A Messy Pile of Scared Living -- Fear, Part 1

Pray for me, friends. This is probably going to be the most fearful week of my life.

Why?

Because I know the drill. I talk about something Satan doesn’t want me to, and then he hits me right between the eyes in that same area. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Maybe some of you have experienced it yourself. You share with someone about areas of your life you desire to give over to God like marriage…pride…or money, when suddenly that same week you have more marital conflicts than usual, a greater struggle with pure attitudes, and a really intense financial situation come up! Mark it down; the great destroyer will hit you where it hurts the most in the areas you are seeking to grow. It’s his main M.O., and he hates the truth being brought out into the open.

But go with me for a minute.

Have you ever thought of Satan as being a great accountability measure?

Ok, look. I refuse to give him “props” for anything. But you have to admit; he will make you put your money where your mouth is when you put things like this out there by testing your devotion to God and your commitment to dealing with spiritual issues. So, I write to you today, fully expecting an outright fear campaign to be waged on me; therefore, I truly do covet your prayers. But I also write…remembering that as a believer in Jesus Christ, I have the over comer on my side. So I can write about – and face – this issue of fear without fearing major repercussion.

Yep, that’s right. For the next three Mondays, I am going to talk about fear. It is the scariest 4-letter word there is, manifests itself in different ways for different people, can affect relationships, stunts one’s growth, and carries a necessity to die to it daily! And it has the potential to turn the most fearless person in the world into a messy pile of scared living.

One of the most highly quotable sayings about fear came from the 1st Inaugural address of President FDR in 1933. “…the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Smack during the period of the Great Depression, this famous president was talking about the economic conditions of his time. But his quote transcends his era. I personally think it just may be the most accurate statement about fear ever made.

Fear itself – the thought of what we are afraid of, is what truly makes us fearful. Our mind is the battlefield, and Satan is the enemy trying to build camp in our psyches. And many times, friends, he does the job.

All of us have fears. This morning as I sit here at my computer, I can think of a couple of fears in particular that are so scary to me that I don’t want to type them out or verbalize them for fear that they will come true. It’s as if I believe that if I don’t acknowledge them to you or even myself, that they will never, ever be realized. And then I can continue to pretend that I am not afraid of them.

My denial has Satan’s sneaky fingerprints all over it.

After all, he doesn’t want me to acknowledge them or speak them or write about them. Because if I do, his covert operation might then become recognized or exposed. And then, just maybe…I might begin to face them, work on overcoming them, and give them over to the Lord, dying to them. For the evil one, that would be the ultimate defeat. He would much rather me never speak them, acknowledge them, share them, or face them…because then he can continue to terrorize me with them.

That’s what fear does.

It keeps you from doing things.

It paralyzes you from moving forward.

It terrorizes you into becoming a sprinter on the fast track of running scared.

I, myself, am a self-confessed sometime-sprinter. Let me just put that out there right now.

There are so many Bible heroes that come to mind as I think of this issue of fear. Noah. Esther. Abraham. Isaac. Jacob. Joseph. Moses. Hannah. Samuel. David. Elizabeth. Prophets…Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Elijah, Daniel. John. Paul. Peter. Ruth. Deborah. Timothy. James. The list could go on and on, but you get the point. Basically every major circumstance these heroes of the faith found themselves in was scary. They were certainly not immune to the sharp feelings of fear that most assuredly accompany risky, bold, impassioned actions in direct violation of Satan’s desires. Were they at times afraid? I believe so. They were human, after all. No fleshly, fallible person is exempt from feelings of fear. None that I know, at least.

How do you think Joshua felt when soon after the death of his beloved mentor, Moses, God appointed him the daunting task of leading the nation of Israel? Certainly, he had taken a few notes from Moses’ playbook. He had seen the best and watched him at work. Absolutely, God through Moses, had anointed Joshua with great wisdom. Yes, he was better qualified than anyone else to succeed his predecessor and do the job. But if he wasn’t at least a bit fearful to be the newly minted leader, then why did the omniscient Lord have to encourage him to be strong…have courage…and not be afraid?

Scripture really doesn’t say. But my guess is that it is because he was. The proof for me is found in the exhortation of Jesus to Joshua in Joshua 1: 2-9…

"Moses my servant is dead. Get going. Cross this Jordan River, you and all the people. Cross to the country I'm giving to the People of Israel. I'm giving you every square inch of the land you set your foot on—just as I promised Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon east to the Great River, the Euphrates River—all the Hittite country—and then west to the Great Sea. It's all yours. All your life, no one will be able to hold out against you. In the same way I was with Moses, I'll be with you. I won't give up on you; I won't leave you. Strength! Courage! You are going to lead this people to inherit the land that I promised to give their ancestors. Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out The Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don't get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you're going. And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed. Haven't I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don't be timid; don't get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take." (The Message)

Though no outward cry for courage by Joshua is recorded in this passage, clearly God knew that he would need some to do the job at hand. So He graciously took care of the particulars before such issues ever came up. (He’s just good that way. :)) And since in the following verse we listen in as Joshua begins immediately barking out orders, my bet is that it worked. (vs. 10-11, “Then Joshua gave orders to the people's leaders: "Go through the camp and give this order to the people: 'Pack your bags. In three days you will cross this Jordan River to enter and take the land God, your God, is giving you to possess.'")

Friends, we can choose to continue to be a messy pile of scared living. Fear can often be an old friend, and we are not always eager to part with it. But our choice to let it stick around will not allow us the life we want, the relationships we crave, or the freedom we long for. Those things take some internal extrication of our feelings of fear. Can we do it? Not on our own. But with the help of the Holy Spirit, absolutely, 100%, we can.

Just ask Joshua.

Challenge Questions:
1) What are you currently afraid of? Is it something that has been an ongoing fear in your life, or is it something that has come up recently because of a circumstance you are facing? How have you been dealing with it? Has your way been effective?
2) On a scale of 1-10, how often to you pray about your fear(s)? Why are you at that number on the scale, and what can you do to change that?
3) Have you memorized Scripture(s) about fear? If so, what promises from God can you cling to in regards to your fears? If not, search the Scriptures to find at least two verses on fear, read them, and commit to memorizing them. (www.biblegateway.com is an excellent on-line resource)

Now What? (Your specific call to action)
In order to begin to surrender our fears, let’s take a lesson from Jesus’ playbook for Joshua (Joshua 1:6-9)…
1) Be strong and courageous. Requires daily surrender to our fears and continuous holy boldness from God, our resource.
2) Meditate on the Word. Day and night. All the time. Whenever you are afraid. It’s the only way to successfully conquer the fear factor in your life.
3) Cling to God. You need Him. I need Him. We need Him to deal with our feelings and draw Him close to us, loving us, when we are afraid.

Thanks for stopping by to catch Part 1 of this 3-part Monday series on fear – my first “get real” topic of 2008. Join me next Monday to find out what I believe all women, no matter who they are or what their circumstance is, fear the very most in life. Trust me, ladies. You will ALL relate.

Lisa