FACING YOUR FEARS
Dr. Jerome Frank, a professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University was flying across the US a few years ago. This was before all of the modern security measures were installed at the nation's airports. He sat beside a man on a coast-to-coast flight who said, "You know, I used to be deathly afraid of flying. It all started after that man brought a bomb on board a flight to Denver to kill his mother-in-law. I could never get it out of my mind that someone on board one of my flights might also be carrying a bomb." Dr. Frank asked, "Well, how did you deal with that problem?" He replied, "Well, I went to one of those special schools for people who are afraid of flying and they told me there was only one chance in 10 thousand that someone would bring a bomb on board my flight. That didn't make me feel much better. The odds were still too close. But then I reasoned that if there was only one chance in 10 thousand that one bomb would be on the plane, there was only one chance in 100 million that two bombs would be on board. And I could live with those odds." So Dr. Frank asked, "But what good would that do you?" He replied, "Ever since then, I carry one bomb on board myself -- just to improve the odds." It is amazing what people will do because of fear. For many fear rules their life.
There used to be a show I would watch called “Fear Factor.” Six contestants face their worse fears for a chance to win 50,000 dollars. While I admire them for facing their fears it is a shame it took the chance to win money to get them to do it. Our incentive for facing fears is not the chance of wealth but the reality that often it is fear that keeps us from being and doing what God wants for us. Because we seek to please Jesus we must be willing to do whatever it takes to deal with the fears in our lives and then get on with living with purpose for Christ.
1 Sam 17:37 The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you." 38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. "I cannot go in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them." So he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. 41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 "Come here," he said, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!" 45 David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands." 48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. 50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
There are a lot of things people are afraid of. I am sure you have heard of claustrophobia – the fear of closed places or acrophobia – the fear of high places. Perhaps though you have not heard of these things:
Cyberphobia - the fear of computers; Ecclesiophobia - the fear of church; Lunaphobia - the fear of the moon; Chrometophobia - the fear of money; Europhobia - the fear of the color red; Homilphobia – the fear of sermons; Triskaidekaphobia – the fear of the number 13, Erythrophobia – the fear of blushing, Peladophobia – the fear of baldness, and Phobophobia – the fear of being afraid.
In this passage the nation of Israel faced and feared a giant. Their fear of Goliath kept them from seeing victory. Often fear does the same to us – it keeps us from seeing spiritual victory in our lives. We must learn to face fears the same way David did.
1. FACE YOUR ENEMY – don't run from your problems
For 40 days the Israelites and Philistines had faced each other. Every day at morning and evening Goliath would come out to taunt and ridicule the soldiers and their God. The effect was clear:
1 Sam 17:11 On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
Try to put yourself in the place of those soldiers. Have you ever had someone ridicule you and you were to afraid to do anything about it. How did it make you feel? Weak? Helpless? Running from problems never makes them go away. It only makes them stronger and bolder and you weaker and more defeated. A fear unfaced will become an enemy foothold in the future.
Fear. His modus operandi is to manipulate you with the mysterious, to taunt you with the unknown. Fear of death, fear of failure, fear of God, fear of tomorrow-his arsenal is vast. His goal? To create cowardly, joyless souls. He doesn't want you to make the journey to the mountain. He figures if he can rattle you enough, you will take your eyes off the peaks and settle for a dull existence in the flatlands. -- Max L. Lucado
Fear imprisons, faith liberates; fear paralyzes, faith empowers; fear disheartens, faith encourages; fear sickens, faith heals; fear makes useless, faith makes serviceable-and, most of all, fear puts hopelessness at the heart of life, while faith rejoices in its God. -- Harry Emerson Fosdick
1 Chr 11:11 this is the list of David's mighty men: Jashobeam, a Hacmonite, was chief of the officers; he raised his spear against three hundred men, whom he killed in one encounter. 12 Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men. 13 He was with David at Pas Dammim when the Philistines gathered there for battle. At a place where there was a field full of barley, the troops fled from the Philistines. 14 But they took their stand in the middle of the field. They defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the LORD brought about a great victory.
Eleazar and the other mighty men took their stand in a barley field. One of the tactics of the enemy was to destroy the crops of the Israelites and starve them into weakness. This is also the plan of the devil. He seeks to destroy whatever strengthens us. It is time to take a stand. The church has been running for too long and letting the devil destroy what God created to be good and bring joy.
Years ago a televised circus act with Bengal tigers was broadcast live. Tiger trainer was locked in cage with tigers. Using chair & whip the trainer was in control. Then the lights went out ... for about 20-30 seconds. Tigers could see trainer, but the trainer could not see them! In an interview afterwards the trainer admitted to feeling the chilling fear of the situation. However, he knew the tigers didn't know that he couldn't see them. "I just kept cracking my whip and talking to them until the lights came on. They never knew I could not see them as well as they could see me."
Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. No one was there -- German Proverb
2. FOCUS ON GOD – measure problems against God and not yourself
There is no question that Goliath was a formidable opponent. He was a giant. He stood over 9 feet tall and wore bronze armor that weighed 125 pounds. He wore bronze shin guards to protect his legs, and had a javelin and a spear with an iron point that alone weighed about 15 pounds. He was MASSIVE! Compared to any other man he was a giant, but compared to God he was nothing.
