Fear of Man

It is so easy for us to "Fear Man" more than to "Fear God".  I was thinking about this as I was getting ready for church this morning and was reminded by God of scripture.
Imagine what it must have been like to be the disciple Peter.  This was a man that believed, in fact declared, and KNEW that Jesus was the Son of God.  He had walked with Him and been taught by Him and was a witness to the many miracles done by Him.  He was Jewish and no doubt had been taught as a young child the Torah, the first five books of our old testament, and learned of the almighty power of the Most High God.  Perhaps his mother read to him Psalm 23, "Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me..." as he laid down to fall asleep.
This man loved Jesus and vehemently denied that he would ever reject Him when that long dark night began.  And yet, when Fear came knocking not once, not twice, but three times, Peter let him in.  Why, why, why?  He allowed fear of man to overcome fear of God.  Do I tell you this story to indict myself, to indict you? No, I tell you this story because even though it is true that Peter allowed fear to shape that night and he wept bitterly when he heard the rooster crow the third time, it is not the end of Peter's story and thank God my fearful nights are not the end of my story.  Nor will your fearful times be the end of your story.  For Peter soon thereafter rebukes the fear of man, begins to preach and the very first time that he does so the following occurs: "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three  thousand were added to their number that day."  Acts 2:41.
What gives me comfort as I am reminded of this is that fear is common, fear can be overcome, and when that happens, God can use me in powerful ways for His Glory.