June 6, 2010
Overcoming Fear
When Mark was drumming for us during our time of praise and worship we had a little inside joke. He would from time to time play the cowbell prompting me to say - we need more cowbell. Anyone remember Will Farrell from the skit on Saturday Night Live? Well that song by Blue Oyster Cult was titled - Don't Fear the Reaper. As Christians we don't need to fear the reaper because we know that God promises that those of us who die in the body will still live forever.
But are there other fears we face? Is it okay to have fears as a Christian? We will take a look at these questions and more as we learn what God's Word has to say to us about overcoming fear.
The first thing we need is a good definition of fear so we will begin by:
Defining fear
I looked up the word fear and found several definitions for fear.
Ø an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger
Ø be afraid or scared of; be frightened of; be uneasy or apprehensive
Ø reverence: regard with feelings of respect and reverence; consider hallowed or exalted or be in awe of;
In reading about fear I learned that we all are born with two basic fears; the fear of falling and the fear of noise. It doesn't take long for us to develop more fears. Members of a psychology class interviewed 500 people and came up with a list of 7,000 fears.
I think that a proper understanding of our relationship with Christ can help us because Jesus came to deliver us from our fears.
The Bible speaks of two kinds of fear.
First there is the fear that is commanded. This is the fear of God, a fear that involves respect, honor, reverence and a sense of awe. We read of this type of fear in the book of Acts.
Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit , it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord. (Acts 9:31 - NIV)
This kind of fear leads to the church, and to individual believers, becoming alive and active as they carry out their mission from God, a mission to lead a life of holiness and to reach others for Christ.
The second fear found in the Bible is the fear that is forbidden. This kind of fear is born of alarm, fright, terror, anxiety, distrust and dread. In Psalm 91 we read:
He will cover your with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of nights, nor the arrow that flied by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. (Psalm 91:4-5 - NIV)
We are commanded to not fear these things. This fear comes to us because of lack of trust in God and in His purpose and plan for our lives. The Bible also tells us that if God is for us, who can stand against us? (Romans 8:31 - NIV) Or one of my favorite passages on this subject "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him." (Luke 12:4-5 - NIV)
One thing I want to point out. There is a difference between fear and caution. Fear that leads to caution is a good thing because they make us aware of staying alive and healthy. It is this type of fear that leads us to look both ways before crossing the street.
So knowing what fear is we need to look at how to find fear in life. When we do so, we learn that there are common:
Areas of fear
In Matthew 25 we read the story of the talents. Three men are each given some talents of silver to manage while their master is away. The first two men invested wisely and were able to show a profit which pleased their master. The third man was afraid and buried the talents so he wouldn't love them earning the condemnation of his master.
24"Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.' (excerpt from Matthew 25:14-30 - NIV)
Notice what it says about the man in verse 25 - he was afraid and went and hid the talent in the ground. In his fear he reveals some common fears we may suffer from.
First he showed a fear of failure. He was afraid that he couldn't make money so instead of investing it he did nothing. Fear of failure can be a fear that paralyzes us.
He also shows a fear of taking responsibility. Notice that he tried to shift the blame to the master. The servant said - I know you are a hard man ... so I was afraid. By making his master appear the bad guy the servant tried to shirk off the responsibility that he had to take care of the money and invest it wisely.
The servant shows that he was afraid of what the master would say and think about him if he failed. This fear led him to avoid doing the right thing.
There are other fears that are common to many people.
We fear the unknown. How many people sit by wishing and hoping for change but don't want to be part of change because they are afraid of the unknown. How many churches fail to start because nobody wanted to take a risk and face the unknown? Will it thrive? Will it grow? Will it make a difference? What if it fails? It is the dreamers who make their dreams real that cause the world to move forward. And many times there are many people with the same dream so that hopefully if one dreamer won't carry it forward another will. What if Thomas Edison decided that it was impossible to generate light through electricity Would we now have Detroit Kowalski instead of Detroit Edison?
Another area of fear for many people is the fear of old age. Our nation worships at the altar of youth. Look at how many people instead of aging gracefully try to dress and act and look much younger than they really are. Plastic surgery, the play thing of the stars, is now so common that normal, everyday people can afford it and they do get it done. Face lifts, tummy tucks, breast enhancement, pectoral implants and many more surgeries are routinely done all over the country, not just in Hollywood anymore.
We lay off our experienced older workers to hire young people fresh from college with new ideas who work for less money. Workers in all areas worry that the older they get the closer they get to being seen as a hindrance to progress.
Yet it wasn't always this way. Daniel Webster wrote his dictionary at age 70. At 93, George Bernard Shaw wrote the play Farfetched Fables. At 88, Michaelangelo did architectural plans for the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli. At 82, Winston Churchill wrote a History of English Speaking People.
