Proverbs 29:25 (in part): The fear of human opinion disables.
How true. I know a lovely young mom whose extended family has been virtually accosting her with criticism and isolation. She was reeling from the emotion and the rejection, and the picture it was painting for her--of herself--was spiraling downward, even though her husband, daughter and friends saw her for the amazing person she is.
Today she embraces the better view of herself. What changed?
She traded the fear of human opinion for a new trust in God. That carried her to a threshold of saying, in essence, to her extended family, "I can't let you dictate how I feel about myself. I can no longer paint myself with your opinion of me--rather I will put my trust in God and my relationship with Him."
The most curious thing about this process is that her extended family has actually backed off, as if standing up to the bully statements began to extinguish the very hurt they inflicted.
I guess that's why the rest of Proverbs 29:25 reads: Trusting in God protects you from that.
There God goes again, knowing just what He's talking about...
