PHOBIA! AS DEFINED, IT MEANS “AN EXTREME OR IRRATIONAL FEAR OF OR AVERSION TO SOMETHING.” FEAR CAN BE GOOD! FEAR HELPS PROTECT US. IT MAKES US ALERT TO DANGER AND PREPARES US TO DEAL WITH IT. FEAR CAN BE LIKE A WARNING, A SIGNAL THAT CAUTIONS US TO BE WATCHFUL AND CAREFUL.
HOWEVER, FEAR CAN ALSO BECOME PARALYZING AND EVEN UNHEALTHY. I REMEMBER IN THE BELOVED “MERRY CHRISTMAS CHARLIE BROWN” WHEN CHARLIE WAS TRYING TO OVERCOME HIS DEPRESSIVE STATE OF CHRISTMAS WHILE TALKING WITH LUCY.
AS THE SCENE PLAYS OUT, LUCY TRIES TO HELP “PINPOINT HIS FEARS” WITH A LONG LIST OF “PHOBIAS.” GETTING NOWHERE, LUCY FINALLY GETS TO ONE LAST FEAR: PANTAPHOBIA! THIS IS THE FEAR OF EVERYTHING! CHARLIE CRIES OUT “THAT’S IT!!”
I HOPE OUR FEARS ARE NOT THAT EXTENSIVE WHERE WE ARE BECOMING FEARFUL OF EVERYTHING! YES, FEAR MAY BE A NATURAL HUMAN INSTINCT, BUT LETTING FEAR TERRORIZE US AND SCARE US INTO RUNNING AWAY, SURRENDERING OR QUITTING IS VERY UNHEALTHY AND IS LACKING IN FAITH. JESUS ASSURES US IN JOHN 16:33, “I HAVE TOLD YOU ALL THIS SO THAT YOU MAY HAVE PEACE IN ME. HERE ON EARTH YOU WILL HAVE MANY TRIALS AND SORROWS. BUT TAKE HEART, BECAUSE I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD.”
JESUS IS TELLING US THAT THERE IS NO REASON TO FEAR EVERYTHING! THE CHALLENGE WAS NO DIFFERENT FOR JOSEPH UPON LEARNING THE DEVESTATING FACT THAT MARY WAS ALREADY WITH CHILD PRIOR TO THEIR MARRIAGE.
JOSEPH HAD ALREADY PAID AT LEAST HALF OF THE TRADITIONAL “BRIDE PRICE” TO HER FATHER, WAS WELL INTO THEIR PLEDGE OR “ENGAGEMENT, AND HAD BEEN WORKING HARD FOR NEARLY A YEAR TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR HIS BRIDE, MARY.
JOSEPH WRESTLED WITH THIS NEWFOUND FEAR AS HE TRULY LOVED MARY, HE KNEW THAT IF HE MADE THE PREGNANCY PUBLIC, BY FILING FOR DIVORCE, IT WOULD RISK PLACING THE DEATH SENTENCE UPON MARY.
JOSEPH HAD LITTLE INFORMATION OF THE SITUATION, SO IT WAS UNDERSTANDABLE WHY HE WAS FEARFUL OF WHAT TO DO. JOSEPH HAD DID HAVE A FEW OPTIONS, BUT THEY ALL ENDED WITH DIVORCE AS THE ANSWER. THE STORY TELLS US, “JOSEPH, BEING A JUST MAN AND UNWILLING TO PUT HER TO SHAME, RESOLVED TO DIVORCE HER QUIETLY.” JOSEPH MADE HIS DECISION.
ALTHOUGH COMMENDABLE, JOSEPH STILL CHOSE HIS COURSE OF ACTION BASED OFF OF LOGIC FROM HUMAN REASONING. THEN, FEELING CONFIDENT WITH HIS DECISION, JOSEPH HAD A DREAM THAT NIGHT THAT WOULD CHANGE EVERYTHING.
VERSE 20, “BEHOLD, AN ANGEL OF THE LORD APPEARED TO HIM IN A DREAM, SAYING, “JOSEPH, SON OF DAVID, DO NOT FEAR TO TAKE MARY AS YOUR WIFE, FOR THAT WHICH IS CONCEIVED IN HER IS FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT. SHE WILL BEAR A SON, AND YOU SHALL CALL HIS NAME JESUS, FOR HE WILL SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS.”
