Month: May 2019

Do y’all remember in the 90’s the No Fear t-shirts?  My brothers had to have them.

It’s hard to not have fear.  Fear about the safety of our children. Fear about shootings and bombings happening all over the world. Fear about our health, our college funds, our retirement. Fear about climate change and what the world will be for our grandchildren. These are definitely first world problems…some people worry when they will get their next meal and fear for their very lives.

Christians are meant to be fearless.  If we let fear rule our lives, it will paralyze us and our efforts to spread the Gospel.  We name our fears and worries in our prayers and give them to Jesus.  Naming and saying it out loud takes away its festering power.  Like a boil, festering, it can ruin our spiritual lives.  If we say our fears out loud they no longer have any power over us.  That is, if we don’t pick them back up again.  It’s hard not to because we think we can figure it out on our own or box the fears up on our own.  We think we have to do it by our own strength.  It’s Christ strength that is within us that says “No” to fear.  It’s the Holy Spirit at work within us that says “No” to fear.  God created Adam and Eve in the Garden to have no fear or worries and not til they had eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge did they experience fear.  It was not God’s design to have us as fearful beings.

We have power over this fear.  In God’s Word, in prayer, in being thankful, and seeing and knowing the fear, but overcoming it in Jesus’ name.  The Enemy seeks to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus calls us to boldly proclaim his Good News to all people.  We don’t have to just bob passively through life because we have a God who became flesh who is right beside us.  In Deuteronomy 31:6, “Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.”  In Joshua 1:9 it says, “I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” And in Psalm 23:4, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me.”  God walks right beside us even through the valley of the shadow of death.

At night when the fears and worries creep in, give it all to God in prayer and the things for which you are grateful. As it says in Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Wise words.  Jesus even taught about this very thing in Luke 12:22-27, “He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.  For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest?  Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.”

It’s hard to convince someone to trust.  That’s basically what it’s about.  If you’re fearful and worried all the time, do you have the trust and faith that God will work it out?  It’s a nature of God question.  Trust me, if you put these things in practice by digging into God’s word, intentional prayer, and being grateful for what you have, I promise it will change your life.  You will still face hard times, but lean on the One who never will fail you.  The One that says in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”  And promises to love you no matter what in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  The Triune God is faithful and true, and will never leave nor forsake us.

I’m preaching Sunday about common phobias and fears and I’ve created a handout with my favorite verses about conquering our fears.  We are going to write down some of our fears then lay them at the altar and give them to God.  As 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.” If we seek the Lord’s direction in our lives, if we put our fears and worries in God’s mighty hands, as Psalm 34:4, “I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.”

I’ll close with this song that I love by Ben Rector called “Follow You.”  Have a great weekend!

Follow You by Ben Rector