What we seem to forget is that the elderly can draw on a lifetime of education and experience that is valuable. We miss out on so much knowledge and wisdom when we forget to look to the elderly people around us.
Did you know that in the Bible God respects the elderly? He used Moses at age 80 to lead Israel out of Egypt instead of using Moses at age 20. At age 20 Moses was still a bit of a hot head and full of Himself. But after living life for 80 years Moses learned patience and became a man full of God. Proverbs 16:31 states - "Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life."
Lack of respect for the elderly and having an improper fear of our own aging leads to another common fear that many of us have - the fear of death. It is funny how the one thing that many fear is the one thing that nobody can avoid. As Christians we shouldn't fear death. We know and understand that death will come at the proper time in our lives, the time that God decided is right for us. The Bible teaches us this one thing that is important for us to remember - 6Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7We live by faith, not by sight. 8We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:6-8 - NIV)
No matter what fears you face, if you do not confront them and handle them properly you will be living with the negative:
Effects of fear
Fear has the power to make our lives a wretched experience and can even warp our personality.
Fear has been called the darkroom where negatives are developed. We saw in the story of the talents that the third man had a negative viewpoint of his master. He saw things in his master that caused him to fear and eventually these fears developed to the point where he was afraid to function. He feared displeasing his master and eventually his fears came true.
Another man who let his fears overcome him is found in Matthew's gospel account.
Peter was out in the boat one night with the other disciples and they saw Jesus walking across the water towards them. The disciples cowered in fear thinking that they were seeing a ghost.
27But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."
28"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
29"Come," he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"
(Matthew 14:27-30 - NIV)
Peter was a fisherman and he had a healthy respect for the sea. He knew that a man could lose his life on the waters. He let his fear paralyze him. He stopped walking, took his eyes off of Jesus and began to sink. Peter's fear of sinking led to his sinking.
We often do this in our own lives and in the lives of others. Anyone ever hear the term self-fulfilling prophecies? These are negative words that speak to our fears and if we don't stop the self-talk of fear we will find that what we fear will eventually happen to us.
Research also shows that fear can cause illness. It has been estimated that up to 85% of the emotional and physical ills of men are brought on by unhealthy fear in their lives. When you look at the ulcers suffered by many executives you can see that their is some truth to that. They fear that a younger man may take their job, they fear that a client will not sign up as expected, they fear that the time they spend on the job will cause disharmony at home. As they let these fears consume them they become more anxious and the stress will take a toll on their bodies.
I did mention earlier and I want to reiterate it now that caution is a healthy fear. Where unhealthy fears have negative effects on our lives, caution - healthy fears - can have a positive effect on our lives.
It is caution that keeps us from being harmed. And it is precaution that can keep us healthy. When our children are born we get them inoculated as a precaution to prevent certain diseases from harming them. Without the inoculations we would have to worry about the future health of our children and we would be nervous wrecks every time they get sick as we think it could be a fatal disease. Those inoculations give us peace of mind as they protect our children from disease.
So are we destined to become slaves to our fears? The last point I want to make today is that we can be successful in:
Overcoming fear
There are a few things to keep in mind as we live to overcome fear in our lives.
First we need to remember that irrational fear is strictly forbidden. The Bible tells us that fear is a characteristic of the wicked. The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion. (Proverbs 28:1 - NIV) In fact the Bible speaks against fear 180 times in such commands as "fear not" and "Be not afraid."
We need to make sure that we are putting Jesus Christ on the throne of our lives. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. (1 Peter 3:14-15 - NIV) When we put Christ in the proper place o four lives we learn to trust in God. Faith is the foe of fear. You cannot have faith and fear together, it is either faith or fear. So trust in Christ, have faith in God and fear will lose it's power over you.
We need to make sure that we are leaning on Christ and trusting in His strength. His strength is perfect and ours is weak. We cannot overcome fear on our own anymore than we can move a train of freight cars by our own muscle. Christ is the locomotive power that moves in us and allows us to overcome our fears. With the power of Christ in our lives we can push aside our fears just as with one hand the throttle we can use the power of a train locomotive to move a long line of freight cars. The apostle Paul tells us:
I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13 - NIV)
Finally we need to pray. Prayer reminds us that God is big and we are small. Prayer reminds us that God does care and He can do all things. I really love Paul's closing words in his letter to the Ephesians.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. (Ephesians 6:18-20 - NIV)
Weekly Challenge
There is one thing in life that feeds our fears more than anything else. That one thing is worry. We are commanded to "not worry."
Take time this week and think about the things you worry about. Are any of these worries of immediate importance in your day to day living? Can you change anything about the things that cause you to worry?
Jesus said, " Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?"
Reflect on these words and the rest of the words of Jesus on worry as recorded in Luke 12:22-34. Let His words carry you through life, a life where worry and fear will have less of an effect on you with each passing day.