In 1875 an outlaw struck terror into the hearts of thousands in the American west. Like a tornado through the Sierra Nevadas he terrorized the Wells Fargo stage line for 13 years. His very name Black Bart was enough to spook even the most rugged frontiersmen. He robbed 29 stagecoaches and he did it without ever firing a shot. His weapon was his reputation. His ammunition was fear. A black hood hid his face. No victim ever saw him. No sheriff could ever track his trail. He was the most notorious, most feared man in America. However, when the authorities finally caught up with him and his mask came off they didn’t find a bloodthirsty bandit from Death Valley. They found Charles E. Bolton was a mind mannered druggist from Decantur Illinois. The man the papers pictured storming through the mountains on horseback was, in reality, so afraid of horses that he rode to and from his robberies in a buggy. He never once fired a shot because he never once loaded his gun.
Many of our fears are tissue-paper thin, and a single courageous step would carry us clear through them. -- Brendan Francis
There was once a mouse that was terrified of cats until a magician agreed to transform him into a cat. This resolved his fear, until he met a dog, so the magician turned him into a dog. This was fine until the mouse turned cat turned dog met a tiger. Once again the magician turned him into a tiger. But when the tiger came complaining that he had met a hunter the magician refused to help. He said, “I will make you a mouse again, for though you have the body of a tiger you still have the heart of a mouse”.
The things that the world sees as strong are in reality weak because they are rooted in weakness. Like the mouse we try to build formidable exteriors only to tremble inside with fear. We face our fears with force thinking that somehow muscle creates for us security but it does not. If military power meant strength then Joseph Stalin should have been fearless. Instead, the Russian premier was afraid to go to bed at night. He had seven different bedrooms, all locked and he slept in a different one each night to prevent assassination. He employed a servant whose sole task was to guard and protect his tea bags.
3. FOLLOW YOUR CALLING – know your strengths and weaknesses
Saul wanted to dress David in his armor to fight Goliath but after trying them on David took them off saying "I cannot go in these because I am not used to them." To face a giant you have to understand and follow your SHAPE and calling – who you are and how God has made you. This includes understanding 2 important things:
a. How has God already used you in the past –
This is not the first time David had faced a threat. In the past he had faced and killed both a lion and a bear. These experiences gave David the courage to go up against Goliath. The same is true for each one of us. God has been working in your life up to this point. The ways that God has helped you in the past give us the faith to face the giants of our future.
Don't view challenges in life as things to be endured but rather opportunities to grow in faith. Don't run from problems but like David run towards them. As we face difficult situations and overcome our fears God will be able to use us to face greater and larger giants in the future. The things that made Paul such a terrible persecutor of the faith also made him such an effective evangelist. The persecution and prison that Joseph faced brought him to a place of greater power than he could ever have imagined.
b. What weapons has God already given you -
There is nothing wrong with armor and swords, if you know how to use them. David didn't. He did however know how to use his staff and his sling. These were the weapons God used to bring down the giant. Likewise in our lives sometimes we think if only we had this or that we could defeat the giants that face us in life. If we only had more money or the right spouse or more education then everything would be easy. What we fail to see is that God chooses to use what he has already given us.
Don't fight your battles with other people's armor. Don’t rely on others to face your fears – this only leads to dependence and a lack of maturity.
4. FAITHFULLY POINT TO CHRIST – give God the glory
Notice how clear David was that it was God and not himself that would defeat Goliath. His hope was in God and not his own resources. It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can truly live the Christian life. The giants we face can only be conquered in Jesus.
Eph 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
It is easy to see giants if you look for them. Look at all the problems we are facing in the world around us. Overpopulation, AIDS, Financial turmoil, environmental collapse. The list could go on and on. It is so easy to get discouraged if you just look at the problems – the issues you see all around us. At times like this we need to remember that God is in control.
A woodpecker tapped with his beak against the stem of a tree just as lightning struck the tree and destroyed it. He flew away and said, "I didn't know my own strength!" When we bring the Gospel there is a danger that we will think or say, "I have done a good job." Don't be a silly woodpecker.
Know where your strength comes from. It is only the Holy Spirit who can make a message good and fruitful.
What God requires of us is faithfulness, nothing else. We are to stand up and face the giants which stand in the way of the gospel, trusting that God will guide the stone and make the giant fall. Are you facing any giants in your life today? Don't run – face them head on.
Measure your giants against God and not yourself. Use what you have already been given and run towards them. Remember to give God the glory when they fall.
During the Great Depression Mr. JC Penney was hit particularly hard. It even endangered his health. Anxious and desperate because of huge financial losses, he felt he had nothing to live for. In the hospital he grew demoralized he expected to die before morning; but then he heard singing coming from the hospital chapel. The words of the song said, "Be not dismayed whate’er betide; God will take care of you." Entering the chapel, he listened to the song, the Scripture reading and prayer. He later wrote, "Suddenly - something happened. I can’t explain it. I can only call it a miracle. I felt as if I had been instantly lifted out of the darkness of a dungeon into warm, brilliant sunlight." From that day, Penney was never plagued with worry, and he later called those moments in the chapel "the most dramatic and glorious twenty minutes of my life." When he died at age 95, he left behind 1,660 stores in his name.
