OVERCOMING FEAR
It’s been said that everybody is afraid of something; whether it be heights, spiders, the dark or something else. If you Google phobias you’ll see that people can be afraid of just about anything. Having a fear or phobia is debilitating. You have TV shows like Fear Factor, where people face their fears. It takes courage to do that. In fact, you can't overcome your fears unless you have courage. But it takes more than courage to truly overcome your fears.
1) Courage helps us to overcome our fears.
When Moses was passing the torch to Joshua and calling upon him to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land he told them in Deut. 31:6, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
In vss. 7-8 he reiterated this specifically to Joshua. Moving the Israelites into Canaan without Moses was a scary situation. God knew they needed courage in order to overcome their fears. So he assured them that he would be with them all the way. But we need to keep in mind that courage doesn't mean the absence of fear.
Eddie Rickenbacker said, “Courage is doing what you are afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you are afraid.” It makes sense. If I have no fear there's no need for courage. Courage is evidence that there is fear. We’re not brave until we are first afraid.
The book Cradles of Eminence produced a revealing study involving 413 "famous and exceptionally gifted people who have helped change the world.” The author spent years attempting to understand what produced such greatness; to find a common thread that ran through all of these exceptional lives. Surprisingly, the most outstanding fact was that virtually all of them had to overcome personal fears associated with great suffering or failure in order to become who they were.
If courage is absent then fear will continue to debilitate us. Courage is an action word. Yes, it needs to be in my heart but it's not really courage if there's no action that follows.
Getting back to Joshua remember when the spies were sent out to explore the land of Canaan and all except for Joshua and Caleb were afraid of the huge people they saw there and the fearful report they brought back caused the rest of the Israelites to not be willing to move forward. So now, it's time to head into the land of Canaan and do what should've been done 40 years ago.
Joshua could courageously move forward but that didn't mean he was fearless. But God wanted him to not allow any fear he might have of leading everyone into the Promised Land to stop him from moving forward, like it did for the Israelites before. Be strong and courageous and don't be afraid to do what I'm telling you to do.
Courage is needed to overcome our fears and do what God wants us to do. Paul talked about this in Phil. 1:14, "Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly."
Paul's imprisonment for the gospel caused great concern among the other Christians. If they continued to preach the good news would they end up in prison too? But something wonderful happened. They weren't debilitated by Paul's imprisonment, they became motivated by it. They went out and preached the word despite their fears and Paul commends them.
Sometimes when we're afraid of something we come to a point when we decide we're not going to allow our fear to debilitate us any longer. We feel encouraged to face it courageously and fearlessly.
The Philippians' courage helped them to overcome their fears. The courage of Joshua and the Israelites enabled them to overcome their fears and advance to the Promised Land. If we're going to move forward and overcome our fears we are going to need to be courageous despite our fears.
2) Trusting God will help us overcome our fears.
Prov. 29:25, “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.”
Solomon says fear of man will prove to be a snare. When we fear man, we'll become trapped. We will do what they say; we will concede to their demands.
Also, if we feel threatened, we may alter our lives to accommodate that fear. Not that we shouldn't take threats seriously, but when we live in fear we become ensnared by it. We won't leave the house, we'll be paranoid all the time, we'll jump at every little creaking sound; etc. But when we trust in the Lord, we can be safe. Not that we tempt fate, but we can have the confidence to not be crippled by fear.
Perhaps when Solomon wrote this proverb he was thinking of his father David. David could not have overcome Goliath if he didn’t trust God. Corrie Ten Boom said, “In my times of fear I don’t wrestle, I nestle!” Corrie learned to trust God to the point of being able to be huddle close to Jesus and be at peace despite her fears.
If we are going to trust God we first need to know that he is there with us. But that's not always easy. Since there’s no physical presence of God we can be led to think he’s not there. So when we face a scary situation, we are put to the test.
If we were walking in a rough neighborhood late at night we might be afraid. But if we had a big, burly bodyguard with us we would be more at ease because we would trust that the bodyguard could take care of any threat that came against us. So we are put to the test-we do not have the physical presence of God with us but will we trust that he is still there; even though we can't see him?
