Fear of the Natural
gb. 7/11/05. the Point
Black Bart was a professional thief whose very name struck fear as he terrorized the Wells Fargo stage line. From San Francisco to New York, his name became synonymous with the danger of the frontier. Between 1875 and 1883 he robbed 29 different stagecoach crews. Amazingly, Black Bart did it all without firing a shot. Because he wore a hood, no victim ever saw his face. He never took a hostage and was never trailed by a sheriff. Instead, Black Bart later said from prison that he didn’t need to fire a shot; all he had to do was to use fear to paralyze his victims. “Fear, the face of the unknown, was my weapon of choice, my weapon of intimidation.” His sinister presence and his threat of words was enough to overwhelm the toughest stagecoach guard.
Have you ever been afraid? I have. I remember when I was younger I would get scared by nightmares, and I was always afraid of something being under my bed, so when it was time for bed, I would turn the light off, and then run and JUMP on the bed from about 3 feet away. My brother, though, was afraid of the dark and he would have trouble sleeping unless someone was with him. Even though my brother and I had our own rooms, my parents would make me sleep in the same bed with my bro because he was so scared. When I was in third grade, the book Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark was really popular, so my teacher would read some of the stories to us. Well, one particular story scared my brother so bad that he couldn’t sleep at all that night. He told me he would close his eyes and images of that story would creep in his head and he’d pull the covers over his head so nobody would get him and he’d shake and tremble in fear. It was awful.
I remember going to my grandma’s house and watching TV and coming across the Discovery channel or something and there’d be snakes on the screen and my grandma would freak out. “Turn the channel, boys, I can’t stand those snakes.” She’d immediately close her eyes or get up and walk out of the room until the channel was changed. She was so scared of snakes that she couldn’t even see one on TV without it affecting her.
Everybody is scared of something…so tonight, we’re talking about fear: the fear of the natural. We’re going to be covering all types of fears, but you’ve got to know that fears are a natural part of life. You may be thinking, “since fear is natural, it’s ok to be afraid.” But I want to challenge that—being scared of something may be natural, but it’s not ok. We’ll get back to that later.
There are two statements that we want you to know tonight, that deal with fear…I have to, and I can’t. We usually say these things when there’s a fear, but not sure what it is. For instance…let’s say you have a fear of being alone. You may not be aware of that fear, but you may say something like this: “I have to work out, and wear lots of makeup to get that guy to go out with me,” or “I have to drive a nice car to get the hot girls.” The fear is of being alone, and the statements support that fear. Or, maybe there’s the fear of commitment. You may say, “I can’t go out with you because I’m doing my hair,” or you may think, “I can’t date that person because someone better might come along,” or “I can’t tell her I’m coming to her party, because I may find something better to do.” Do you get the idea? I have to blah blah blah, or I can’t blah blah blah is associated with the fear of something.
Jenni and I are closing on a new home on Thursday of this week, and maybe my natural fear of being a homeowner is making the payments, or doing repairs when I’m mechanically inept. I may say or think something like, “I have to be able to fix a leaky sink, or repair a broken door if I’m going to own a home, “ or “I can’t pay the bills and my mortgage payment at the same time.” These statements are natural statements that come with the fear of owning a home, but will they keep me from buying a house? NO! God wants us to overcome those fears…whatever the fear, whether it’s fear of being alone, fear of commitment, fear of the future and what it holds, fear of your past, fear of public speaking, fear of heights, fear of rejection, or any other kind of fear you have.
How do we overcome those fears? Well, let’s combat the two statements with what God has to say about it. For the I can’t statements…”I can’t do this, or I can’t do that.” The Bible says in Phil. 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” What about the “I have to…” statements? “I have to be a part of this crowd b/c they are the only ones that accept me, The Bible tells us in Phil. 4:19, “and this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”
What is it exactly that overcomes fear? Courage. Courage is the quality of mind that enables people to encounter danger or difficulty firmly. Mark Twain said, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear-not absence of fear.” Courage is what allows us to stand up and overcome that fear. Fear is an unpleasant, strong emotion that we’ve all felt at some point in our lives that may very well incapacitate us, and leave us feeling very insecure. The question is-how do we react to that fear? Did we pull the cover up over our heads and hope it would go away, or did we stand up to it firmly? How you answer that question determines whether or not you had courage?
