crucified and getting killed and getting buried. What suffering he endured! Imagine being accused of being a liar, of saying something that wasn’t true, but you really believe with all your heart that God is with you and has spoken through you? Not to mention you went around doing good and teaching people to do good and healing them? What to do with all of those people who disliked him and hated him, must he prove himself to them? No, of course not, because in the end what matters is what God thought, not what people think. They can revile and think evil of Jesus all they like, but it’s not going to change the fact that he is still the Son of God, and that in three days he is going to rise again and prove himself (true to his word) to those who actually matter to him.
That in essence is what we need to carry with us, the assurance that if God is for us who can be against us? God is going to work all things out for our good. It might not be the way we wish it would happen at the moment, but if we have that assurance that the Lord is for us and is looking out for our good, then all is well. We don’t need to worry about what others think of us anymore. What matters is what God thinks of us. If we have made ourselves right and accepted by him, that’s all that matters. Just as Christ hung at the cross and endured until the end knowing that there is going to be a happy outcome for him, we too can hang in there and endure until the end, knowing that there is a happy outcome for us also. The Lord is for us and has assured us of his presence and of his everlasting love. We know that,
“…All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” {Romans 8:28}
“Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” {Romans 8:34-35}
