Take THAT Fear!

This summer our Kaleo program studied the book of 2 Timothy. To sum it up, it is Paul commanding Timothy to preach the gospel, not be ashamed of it, be prepared in season and out of season, and to recognize the opposition he will face because of it. It is about recognizing the mission God has charged him with, and casting out the fear that creates so many obstacles in life. I imagine Paul writing this last letter to Timothy and all that he wanted to say to his beloved disciple. Paul suffered for the sake of the Gospel. He was able to say in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” My greatest hope is that at the end of my life we all can say that. Where is Paul’s fear? I’ve always convinced myself that I must just not be close enough to God or trusting in Him enough because I am still afraid of so many things. This must mean I’m not a good Christian like Paul, right? Wrong. I’m sure Paul had fears, too. He was human after all. But Paul abandoned his fear to be completely filled with the love of Christ so that the more the Holy Spirit poured into him, the more he poured out his love to others. The love of Christ and for preaching the Gospel to save the lost completely demolished the fear in Paul’s life.

Romans 8:15 says “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 1 John 4:18 says “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.” In Jesus Lives, author Sarah Young gives words straight from Jesus’ mouth so when you read it feels like he is speaking right to you—“You have a perfectly loving, infinitely strong Father, so bring your fears freely to Him…Open your heart to receive vast quantities of His Love. The more of this Love you hold in your heart, the less room there is for fear.”

Fear will never completely disappear from our lives, but with Christ we don’t have to be in bondage to it anymore. We are called to not be ashamed of what Christ has done for us: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). What did the LORD say to Isaac? “Do not be afraid, for I am with you” (Genesis 26: 24). What did Jesus tell the synagogue ruler? “Don’t be afraid; just believe” (Mark 5: 36). After Jesus calmed the storm he said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40). God wants to take our fear, and we want to be rid of it, yet we still cling to it…Why?

In Steve Shadrach’s book Brown Like Coffee, one chapter is dedicated to “Four Exit Ramps You Don’t Want to Take!” These are what we face in the real world. Shadrach says “Getting on and staying on God’s road is one of the greatest challenges we face as followers of Jesus Christ. Allowing Satan, the world, or our own flesh to get us off track might just be a temporary detour, but it could mean…total destruction!” The first exit ramp is fear. We live our lives based on fear by doing the things that are safe and comfortable for us, and running from things that frighten or intimidate us. Shadrach says “I once thought courage was the absence of fear. Not so. In fact, someone interviewed the still-living congressional medal of honor winners and asked them what their definition of courage was. All of them, in one form or another, said that courage isn’t the absence of fear—it’s doing what you’re afraid to do. Whether it’s WWII facing the Nazis at Normandy beach or trusting God with our future, we must walk toward our fears. Easy to say, hard to do, but letting the fear of what others think of us, the fear of the lordship of Christ, or the fear of earthly dangers control us can be exit ramps we don’t want to take.” The real issue is not how to escape our fears, but how to handle them.

So I encourage all of you (and myself) to not be afraid. Whether it’s fear of today, tomorrow, or even a painful past that you can’t seem to escape, trust that God is in control and because of that we are safe. He wants to fight our battles for us, he wants to give us courage to do what we’re afraid of, but we have to let Him. It’s a daily process, but the perfect love of Christ drives out our fears. There will be a day when there is no more fear, but until then Jesus tells us, “ As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” (John 15:9) Give fear a big ol’ karate chop to the jugular! ☺

Trust.

"Though the fig tree should not blossom,
And there be no fruit on the vines,
Though the yield of the olive should fail,
And the field produce no food,
Though the flock should be cut off from the fold,
And there be no cattle in the stalls,
Yet I will exult in the LORD,
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
The Lord GOD is my strength,
And He has made my feet like hinds' feet,
And makes me walk on my high places."
Habakkuk 3:17-19, NASB

Confess your doubts to God.
Trust Him in the darkness.
Rejoice in the waiting.
Be joyful.

This is a beautiful proclamation of faith from Habakkuk. All I can do really is meditate on it. There isn't much else left for me to say! Hope is lifts you up and gives you an example of how we can trust in God and rejoice in Him even when the harvest comes up empty, the world around us appears desolate, and when we feel all we have is nothing.