"The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted" (Proverbs 29:25).

I dreamed last night of an old friend. It seems my dreams reveal most about what is in my heart, and in them I am able to navigate through my fears without the inhibitions my reality presents. Upon waking, I am thrust into the world of silent fears and idle pleas, and my heart is presented with a superfluity of choices. Matthew Henry's commentary on this verse says that the fear of man either opens a man to various and unnecessary temptations, or subjects him to the contempt and sneer of others.

We can sense one another's fears, and credibility seems to drain through the cracks of a man's doubts. The fear of man sets us on a course whereby we are snagged by every criticism, despairing of other's doubts, and generally subject to every opinion offered our way. We herein ride the tumult of the vicissitudes of our lives, and we try our best to defend ourselves from the most precarious situations. This life becomes lived for, and by everyone else, and we generally slip further into our demise. I write this as an exhortation for myself, for if I never again outwardly accomplish a single thing on this earth, but am daily knowing more of the infinite love and grace of my God, than I have gained the world, and lost nothing. I need not shrink back when asked of what my life has brought, or what my hands have accomplished, for all is done within me, and the results are not my own. I say we must be emboldened to speak of the inward things, the works of grace in our souls, and forget about the rest; leave it up to the One who works it all according to the counsel of His plan. Be bold friends, whether in the company of saints or otherwise, for the work that takes place in the heart is of eternal magnitude and wisdom, and never ought be overlooked.

"We are encouraged to depend upon the power of God, which would keep us from all that fear of man which has either torment or temptation in it. Whoso puts his trust in the Lord, for protection and supply in the way of duty, shall be set on high, above the power of man and above the fear of that power. A holy confidence in God makes a man both great and easy, and enables him to look with a gracious contempt upon the most formidable designs of hell and earth against him. If God be my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid." Any hallelujahs?