Fear Factor

I was almost a fraidy cat once, but I chickened out.



Fear.

"You have nothing to fear but fear itself."
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt

According to Dr. Sydney B. Simon in an article on the Effects of Fear -

• Fear is the great paralyzer. It will keep you from making positive changes in your life and thus retard your recovery from depression. Recognize your fears and resolve to overcome them. This is an area in which I believe a therapist can be very helpful.
• Fear persuades you to set easier goals and do less than your are capable of.
• Fear triggers internal defense systems and fools you into thinking that you have perfectly good reasons not to change.
• Fear, especially fear of failure or disappointment, reduces the number of available alternatives or keeps you from pursuing them.
• Fear, particularly fear of making mistakes, causes indecisiveness and confusion. It stops you from knowing what you really want.
• Fear warps your perception of your life and what you can do to make it better.
• Fear keeps you from asking for help when you need it.
• Fear keeps you from asserting yourself and persuades you to settle for what you must settle for instead of going after what you want.
• To calm your fears, you develop unhealthy habits and behavior problems.
• Fear often makes you give up just one step short of your goal.
• Fear keeps you from taking risks.
  Sidney B. Simon, “Getting Unstuck: Breaking Through Your Barriers To Change,” 1988

Fear can keep us captive in emotional, spiritual, and physical prisons.

Why does fear, which seems like such a small thing, carry such a debilitating power over us? In the past few weeks I've surveyed people and gotten a number of enlightening responses concerning the powerful effect fear has had in their lives, as well as some of their remedies in handling fear. Perhaps some of the best advice that I have received on this is that we need to stop placing so much stock in what we feel and put more emphasis on where our faith is. Our senses don't tell us the whole story. Consider this from Scripture:

2 Kings 6:8-18
8 When the king of Aram was waging war against Israel, he conferred with his servants, “My camp will be at such and such a place.” 9 But the man of God sent [word] to the king of Israel: “Be careful passing by this place, for the Arameans are going down there.” 10 Consequently, the king of Israel sent [word] to the place the man of God had told him about. The man of God repeatedly warned the king, so the king would be on his guard. 11 The king of Aram was enraged because of this matter, and he called his servants and demanded of them, “Tell me, which one of us is for the king of Israel?” 12 One of his servants said, “No one, my lord the king. Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel even the words you speak in your bedroom.” 13 So the king said, “Go and see where he is, so I can send [men] to capture him.” When he was told, “Elisha is in Dothan,” 14 he sent horses, chariots, and a massive army there. They went by night and surrounded the city. 15 When the servant of the man of God got up early and went out, he discovered an army with horses and chariots surrounding the city. So he asked Elisha, “Oh, my master, what are we to do?” 16 Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid, for those who are with us outnumber those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed, “Lord, please open his eyes and let him see.” So the Lord opened the servant’s eyes. He looked and saw that the mountain was covered with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 When the Arameans came against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Please strike this nation with blindness.” So He struck them with blindness, according to Elisha’s word.

The servants eyes (feelings/senses) told him that they were in trouble. But the reality of faith in One Greater shows us that even when it looks hopeless it is not.

So, the answer to fear is not our feelings but our faith. When the disciples were terrified by the stormy sea the Lord asked, "where is your faith." When the prophet was cowering in a cave ready to give it all up the problem was he was overcome by his feelings and had turned away from his faith.

One of those catchy slogans that appears on church signs and in bulletins sometimes tells us that "If God Calls you To It God will Get you Through it." The fact is that if God calls you to it...He is WITH YOU through it. That's what he told Joshua. Take a look at Joshua chapter 1 and see the number of times the Lord tells him not to fear. Why? Because He would be with him through it all.

Until the Next Time
Be Blessed,
Pastor Dave