So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)
Our Fears – Afraid Series – Part 4
Go to PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 | PART 6
Stephen King said, “If a fear cannot be articulated, it can’t be conquered.”
Too often, we swat at fear and throw empty declarations at it, instead of naming and recognizing it; respecting the power that it has over our lives if we do not deal with it appropriately. We cannot conquer something that we do not have the humility and grace to face fully and acknowledge. Often, our fears reveal our deepest issues around trust and faith and hope and love.
In the New Testament Gospel books, whenever Jesus cast out demons and darkness from a person, he named it. He named the darkness and called it for what it was. He looked it in the face and understood it…
Richard Rohr says, “Much of the work of spiritual growth has to do with saying… to those in darkness, “Show yourself!” (Isaiah 49:9).”
Take a few minutes and articulate your fears. Write them down if that helps. I have a long list sitting here beside me as a type.
Then speak these words over them:
“Fear not I am with you.”
“Peace, be still.”
In Mark 4, Jesus asked his disciples to cross with over to the other side of the lake. He took them on a journey that brought them face to face with their fears: fear of death, fear of pain, fear of failure, and who knows what else. He took them on a journey to cross through their fear.
In their panic, the disciples woke Jesus up and begged him to control the situation. And he did. Jesus spoke to the storm, and his words of peace calmed the writhing waters around them.
Here’s the thing: I’ve tried to command the “wind and the waves” of my fear and pain, and it’s never worked. Ha! I’ve been in crazy fearful situations, I’ve been in danger, I’ve been sick, I’ve been heartbroken; I’ve witnessed the pain and destruction of the innocent, poverty and war and violence; and I’ve begged and pleaded with Jesus to WAKE UP and speak to the winds and the waves crashing into my heart and the world around me, “Peace be still!”
PEACE BE STILL, Oh fear-filled world!
But Christ hasn’t looked at my circumstances and commanded that they obey his peace. He’s looked at me and has asked me to do so. “Fear not, I am with you.”
It’s the wind and waves within that more often than not, Jesus speaks to. It's our hearts and minds that he ushers peace into.
Faith and trust happen when we allow “Shalom” to work its way into our innermost being and settle the fray within.
After he had calmed the storm, Jesus didn’t rebuke his disciples; he didn’t deny that something terrifying had happened, he didn’t even explain the fear away, he simply asked, “Why are you so afraid? Haven’t you learned to trust yet?” (Mark 4:40).
Haven’t you learned to trust yet?
TRUST? Trust.
Perhaps, if we dare named the origin of our fears, it would be called “the absence of trust.”
When we trust – which is the biggest gamble and act of faith of all – that there is more going on here than we know, and that if we work through our fears and toward peace, Christ is made manifest among us.
Our fear’s overcome, might actually lead us to love.
Over to you… What does fear do to you? Leave us your comments below.
Go to Part 5 – Your Fear »
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