Think back on what was your earliest fear in life. I remember being afraid to let my leg hang off my bed at night, because I wasn’t sure what might lurk underneath. If I had to get out of my bed at night, I leaped off, so whatever was underneath couldn’t get a hold of me.
As we grow our fears change. Young people have fears about not doing well in school or sports. They may fear not being popular or having the right friends. As adults, we could take most of this morning listing the various kinds of things that we may be afraid of. Take a look at the news and all kinds of fearful questions are raised in our minds.
Is the recession over or will it get worse? Is my job secure? Are my savings safe? Will my taxes go up soon? What about our national debt? Will I be able to put my children through college? What will happen if Iran gets nuclear weapons? Are we safe from terrorism? What about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? Will my family get the swine flu? What is going to happen with health insurance in this country? And we could go on and on.
God wants you to face your fears and move from being fearful to being fearless. Fearless is the opposite of fearful. Being fearful comes naturally. Being fearless comes from God. As we’ll see today, Jesus was fearless, he was never afraid. So it makes sense that the most common command of Jesus in the Gospels was to not fear or not be afraid.
Matthew 10:28 (NIV) Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
God wants to deliver you from fear of man and the things on this earth. As believers, we are to fear God alone. When you fear God you won’t fear anything else. If you don’t fear God, you will fear everything else. Fear and it’s smaller cousin worry, are very detrimental to our lives. Fear is the major component to stress, which can wreak havoc on your health. Fear tends to paralyze people into inaction, they’re not able to accomplish the things God has for them to do. Fear makes it hard for you to think and make decisions. God wants you to be fearless and courageous.
Joshua 1:9 (NIV) Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.
Courage and strength and the opposite of being terrified and discouraged. As we look at a story from the life of Jesus and His disciples, I pray that God will help each one of us move from fearful to fearless.
Listen to my November 1, 2009 message “Facing Your Fears” (message notes).