JOSEPH HAD QUITE A CONVINCING DREAM! AFTER WAKING UP, HE KNEW TO OBEY GOD! HE WOULD NOT PURSUE DIVORCE. HE WOULD FULFIL THE MARRIAGE VOW BY TAKING MARY WITH HIM TO BE HIS WIFE. “HE DID AS THE ANGEL OF THE LORD COMMANDED HIM.”
ONE OF THOSE COMMANDS WAS “JOSEPH, SON OF DAVID, DO NOT FEAR….” WHENEVER WE ARE FACED WITH A COMMAND OR CALL FROM GOD, WE TAKE WITH US THE CHARGE, “DO NOT FEAR!”
THE WORD FOR FEAR, USED HERE, IS “PHOBEO.” THE ANGEL WAS NOT SPEAKING OF THE FEAR WHERE WE ARE JUST STARTLED, SPOOKED, OR AFRAID. THIS WORD “PHOBEO” REFERS TO AN INTENSE FEAR THAT IS SO TERRIFYING AND HORRIFIC THAT THE FIRST RESPONSE IS USUALLY TO PANIC, FLEE AND GET AWAY.
THE ANGELS WERE ADVISING JOSEPH NOT BE SCARED AWAY BY HIS CIRCUMSTANCES. HE WASN’T TO BE TERRIFIED BY WHAT HE DIDN’T UNDERSTAND AT THE MOMENT OR BY WHAT COULDN’T BE FULLY EXPLAINED IN HUMAN TERMS. JOSEPH COULD NOT AFFORD TO BE FRIGHTENED AWAY BY WHAT DIDN’T MAKE ANY SENSE.
PERHAPS, AFTER JOSEPH REALIZED HIS DREAM, HE MAY HAVE RECALLED PSALM 56:3-4, “BUT WHEN I AM AFRAID, I WILL PUT MY TRUST IN YOU. I PRAISE GOD FOR WHAT HE HAS PROMISED. I TRUST IN GOD, SO WHY SHOULD I BE AFRAID…?
PHOBEO! DO NOT FEAR! CHRISTIANS LIVE THIS MESSAGE OF THE ANGELS (AS DID JOSEPH) THAT WHEN WE FACE LIVING OUT THE COMMANDS AND WILL OF GOD IN OUR LIVES THAT OUR FIRST REACTION, IN FAITH, IS TO OBEY AND LIVE THEM OUT.
YES, WISDOM, COUNSEL AND ADVISEMENT FROM TRUSTED MENTORS AND ELDERS IS IMPORTANT, BUT WE MUST NEVER RELY SOLELY ON HUMAN LOGIC AND REASONING. WE PLACE OUR FAITH AND TRUST IN GOD AND HIS WILL, WORD, TIMING, AND PROVISION. NO MATTER WHAT, WE MUST RESOLVE NEVER TO LET IT FRIGHTEN US INTO RUNNING AWAY AND ABANDONING GOD OR OUR FAITH.
WE CANNOT ALLOW ANYTHING TO BECOME SO TERRIFYING THAT WE BECOME PARALYZED AND NUMB THAT WE DIGRESS INTO BEING INACTIVE AND UNPRODUCTIVE. DON’T LET FEAR PROVOKE YOU INTO MAKING RASH AND UNFOUNDED DECISIONS THAT ONLY TEND TO MAKE THINGS WORSE.
THERE ARE TIMES WE DON’T NEED TO HAVE THE ANSWERS BECAUSE TRUSTING GOD IS MORE IMPORTANT. PROVERBS 3:5-6, “TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND DO NOT LEAN ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING. IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, AND HE WILL MAKE STRAIGHT YOUR PATHS.”
CHALLENGES. ADVERSITY. DEALING WITH CIRCUMSTANCES YOU NEVER ASKED FOR. WHEN LIFE IS UNFAIR AND CRUEL. WHEN WE DON’T FEEL WE DID ANYTHING TO DESERVE IT. WHEN LIFE IS PERFECTLY FINE OR COULDN’T BE BETTER: PHOBEO! DO NOT FEAR! TRUST AND FAITH IN A LOVING GOD WHO CAN KEEP US FROM LETTING ANY CIRCUMSTANCE FROM BECOMING TERRIFYING AND FRIGHTENING DILEMMAS THAT MAKE US WANT TO QUIT AND FLEE.
