“How to Deal with the Way I Feel” part 2 (Finished with Fear)
Brian A. Moon
5-year old Johnny was in the kitchen as his mother made supper. She asked him to go into the pantry and get her a can of tomato soup, but he didn’t want to go in alone. "It’s dark in there and I’m scared." She asked again, and he persisted. Finally she said, "It’s OK--Jesus will be in there with you." Johnny walked hesitantly to the door and slowly opened it. He peeked inside, saw it was dark, and started to leave when all at once an idea came, and he said: "Jesus, if you’re in there, would you hand me that can of tomato soup?"
All of us can relate to “Little Johnny” from that story, we all have been afraid of the dark, the boogie man, spiders, and even clowns in our lifetimes. I can remember as a little boy being afraid of getting lost. Anytime we took a family trip we had to buy two maps because I always had to know where we were. I can recall going down a remote country road in Georgia onetime, taking what my parents called a short cut, and crying uncontrollably from fear. It got so bad that they had to turn around and go back to the main highway so that I would not go absolutely crazy.
While my parents may laugh at that story today, I have not quite been able to laugh about it yet; it does illustrate one of the terrible things about fear. Fear holds us back from doing things we normally would.
Fear keeps us from living our lives out to the fullest, and fear hinders us from becoming the person that we could become.
Recently I was listening to a National Public Radio newscast and they were talking about the sniper attacks in the Washington D.C area. They reported that the people living in Maryland we huddled up in their homes afraid to leave for fear of being murdered from out of nowhere. Businesses were having a hard time because people were afraid to come out and shop like normal, and schools were missing students because their parents kept them at home. All of this is because of fear.
More personally though we all don’t do certain things because of fear in our daily lives. Girls don’t go to out on days that they have big volcano size zits on their noses because they are afraid of what people will think. Guys don’t make a move with a girl until they are absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt, sure that the girl is interested in them. And all of us have our own little personal fears that keep us from living our lives out to their fullest, God given potentials. Just listen to some of these personal fears:
Peladophobia: fear of baldness and bald people. Porphyrophobia: fear of the color purple. Chaetophobia: fear of hairy people.
Dextrophobia: fear of objects on your right side. Odontophobia: fear of teeth.
Our world is an ever-increasing place of unrest and turmoil and fear is something more and more people are living with, and accepting as just a part of life in these times. But it doesn’t have to be like this, we don’t have to live in fear!
Dr. E. Stanley Jones writes “I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety. In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath--these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely--these are my native air.
A John Hopkins University doctor says, "We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non-worriers, but that is a fact." But I, who am simple of mind, think I know; We are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear. God made us that way. To live by worry is to live against reality.”
You see God is the only answer to how to be finished with fear. His Son, Jesus Christ came to this earth to defeat things like fear, and sadness, and even our mistakes and shortcomings.
1 John 3:20 “But even if we don’t feel at ease, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.” CEV
Underline the words “he knows everything.”
God knowing everything is part of the first key to being “Finished with Fear.” To live the life that we were designed to live, a life that is free from fear you must first:
Expand your view
One time I went sailing with a pastor friend of mine who led me to believe that he was an expert yachtsman, bad mistake… We meet at the boat dock and got the little sailboat ready for the camping trip of a lifetime. We are setting out from the East Coast of Florida and camping on an island that was near Cape Canaveral. The trip out to the island was a fiasco, but that is a story for another message, we finally get to this deserted island and set up camp. The next morning when we woke up my friend set sail with the first group of people. I stayed with the second group on the island for him to come and pick us up. Soon we realized that we had a problem. There was no wind on this particular day and the current had taken the first group miles from where they were supposed to go and it looked as though they were not going to be able to return to get us. So this is where the fear factor set in. We are all alone on this island with no food, no water, and no way to get off. Here is the reason I say we need to expand our view, on the other side of the island was a family who had a powerboat and they were able to able to save us, and my friend who was drifting off in the sailboat.
Many times we become so consumed in our fear that we cannot even think straight. We make rash decisions, and a state of panic can set in, or you could say we become frozen in fear. We are so focused in on our situation that we lose sight of the fact that God knows everything, and he is the only one that is greater than our feelings. When we are faced with fear we first need to expand our view to a God sized view, we need to get the overhead view of the whole situation so to speak.
Isaiah 41: 10 “Do not be afraid—I am with you! I am your God—let nothing terrify you! I will make you strong and help you; I will protect you and save you.” TEV
Circle the words “Do not be afraid”
God is saying to us, “Don’t be fearful, I am right there with you in the midst of this situation and I have your back, I am here to protect you and save you.”
Why can God say that? Because he has the whole picture, he sees everything, knows everything, and has control over everything! When fear comes and you feel that panic coming on, stop and think about the situation. Am I the first person to ever face this, has God ever helped someone through this before?
