Alba 8-3-13 (Revised 10-30-2022)
HELP ME GOD, I'M AFRAID
The Pillsbury Dough Boy. Cute. Cuddly. And wanted for attempted murder? Well, not exactly …
A woman in Arkansas was sitting in her car in a parking lot when she heard a loud bang and then felt a sharp pain in the back of her head.
She was holding her hands behind her head when someone walked by and asked, "Are you OK?" The woman answered, "I’ve been shot in the head, and I’m holding my brains in."
Well, it wasn’t her brains. It was dough. A Pillsbury biscuit canister had exploded in the back seat, apparently from the heat, making a loud explosion and shooting the dough into the back of the woman’s head.
Sometimes our fears are like that lady's. They are unfounded and irrational. But many are all too real. Have you ever been alone in the house at night? Perhaps you have been watching a scary movie and then suddenly, out of the blue, you hear a strange noise.
When this happens, most people are immediately gripped by fear. There is an “unknown” something lurking, and most are not quite sure how to react.
Or, have you ever walked into a darkened place and had something brush against your face causing you to recoil not knowing what you have run into? Then when the light is turned on you find that nothing more than a string or cobwebs, or something simple, has turned out to be the culprit.
Perhaps you are one of those who say, “I ain’t scared of nuttin’!” – However, this type is a rare breed, and I really do not think that there are any among us who are not fearful of something.
What was your scariest moment? Think back, what was the scariest thing you ever experienced? For me there was this time when I was 12 years old. Several friends and I had walked to the Dundee Theater in Omaha, Nebraska, about two miles from my home, to see a movie.
As a family we didn't go to movies often. I think this is the only time that I went to a movie with these friends. I'm not sure why I was even allowed to go, especially since it was not the kind of movie our family would have gone to see.
So what was the movie? It was called "Them." The idea was that there were these monstrous, unknown creatures who brought death and destruction. According to today's way of presenting such things, I suppose it would be considered tame. But for me, it left a deep impression.
By the way, who were those monstrous creatures called "Them?" They were just ants, insects. But there was something different about them.
The premise of the story is that these ants had been genetically changed because of atomic testing in areas around Arizona and New Mexico. They had increased in size. They were so big that they could crush houses and grab people in their pinchers.
The worst part of going to that movie was that afterwards we had to walk home in the dark. I think all of us boys needed each other to make it home that night.
That summer I spent several weeks at a ranch with friends in the Sand Hills areas of west-central Nebraska. The terrain reminded me of the scenes in that scary movie.
At night, when there were no lights but the stars, I could almost hear the sound associated with those giant ants in the movie, and the fear came back again.
Fear; it sticks with us. It always amazes me why people like to expose themselves on purpose, and even pay, to see things that make them afraid. I guess that's up to them.
But once you've seen something, it is hard to forget it. I feel for those preschool children in day-care who this fall were terrorized by the workers wearing scary masks.
Everyone knows what its like to be afraid. There are many things that cause fear: being afraid of the dark, fear spiders, fear of storms, fear of extreme heights, fear of traveling in airplanes, fear of animals or even fear of the future.
Children have many fears, but even adulthood is filled with such fears as disease, death, financial problems, broken relationships, loved ones being hurt, failure, aging, crime, etc.
Fears can motivate us to take necessary action, but fear of failure can cause people to never start or to try anything that is not completely safe. Also fear of rejection makes people afraid to do anything that could draw criticism or give someone a chance to laugh at them.
There is plenty to be afraid of today. Not just because tomorrow is Halloween. Our country continues to slide into a moral morass.
Children are being encouraged to think that they can change genders causing confusion and later regret. Marriage has become whatever a person wants it to be. Those who follow the biblical standard of one woman, one man in marriage are treated like bigots.
We have government policies that are threatening the value of retirement finances. And the cost of the necessities of life, such as food, continue to skyrocket. We get to vote a week from Tuesday, but wonder what changes will come.
There are things we face in this life that are very scary indeed. Fear can be an overwhelming emotion. When fear takes over, it is time to call out, “Help Me God, I'm Afraid!”
And what is God's answer? As you read the Bible you will see how many times God's Word gives an answer. When fear comes, God says: “Do not be afraid.”
When you hear that from God, be ready, because it could be that He is about to do big things. As an example, look how those words, “Do not be afraid”, appear at the time Jesus came into this world.
It seems that every time an angel of God appears to any person the angel has to call out “Do not be afraid!” Of course, Mary was getting some amazing news about becoming mother to the Messiah.
So it is not surprising at the announcement of the coming event that the angel had to reassure her. It says in Luke 1:30, “Then the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.'”
And when Joseph is trying to figure out what to do with Mary who is now pregnant, the angel tells Joseph in Matthew 1:20 “do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.”
Then to the shepherds when they were told of Jesus birth, Luke 2:10 says, “Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
Big things were happening when the Lord had to reassure people to not fear. What big things do you think God could do in your life if you found yourself in a place of fear, but are ready to hear God tell you, “Do not be afraid”?
Could He take that situation and make something wonderful of it? That is a question that can only be answered with faith. How willing are you to trust God to bring something good out of a difficult or scary situation?