THIS IS WHY IT IS SO CRUCIAL FOR US TO GRASP WHAT JOHN WESLEY CALLED “GOING ON TOWARDS PERFECTION.” WE ARE CALLED TO LIVE IN PURSUIT OF SANCTIFICATION. THIS LIFE IS A COMMAND OF GOD TO BE HOLY AS HE IS HOLY. THE FREE METHODIST CHURCH ON SANCTIFICATION:
“SANCTIFICATION IS THAT SAVING WORK OF GOD BEGINNING WITH NEW LIFE IN CHRIST WHEREBY THE HOLY SPIRIT RENEWS HIS PEOPLE AFTER THE LIKENESS OF GOD, CHANGING THEM THROUGH CRISIS AND PROCESS, FROM ONE DEGREE OF GLORY TO ANOTHER, AND CONFORMING THEM TO THE IMAGE OF CHRIST. AS BELIEVERS SURRENDER TO GOD IN FAITH AND DIE TO SELF THROUGH FULL CONSECRATION, THE HOLY SPIRIT FILLS THEM WITH LOVE AND PURIFIES THEM FROM SIN. THIS SANCTIFYING RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD REMEDIES THE DIVIDED MIND, REDIRECTS THE HEART TO GOD, AND EMPOWERS BELIEVERS TO PLEASE AND SERVE GOD IN THEIR DAILY LIVES. THUS, GOD SETS HIS PEOPLE FREE TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL THEIR HEART, SOUL, MIND, AND STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE THEIR NEIGHBOR AS THEMSELVES.”
SANCTIFICATION IS WHAT ALLOWED JOSEPH TO HEED THE ANGELIC DREAM. HOW DO WE KNOW? VERSE 19, “THEN JOSEPH …BEING A JUST MAN….” THIS WORD LITERALLY MEANS “WHO ALWAYS DID WHAT IS RIGHT.”IT ALSO STATES “LEGAL CORRECTNESS, COMPASSIONATE, OR UPRIGHT CHARACTER.” THESE ATTRIBUTES ARE NOT HUMANLY POSSIBLE. ONE MUST BE IN COMMUNION WITH GOD THROUGH A PURSUIT OF HOLINESS AND SANCTIFICATION.
JOSEPH’S OBEDIENCE AND ABILITY TO HANDLE “PHOBEO” CAME FORTH FROM THE DEPTH OF HIS RELATIONSHIP TO GOD. HE WAS LIVING OUT MICAH 6:8, “THE LORD HAS TOLD YOU WHAT IS GOOD, AND THIS IS WHAT HE REQUIRES OF YOU: TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT, TO LOVE MERCY, AND TO WALK HUMBLY WITH YOUR GOD.”
ONCE AGAIN…HOLINESS…SANCTIFICATION IS A COMMAND OF GOD. WE MUST PURSUE IT, ADAPT OUR LIVES TO IT AND LIVE IT! THE WORLD NEEDS TO WITNESS THE INTENSITY OF GOD’S PEOPLE BEING THE LIGHT OF CHRIST JESUS ILLUMINATING THE WORLD OF SIN, EVIL, AND DARKNESS. JAMES 4:8 (CEV), “COME NEAR TO GOD, AND HE WILL COME NEAR TO YOU. CLEAN UP YOUR LIVES, YOU SINNERS. PURIFY YOUR HEARTS, YOU PEOPLE WHO CAN'T MAKE UP YOUR MIND.”
NEVER FEAR HOLINESS. DON’T GET “PANTAPHOBIA” OVER GOD’S COMMAND OF RIGHTEOUSNESS WHERE YOU BECOME “AFRAID OF EVERYTHING” CONCERNING SANCTIFICATION. JOSEPH DID AND HIS ANXIETY AND FEARS WERE OVER. HIS DOUBTS DISPELLED; HIS PATHWAY MADE CLEAR. ALL BECAUSE HE CHOSE THE PATH OF BECOMING A “JUST MAN.”
HE HAD PLACED HIMSELF IN A POSITION TO HEAR GOD, THROUGH THE ANGELS, IN A DREAM. GOD SHOWED HIM THE WAY AND GUIDED HIM. HE CALMED HIS FEARS AND ASSURED HIM.
WE WILL EXPERIENCE THE SAME IF, LIKE JOSEPH, WE WILL PUSUE LIVING THE HOLY LIFE THROUGH A LOVING, INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, THROUGH JESUS, AND EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. “PHOBEO!” DO NOT FEAR!
