Jump Start # 1405

Isaiah 41:10 “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

  God is reminding the nation that He is with them and although they stand alone and stand different from all the other nations, they have God on their side. Later in this section it is repeated, “Do not fear…”

The expression, “fear not,” is found over 300 times in the Bible. Fear can be crippling. For the small child, he will pull the covers over his head at night until he cannot stand it anymore and then he will race to his parents bed. The fear of making a mistake or the fear of failure can keep some from trying. The fear of rejection is enough for some to turn down a date. Some fear getting a disease and they worry about those things. Some fear dying and they do everything they can to be healthy. There are so many fears that there are lists of phobias. I think one of the most unusual ones is phobia-o-phobia, the fear of fear.

Some of our fears are imagined. We have it in our minds that something is going to be terrible and after we go through the experience, we realize that it’s not so bad. The fear was all in our heads. Public speaking can be that way for some. It is really a killer for some to do it. They sweat, their knees knock, their voice quivers and it looks like they are enduring surgery. This is the way it is for many. But speaking a few times before the congregation and they learn to manage it and in time they actually learn to be comfortable before others. We can work our selves up in to a real mess when we imagine having to say something difficult to another person– a meeting with your boss, the elders at church want to talk to you, you want to quit college and fear having that conversation with your parents. We can almost get sick thinking about having those conversations.

Some fears are based upon past experiences. Years ago, a guy ran a red light and plowed into me. Even today, when I pass through an intersection and I catch a car coming fast up to the light, I hesitate. I remember what happened before. Bad experiences can ruin us. A bad experience with a dentist and a person may just never go to any dentist again. His teeth will be a mess. Someone who has had a bad experience at church may decide never to go again. His soul will be a mess. Someone who has had a bad experience at a restaurant may never eat at that place again.

Fear keeps us from evangelizing. We fear what to say. We fear what they may say back. We fear not knowing how to answer a question. Mostly, we fear someone slamming the door in our face and making fun of us. That fear, keeps our lips silent.

It was fear that caused the disciples to wake Jesus up in the midst of a storm on the sea. They thought they were dying. They asked the Lord, “Do you not care that we are perishing?” It was fear that caused Peter to sink while walking on the water. He saw the wind and waves and fear took over.

Fear will silence our prayers. Fear will makes doubts arise. Fear will make us want to just get back in bed and pull the covers over our head. One of the greatest fears must be in thinking we will not make it to Heaven. We look at our lives and realize that we haven’t done much. We remember sins in our lives. We know all too well that there have been times when we didn’t pay attention in church, there we times when we didn’t read our Bibles, there were times when we made the wrong choice in life.

Such fears may come from not understanding God. We may equate God with the cop who is sitting in his car with his radar gun pointed right at us as we drive down the road. God is watching we are told. We teach the children the song, “Be careful little eyes what you see, be careful little eyes what you see, for the Father up above is looking down in love, be careful little eyes what you see.” There it is, right there in that song. The Father up above is looking down….He’s nailed us. This distorted view of God leads us to thinking that God is never happy with us. Like the high school coach shouting at his team, God wants more out of us. More prayers. More attendance. More, more, more. We fear such a God.

Such fears also come from misunderstanding grace. We talk a good game when it comes to grace, but at the end of the day, it’s perfection that we live by. Perfect attendance. Perfect answers. Perfect choices. Perfect, perfect, perfect. And here we are, not perfect. We don’t always have the right answers. We don’t always make the right choices. Knowing this, coupled with a misunderstanding of God, has caused so many Christians to fear death. It’s not the dying part that is so terrible, it’s knowing on the other side God will not be pleased. They worship in fear. They sing in fear. They walk, not by faith, but out of fear. They are terrified of God. Grace is hard to understand. The guy who claims he has grace all thought out and figured out, probably doesn’t. Some see grace as a one way ticket to Heaven. You do nothing, God does it all. That’s not what the Bible teaches. We know that. Faith without works is dead, James said. Dead faith isn’t going to make God happy. We are God’s workmen, created for good works, Paul wrote. Let your light shine that they may see your good works is what Jesus said.

We are not saved by ourselves. We are not saved by perfection. God’s grace is what saves us. That grace is based upon our faith in Jesus. That faith leads us to obey God, even though that obedience will not always be right. Our hope is not in ourselves, but in Christ. God wants us to be saved. He has done so much to make that possible. He has given the best in Heaven, Jesus. He has recorded and preserved His wonderful word. He has left footprints from others that lead us to Him. God is on our side.

This is what the Isaiah passage is driving at. God is with you. God is for you. Do not fear, God is with you. Fear, worry and doubt are really faith issues. The greater the faith, the less the fear and worry. When faith lacks, fear and worry takes over. So what will drive out the fear in your life, grow your faith. Spend more time in the Gospels. See Jesus as He moves and operates around those people. See His love. See His concern. See that He is wanting all of us to be disciples, followers of Him. He wants us to trust Him. He wants us to believe Him. So when He says that He goes to prepare a place for us, we know that is a promise that is true and right.

Grow that faith. Protect that faith. Feed that faith. Use that faith. In doing that, you’ll find fear leaving you. Paul tells us that there was a crown of righteousness awaiting him, and not just for him, but for all those who have loved his appearing. Paul kept, Paul finished, Paul fought. There is  a fight we must engage in. There is a course that we must finish. There is a faith that we must keep. But in doing so, our love, trust and confidence in the Lord will soar.

Fear not…Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so!

Roger