Fear is universal and inescapable.
Across culture, language and geography, fear is a common element in the human existence. When we are born, we are born with two fears; the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. As we grow we develop more and more fears as a product or response to our experiences and environment. I recently read a study where a group of 500 psychology students were polled on their fears and at the end of the study the students reported over 7000 different fears. If we were honest we would all have to admit that fear is very real in each of our lives. So if we can’t escape fear and it is universal across all cultures, languages and geography, then what are we to do?
Read Matthew 14:22-32.
As we look at this story we see several things. First, we see Jesus sending His disciples across the lake. Being God, He knew the storm was coming, yet still He sent them on. Next we see Jesus walking out to the boat and the disciples being afraid, notice Jesus calms their fears about Him being a ghost but He did not calm the storm. Third we see Peter asking if he can walk to Jesus, Jesus says yes and notice the storm is still raging on. Then Peter loses sight of Christ and begins to sink. He call out saying “Lord, save me” Jesus reached out and saved him, notice the storm is still raging on. Not until Jesus got into the boat did the storm cease being a storm.
One of the take always for me from this passage is God does not always remove the storm, which represents our fear. Fear will always be part of our life, it is inescapable and universal.
Now that I’ve probably caused a few of you anxiety over the knowledge you can’t escape fear. Let me give you a bit of hope.
Fear is not the problem.
Read Mark 14:66-71
Peter’s response demonstrates the two main responses to fear which are shutting down/denial or anger.
Initially Peter denies Christ and walks away. For many of us fear stops us dead in our tracks and we become frozen, shutting down or running in the complete opposite direction of our fear. We can’t move in any direction with our life because fear is holding us captive. The good news is Jesus came to set the captive free (Luke 4:18 & ff).
The next main response to fear is anger. Peter’s final response to being asked about knowing Jesus is one that can only be expressed as anger, he denied Christ and began to swear and use curses. When working with people who are experiencing anger, exploring the root cause of their anger involves pursuing fears that are the possible trigger for their anger response. Anger may be a response to fear but just like shutting down it’s not an appropriate response.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said “For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness”
I don’t know about many of you but I am tired of my fears stealing my happiness and keeping me from having the life God’s wants for me.
The solution
To break the chains of the fear that is holding us captive, we first have to acknowledge our fear and surrender to God.
What does that look like?
Peter gives us a good example of this back in Matthew 14:30 ESV
Part of acknowledging our fear is to recognize we need help and cry out for help just like Peter and ask God to save us.
When fear holds us captive admitting we need help is the first step in overcoming fear and who better to start with than the Creator Himself.
Then next step is to Trust God. Psalm 56:3-4
When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?
I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?
In sessions therapists often say trust the process, I trust the process but how much better to trust God knowing that He is my rock and shield,
Last, Crying out to God and trusting Him are great but it does not end there. There has to be action and that is where stepping out in faith is the final step.
This can be the scariest part, having to face the very thing that makes you afraid. When working with people and their fears, there comes the time when we have to approach the fear head on by exposing them to the thing that is causing them to be afraid.
John 10:10 tells us Jesus came to give us an abundant life. I want that life and to get it, I can’t let fear keep me from it.
My prayer and desire is for each person to break their personal chains of fear and have the best and most fulfilling life possible.