Psalm 118:6, “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
David isn't saying, 'I have God with me so nothing can happen to me'. The reality is God sometimes allows man to harm or even kill his people. David is saying, 'since the Lord is with me, I'm not going to be afraid of what man might do to me'. Whenever we face a fearful situation we need to realize our God is there.
We trust in God’s provision. When we’re facing trials and tough situations we can become afraid. When it’s a financial concern we’re afraid the bills won’t get paid. When it’s a medical concern we’re afraid we won’t recover. But then, sometimes at the last moment, God provides. He alleviates our fear. We need to remember those times and trust him when the next crisis comes.
But part of God enabling us to overcome these fears is equipping us to handle them. It can be scary when God moves us to take action. It would be much easier if God took care of everything. But by design there are going to be times when we will be required to act. The power comes from him but the carrying it out comes from us.
God will fight some of our battles for us but there are some where he has trained us to fight. We are called to “fight the good fight”. We are commanded to “resist the devil”. We want God to remove every temptation and handle every situation but that's not his will. We fight in his power so we can grow and become less fearful. Not to have confidence in ourselves, but so we would be stronger and more mature in the faith.
But if we want to overcome our fears we need to keep our focus on God. Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.”
When we trust in God and keep our minds focused on him we will we have perfect peace. To be steadfast means to be firm and unwavering. When situations come that test our trust in God, Satan’s goal is to cause us to falter in our faith. When we start having trust issues with God we'll cave into our fears. And if we allow our focus to be taken off God we will not be at peace. When my mind is fixed on him I won’t be fearful; I'll be trusting and at peace.
Rom. 15:13, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
When do we have joy, peace and hope? When we trust God. Trusting in God enables us to overcome our fears.
3) Having peace will help us overcome our fears.
Doing a web search on the question, What is the opposite of fear, yields some interesting results. Some sites say love or happiness is the opposite of fear. According to the Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus, some antonyms of fear are: assurance, boldness, confidence, courage and fearlessness. But I came across a blog that got me thinking. The opposite of fear is NOT courage, by Marshall Jones Jr.
"Fear describes a state, not an action. Courage describes an action. If you’re afraid, you’re in a state of fear, like in that moment right before you’re called up to the platform to give a speech. You’re sitting there, trembling, rehearsing again and again the reasons you’re afraid, trying to justify that fear.
But then you’re called, your feet walk you to the podium, and you begin. That’s courage. You’re still trembling, your voice might even crack as you start to speak, but you’re going ahead anyway. You’re acting despite the fear. Fear is the state you’re in. Courageous is how you’re acting in that state.
But what if you could change that state entirely? What if you could move beyond fear? What if you didn’t have to do anything courageous because you just were no longer afraid? That would be the true opposite of fear. And that I call peace. Peace is the state where you no longer have to act courageously because there’s no need. It’s the calm, the rest, the inner tranquility where you don’t just kill the resistance, you realize it doesn’t even exist.
And all this time I was shooting for courage. No wonder I didn’t get anywhere. Courage is only the path, not the destination. It’s like I woke up: the destination is peace. Peace, Marshall! The opposite of fear is peace. "
At first when I saw the title of this post I almost didn't read it since I considered the opposite of fear to be courage. But as I processed the article brought to mind a couple of bible passages that helped me to see his point.
The antonym for peace is uproar. Some synonyms for uproar include chaos and pandemonium. It occurred to me that what drives things like pandemonium and chaos is fear. If you remove pandemonium you're left with order, peace, calmness. Panic is another word that comes to mind. Fear is a synonym for panic and an antonym for panic is calm. This brings to mind the boat story.
Jesus and the disciples were sailing and a sudden storm rose up. The situation was chaotic. The wind is blowing and the waves are crashing; the storm was fierce. The disciples were in a frenzy but Jesus was asleep on a cushion. The disciples were terrified but Jesus wasn't. Why not? Although it's true that Jesus had courage, his ability to be asleep on a cushion wasn't due to his courage, it was because he was at peace. He knew there was nothing to fear because he had command over the situation.
Which is why we do have fears-we don't have command over the things that are outside of our control. The disciples couldn't command the wind and waves to stop, they were subject to the storm. Likewise, there are situations outside of out control.