The answer is no, you are not the first person to face this fear, your situation is not unique, and God has helped many people through this fear. Does God want me to be afraid of this situation? Of course not, God says “Fear not, I am with you.”
2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” NKJV
Circle the words “Sound mind”
To be finished with fear we need to expand our limited view, to God’s view of our situation, and realize that he has given us the capability of having a sound mind in the midst of frightening situations. The next thing we must do to be “Finished with Fear” is:
Remember who you are
“Remember who I am? What are you talking about?” When you are faced with fear, remember your identity, remember that you are a child of God. If you have a relationship with Jesus Christ, then listen to the promise we have in this verse from the Bible.
Romans 8:37 – 39 “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” NLT
God is saying to us that “Even though you go through frightening situations and the world that you live in is full of uncertainty, be sure of this, that nothing will separate you from my love. No fear is so great that my Son, Jesus Christ has not triumphed over it!
That is our promise as children of God. He is the power we need to be “Finished with Fear” forever!
Remember though that these promises are for God’s children. If you do not have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ his Son, then please listen later as we talk about trusting in God. You see God has won the victory for us when it comes to fear. 2,000 years ago God sent his Son to come to this earth as human being and live a life just like you and me. He was confronted with frightening situations many times and was given the most frightening task any person has ever faced. God sent his Son, Jesus to come and give up his perfect life for you and me. He was sent to die for all the evil that had been brought into the world as a result of our sin. Our mess-ups, our shortcomings, our wrong choices, all bring evil and fear, and death into the world. BUT, when Jesus died for our sins, and when he then rose from the grave of our sins, he conquered things like death, sin, and even fear. He now offers us this new life that is fear free and that is why God is the only solution to being “Finished with Fear.” He has won the victory over fear for us because he loves us so much. If you are struggling with fear in your life then you need to either begin a relationship with God and accept his love for the first time, Or you need to fully embrace the love that God offers in that relationship.
1 John 4:18 “Where God’s love is, there is no fear. God’s perfect love takes away fear. It is punishment that makes a person fear. Anyone who has fear does not have perfect love.” WEV
If you are walking around with a cloud of fear over you then realize what that verse is saying. God’s love takes away fear, if we fully embrace that love then we have no reason to be afraid, but if we are not living out God’s love for us we will be fearful! Now that we have expanded our view to God’s view, and remembered who we are in Christ, then we can do the final key to being “Finished with Fear.”
Trust in God
Two explorers were on a jungle safari when suddenly a ferocious lion jumped in front of them. "Keep calm" the first explorer whispered. "Remember what we read in that book on wild animals? If you stand perfectly still and look the lion in the eye, he will turn and run." "Sure," replied his companion. "You’ve read the book, and I’ve read the book. But has the lion read the book?" When God is with you it doesn’t matter if the most lion sized of your fears is breathing down your neck, you can be “Finished with Fear!”
Psalm 9:10 “Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O LORD, have never abandoned anyone who searches for you.” NLT
When you are tempted to be afraid, trust in God! Who else would you want to put your trust in when you are facing a frightening situation? Who else has the power to rescue you and save you? Who else is greater than human emotions and able to grant us a sound mind in the midst of uncertainty? Only a divine power, a power that is beyond this earth can conquer fear, and that power is God. He says that if you trust in me I will be with you through your fear, I will give you peace.
Isaiah 48:4 “Don’t tremble with fear! Didn’t I tell you long ago? Didn’t you hear me? I alone am God-- no one else is a mighty rock.”
The world will always be a frightening place to live, but we don’t have to be slaves to fear if we place our trust in God. We don’t have to live in caves waiting for the sky to fall if we place our faith and trust in God. Before I mentioned that a relationship with God through Jesus Christ is the only way to be truly “Finished with Fear.” If you have never placed your faith and trust in God, and accepted his gift of salvation from sin, death, and fear then tonight realize that God has done it all! We don’t have to make our lives better, or even conquer fear before we can come to God; all we have to do is come. Will you come to him tonight?
Joshua 1:9 “Remember that I have commanded you to be determined and confident! Do not be afraid or discouraged, for I, the Lord your God, am with you wherever you go." TEV
Prayer Time -----------
What a gift it is God to be finished with fear, what an amazing truth from your word the Bible. Help us to walk this out this week.
If you have never started that relationship with God through Jesus Christ, his Son, and tonight you feel a tug deep inside of you saying, “I want that.” If that is you then tonight just between you and God cry out to him as best you know how. Tell him that you are sorry for your sins and you need him to come and save you, you need a life that if free from sin, and free from fear. Ask him to come and help you live this new life and believe that he can and will.
In the Bible it says that if that was you then he will give you the power to be saved, and you will spend forever with him one day.
God thank you for all your blessings help us to live out the life you have given us. Amen.