Does God have the power or ability to do so? Of course! He made it possible for the birth of Jesus to happen, in spite of what some would call an impossibility.
If God can do that, He can help us. How? It may sound simple, but we first need to...
1. PRAY
Before John the Baptist was born to Zacharius, who wanted a child, Luke 1:13 says, “the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.”
When we offer up our fears to the Lord and pray, “Help me God, I'm afraid”, He will hear! We can ask the Lord to help us with the fears that we face. And we can trust Him to help us accept and overcome whatever scary circumstances He allows to come into our lives.
Look at how many times the apostles called out to Jesus to help them. Remember when they were in that boat and the terrifying storm came up? They called out to Jesus who calmed the storm.
When the apostle Paul was on that ship being taken as a prisoner to Rome, another terrifying storm was making it impossible for the crew to make headway.
Luke, who was with Paul, records in Acts 27:29, “Fearing lest we should run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern, and prayed for day to come.”
God brought them all to safety. God is able to work all things together for good. He wants to show how greatly He loves us and will work in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. His grace is always sufficient for whatever fears we face.
Jesus said in Luke 12:7, “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
God listens to our prayers. When we are afraid, He wants us to tell Him about it. And there is another way that God helps us when we are afraid. It is by His...
2. Love
1 John 4:16-18a states: “16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.”
Listen again to that really great verse. It says, "Perfect love casts out fear." That verse tells us that fear and love cannot coexist. The closer you get to the love of God, the further you get from fear.
But the other side is true also. The closer you get to fear the further you get away from love. They are like the north pole and the south pole. The closer you get to one, the further you get from the other.
So the more you learn to trust in God's love for you, He who gave His son to die on the cross so that your sins could be forgiven, and the more perfectly you love, the further away you are from fear.
When Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment, He answered without hesitation. He said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all of your soul and all of your mind and all of your strength."
Now what happens if I love God with my body and my mind and my emotions? That means I no longer need to be afraid of what can afflict me physically. I no longer need to be afraid of mental anxieties. I no longer need to be afraid of emotional insecurities. Because love casts out fear. Especially God's love.
Jesus said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
"What is truth?" we ask. Jesus said, I am the truth, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”
Jesus is saying, "As you get to know me; as you learn to think the way I want you to think; as you begin to live life the way I want you to live it. As you learn the truth, then you will be set free from fear, from sin, from the uncertainties of life."
When you pray “Help me God, I'm afraid”, and accept His love, remembering that "Perfect love casts out fear," then decide to...
3. Trust
II Timothy 1:7 makes it clear that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
It may be that we will have to rework our perceptions of ideal circumstances. Things do not have to always be perfectly safe, secure and stable before the Lord’s will is accomplished in our lives.
There are many cycles in life. There is a time for tears, yes. And there is a time for rejoicing. Many times the Lord allows conditions to get worse so He can make us better.
But some scary situations are magnified way out of proportion. Resist the temptation to over react!
Rethink your situation in the light of the difficulties that Jesus faced. Trust in His strength, love and courage, and know that there is help to face whatever fearful circumstances that come.
There will be times when anxiety and fear will come into our lives. It is then that we have a choice to make - we can choose to focus on the problem and be overcome with fear, or we can choose to focus on God and face the fear with His help.
And, finally, when you pray, “Help me God, I'm afraid”...
4. Let God Walk With You
David wrote, "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me." (Psalm 23:4) We should always thank God for His assurance of comfort, care and protection from all kinds of internal and external evils.
We can trust the Lord to be with us in whatever dark valley we may be passing through. Many people hesitate to go through the dark valley and allow themselves to sink into depression, isolation or frustration needlessly.
Others look for a detour around the dark valleys that the Lord wants them to pass through, not knowing that God will keep putting these situations in our paths until we learn to trust Him to take us through all of our dark valley experiences.
When fear takes hold of us, if we pray, “Help me Lord, I'm afraid,” and hold on to the truth of His love, we can experience His deep and abiding love, and we can trust Him to guide us as we walk with Him.
Then words of David from Psalm 27:1 can be ours as well. He said...
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?”
CLOSE:
Before he became a preacher and wrote the song, “Amazing Grace”, John Newton was a wicked man. If there was something evil he could do... and he could figure out a way to do it… he did it.
In fact, his wickedness was so obvious, that when his ship, the Greyhound, was caught in a terrible storm at sea, the captain seriously suggested throwing him overboard like Jonah because he believed Newton’s wickedness was the cause of all their misery.
During the nine terrifying hours of the storm, it had everyone – including Newton – praying. John Newton said: "I concluded my sins were too great to be forgiven. I waited with fear and impatience to receive my doom." Newton was afraid.
He later came to believe that his fear was God’s tool to get his attention. Newton believed that God had to bring him to his knees in FEAR before he would ever give his life to Jesus. “Twas grace that taught my heart to fear”.
But once he did do that - give his life to Jesus - he became a fireball. He was determined, focused, and unstoppable. So yes...
“Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
and grace my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear,
the hour I first believed.”
When we put our faith in Jesus and receive His amazing grace, His love will cast out our fears.
