MOVING FORWARD - pastor mike landry

Fear is such a crippler. Psychologists tell us that our immediate and natural response to fear is usually to “flee from it” or “fight it.” We either run for our lives or resist it. Either way, these responses don’t deal with that which triggers our fears. We simply postpone the remedy until the next time…or the next…or the next time.

Fear has a way of seductively robbing us of confidence, love, purpose, and the ability to trust God. We can’t afford to allow fear to rob us of the life we were created by God to live. Time is too short!

I suggest we look at the emotion of fear as an alarm that is telling us we are in the middle of a test. This test is intended to stretch us, mature us, and strengthen us. In fact, when we are afraid, it’s time to get excited. We are about to take a giant step forward…if we pass the test.

The New Testament puts it this way,

“Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith reduces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:2-4 HCSB)

Unfortunately, because these kinds of tests require endurance, change, and risk, we often allow our fears to short-circuit any progress with a knee-jerk response to run or fight. We’ve got to add some time between the feeling of fear and the knee-jerk response.

So, what are we to do? That’s where faith comes in. Faith is not another feeling to replace our fears with. Faith is a commitment to know the truth and act on it. The truth will disarm most of our fears and empower us to successfully live out and pass the test. The secret to dealing with our fears boils down to making time to identify the truth and then move in that direction. This is a strong argument for spending time daily meditating on and reading the Scriptures. A regular diet of Scripture saturates your mind with truth that can be tapped into when fears appear.

As long as we realize that fear is a feeling and not a master that must be obeyed, we can move forward. Knowing the truth will set you free!

One more thing, there is a fear that is healthy. It’s called the “fear of God.” Actually, the Bible says,
Why is this kind of fear healthy? Because the fear of God indicates that you know the truth about God and are acting on it. The fear of God, therefore, becomes a descriptive term of one who is exercising faith in God. So there you have it - FAITH is the remedy for FEAR.

“It is the most natural thing in the world to be scared, and the clearest evidence that God’s grace is at work in our hearts is when we do not get into panic-mode…The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else.” Oswald Chambers

I learned a lot about fear in a recent study on the emotions and shared more in a message entitled, “How to Combat Your Fears with Faith” on May 10, 2009 at the church I serve. I encourage you to listen to it by listening online at http://www.sarasotabaptist.com/resources/archived-sermons.html?view=studieslist

Labels: faith, fear, fear of God, Test