So, does that mean we're allowed to panic? Are we justified to be in a frenzied state when we face situations outside of our control? No. Why not? Because Jesus has given us his peace to be able to handle it.
John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
If you look at the life of Jesus you'll see that perfect peace, like he showed in the boat story. When the religious leaders were being contentious with him he didn’t flip out-he maintained his control-he was at peace. When he was being arrested-at peace. When he was being falsely accused-at peace. When he was being stripped, beaten and nailed to the cross-at peace. How?
He had a close connection with his Father and he never took his focus off him. He knew there was no reason to doubt. He knew there was nothing to fear. The perfect peace that Jesus has he has offered to us. Jesus had plenty of conflict and chaotic situations in his life. He was allowed to suffer greatly-yet he was at peace.
Being at peace doesn't result from having an absence of conflict and suffering; it's there despite it. That's the difference between what Jesus offers vs. the peace the world offers. If someone says they want world peace, they typically mean a world without war and conflict. That would be great, but this peace would be conditional peace.
As long as things are going well, I will be at peace. But, if there is a wrench thrown in the system then I will not be at peace. As long as you stay peaceful with me I will be peaceful with you. But if that changes then my state of peace will quickly come to an end.
However, the peace that Jesus gives, the peace that is established through being at peace with God is not temporary or conditional-it is continual-despite the circumstances I’m in or the people I’m around. Jesus said in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Having peace isn't the absence of trouble in my life. Jesus made it clear that in this world trouble will occur. But we can take heart-we can be strong and courageous in facing troubles. Why? Because Jesus showed us that despite the trouble he faced, he didn't allow it to cause him to worry; it didn't push him to give up-he overcame it. In Jesus we have the peace that overcomes the world's troubles.
Psalm 23:4, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” If I am comforted I am at peace. God's presence comforted David; it calmed him. I am at peace with your presence. You will watch over me, guide me, redirect me and discipline me. David says God is with him and that his rod and staff comfort him.
He doesn't say, "and I know this means you won't let anything bad happen to me". God allowed David to walk through a fearsome place. But David has the faith that knows God is with him even though the valley is shrouded in death. David knew the purpose behind God’s rod of discipline and staff of boundaries.
David knows, being a shepherd himself, that these are for his protection from the ferocious wolves. So they are comforting to him because these things are a display of God’s love for him.
Earlier in the psalm you read about David being able to lie down in green pastures. Sounds restful, doesn't it? We get a picture of tranquility and relaxation. But there are times when these things are missing from our lives. Sometimes we might feel like Job.
Job 3:26, "I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.”
If there was anyone we could see saying this it would be Job. He was afflicted, in mourning, pretty much alone and confused as to why God was allowing it all. He was in a constant state of pain and turmoil. Job was a righteous man who was going through something terrible and he expressed what he was experiencing at the time.
What about us? What do we do when we're in turmoil and there doesn't seem to be any peace or rest? Ps. 4:8, "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety." Sometimes when we're fearful or anxious or our minds are in turmoil, we have a hard time sleeping.
Interestingly, this psalm of David doesn't start peacefully. Psalm 4:1, "Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer." Does this sound like David's at peace here? No; he's in distress. Distress can mean trouble or danger; it can mean pain, sorrow or suffering. The antonym for distress is peace.
Even though the psalm starts this way, toward the end in vs. 7 David states that God has filled his heart with great joy and then we have vs. 8-the final verse. You may be dealing with things that are distressing you. It can be something that has happened or something that could happen. When we're faced with having to deal with pain, suffering or uncertainty, how can we be at peace?
We look to the Lord. 'For you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety'. David had courageous warriors in his army but he knew his overall safety wasn't in their hands; for they were only human, like him. Only the Lord is able to truly keep us safe.
David didn't mean that the Lord would not allow any harm whatsoever to come to him, but his trust was in the Lord. He didn't worry about his safety because he was in God's sure and capable hands. And that surety brought him peace which allowed him to sleep. We overcome our fears when we are at peace.
What fears do you need to overcome today? Be courageous and step out in faith. Trust that the lord will be there with you and seek the peace that surpasses all understanding so you can find freedom from fear.
