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Defeating Our Fears By Robert Nettles At one time or another each of us have experienced fear. When we were children, some of us had a night-light or could not sleep with the door closed. Fear is at the root of many human failures. But God has a solution.
s we begin to look at the word fear, we can see fear comes in many different flavors, shapes and sizes. Fear can be subtle; fear can be obvious. Fear, as we know it, can be an intense motivator. Fear can also be equally destructive. We have all heard of examples of very unassuming individuals who have lifted cars off of loved ones who would otherwise have died. We have also heard of people who have run into burning buildings to help those trapped inside. These are obviously examples of motivating fear. The fear mentioned in Deuteronomy 6:2 is obviously the kind of fear we need more of. "That you may fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments, which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged." This is not the kind of fear I am talking about here. The fear I am speaking of is the kind of fear we all face today, which will increase as we approach the end times -- a fear that can keep us from obeying God. None of us is immune to fear, and many of those who came before us were just as susceptible to the effects of fear. Definition of fear According to the Webster's Dictionary, fear is "a painful emotion or passion excited by the expectation of evil, or the apprehension of impending danger."
A second example is found in Proverbs 3:25-26 where we see, "Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; for the LORD will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught." The fear mentioned here in Proverbs is the kind of fear that we can fall prey to if we don't prepare now and strengthen our defenses. Speaking for myself, in the days after September 11, 2001, I experienced tremendous fear, and as the Bible tells us, this is only the beginning. In Daniel and the book of Revelation we see that fear will begin to dominate the world we know.
Now, let's look at some examples of fear from the Bible. Peter's denial of Christ In Matthew 26:34-35 we read, "Jesus said to him [Peter], 'Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.' Peter said to Him, 'Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!' And so said all the disciples." So, all the disciples, beginning with Peter, declared their undying loyalty to Christ. They said they would rather die than deny Christ. But then what happened? Reading further in Matthew 26:69-75, "Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, 'You also were with Jesus of Galilee.' But he denied before them all, saying, 'I do not know what you are saying.' And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, 'This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.' But again he denied with an oath, 'I do not know the Man!' And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, 'Surely you also are one of them; for your speech betrays you.' Then he began to curse and swear, saying, 'I do not know the Man!' Immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, 'Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.' So he went out and wept bitterly." Why did Peter deny Christ? It was his fear -- the deep-down human fear we can have when we feel concerned. He didn't have the faith he needed to overcome. Peter was defeated by his fear. He should have remembered Psalm 118:6 where it states, "The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" Peter walks on the water In Matthew 14 we read of Jesus walking out to the disciples on the water. "And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, 'It is a ghost!' And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid'" (verse 26). Christ reassures them in their fear.
Again, we see it was fear causing Peter's failure. Christ in Gethsemane In Matthew 26:36 we find Christ and the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, and once again, we read of fear. But this time Jesus Himself, being in human form, felt fear. His fear was of His impending death. We see this in His plea to God in verse 39. "He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.'" What allowed Jesus to move forward was not His (Christ's) will, but God's. Again and again, we read of fear interfering with faith in God. Another example is in Mark 4:37 where Jesus slept on a ship while the disciples feared for their lives in a storm. Again, Jesus chided them for their lack of faith. In Daniel 3 Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego were to be burned alive for their refusal to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's idol. Seriously, could you put yourself in their position and have no fear at all? Not likely. Yet what was it that gave them the courage to say what they said and stand by their words (verses 16-18)? It was their strong and abiding faith in God. Faith can overcome fear
In every one of these cases the answer is faith! Fear can stop us from doing what is right. It can stop us in our tracks. We cannot let it invade our lives. We are to put it away from us and lean on God when we get into fearful situations. The examples that come from the Bible of extreme faith exhibited by Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Noah, David, Daniel (I could go on and on) should be inspirations to all of us. As we pray, we need to ask God to give us the strength to defeat our fears by the power of His Holy Spirit and our faith in God. This is our armor and these are our weapons. We need to strengthen them, so our fear does not overcome and defeat us. We are continually reminded in Scripture to avoid fear and find our faith. In Psalm 34:4 we read, "I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." In 2 Timothy 1:7 we read, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power and of love and of a sound mind." And in Matthew 17:19-20, "Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast [the demon] out?' So Jesus said to them, 'Because of your unbelief; for assuredly I say to you, If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there; and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.'"
As we see the fears around us increasing on a daily basis, we need to pick up our slings, sharpen our swords and, like David, find the faith we need to slay our giants. Copyright 2005 by United Church of God, an International Association All rights reserved. |
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Keywords: fear faith and fear
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