God wants you to have courage, to be courageous. In order to have courage, you need to know that God is with you. The phrase “fear not” or “be not afraid” is found 365 times in the Bible. I think that should make it very clear that it is not God’s desire for us to be afraid. The Bible also says in 2 Tim. 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” God doesn’t want us to be afraid, in fact, many of those times when He said, ‘fear not’, he followed it by saying, ‘for I am with you.’ Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” The message version says, “Don’t panic. I’m with you. There’s no need to fear for I’m your God. I’ll help you. I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.”
Isaiah 43:1-3 says, “1 But now, this is what the LORD says-- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.”(NIV)
Imagine a young 3rd grader who’s getting picked on by an older 5th grader. The 5th grader tells him that after school they’re going to gang him and beat him to a pulp. The 3rd grader says, “Ok. See you then!” And he’s not scared, because everyday his older brother, who is in 10th grade, picks him up from school. He’s not scared because he knows who’s going to be with him when he faces the bully. And it’s the same for us, if we know who’s with us, we can surely muster up the courage it takes to overcome our fears.
So, God wants us to know that He is with us, but He also wants us to face our fears. John Wayne said, “Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.” Race car driver and fighter pilot of WW1, Eddie Rickenbacker, said, “Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared.”
For example, do you remember the first time you jumped off of a high dive or rode a rollercoaster?
At first, you’re really excited and pumped about doing it because all of your friends tell you how awesome and fun it is. So you climb up the ladder to the top of the 10-foot diving board. Once you’re up there and realize how high you are, you start to get a little nervous. Then you creep out to the edge and peer down at the water, now you’re just plain scared. At this point, you have a couple of options. You either jump and face your fear, or you chicken out and make the descent of shame. So, you jump. And what a rush! So, you jump again and again and again. What once frightened you now invigorates you.
And it may have been the same way with a roller coaster.
And it can be the same way with other fears that you may have. Maybe it’s standing up to a bully, or asking someone to go to the movies with you and your friends. Maybe it’s trying an exotic dish at a new restaurant, or attempting a stupid stunt for a home video. Maybe it’s getting on an airplane, or holding a boa constrictor. Maybe it’s speaking in front of a group of your peers or playing an instrument. Whatever that fear is, get some courage by facing it.
So, what do you do when you’re afraid, when you feel fearful? I think the answer lies in this next verse. Philippians 4:6-8 says, ”Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-- think about such things.”
-This reminds me that when I’m scared, all I have to do is let God know about my fears, my concerns, my cares…he wants to know. It says that once we do that, that God’s peace will overwhelm us and will guard us. A guard is a person who watches over and sees to it that nothing harms or interferes…a person who keeps watch, who looks after you. God’s peace will be that guard once we come to Him and let Him know what’s on our minds. Then, also, he encourages us to think about those things that don’t make us afraid-things that are noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. Think about it—a lot of our fears are exaggerated thoughts. Someone may have told you that you shouldn’t go out at night because someone could get you…so you become afraid of the dark, not only going out at night, but anytime it’s dark…it is an exaggerated thought…it’s a fear that was made up. “Those who fear darkness have not seen what the light can do.”
I eventually got over my fear of something being under my bed, and my brother got over his fear of the dark. I still get scared sometimes…whether it’s when I’m laying in bed and I have a nightmare, or some spooky thought comes into my head, or I’m feeling fearful of maybe not being able to accomplish a task and letting people down, I always begin to pray and talk to God.
So, even though being afraid is natural…it’s not really ok. God tells us that we shouldn’t be afraid, that we have nothing to fear. You may have fears that seem natural, but remember that God wants you to overcome those fears. He wants you to remember that He’s with you, and he wants you to get some courage and face your fears. Don’t be afraid to be honest with God, tell Him what you’re afraid of, and he’ll help you face it and overcome that fear. Here’s the bottom line: God wants you to live a life of Faith, and not of FEAR.
