Facing Fear

Eastford Baptist Church
May 25, 2006

“Facing Fear”
False Evidence Appearing Real

People fear all kinds of things. Tom had begun to develop panic attacks commuting to work with his friends. The fear became so acute he decided to talk to a psychiatrist about it. He said, “Doc, it’s terrible. Every day, I’m filled with fear and anxiety as I ride to work with three of my coworkers and the thing that triggers it is a tunnel we drive through. Every day as we approach the tunnel I get so scared I can hardly breathe. What’s wrong with me? Am I going crazy?” The doctor said, “No, no, no, my boy. What you have is a very common ailment these days. You have what is known as “car-pool-tunnel-syndrome.”

Everyone is afraid of something and sometimes fear can be very healthy thing. In some instances, fear is a God-given warning system. It’s a fear of getting killed that makes you look both ways before you cross a busy street. It’s fear of getting bitten that causes you to stay away from a rattlesnake. Healthy fear releases adrenalin, which prepares you to flee or fight. This kind of fear protects you. But there is also an unhealthy, paralyzing fear that many live with. Julius Caesar was a powerful emperor, yet he was so afraid of thunder he hid under his bed during storms. Peter the Great was a feared Russian Czar, yet he was so afraid of bridges he refused to use them. You may have some kind of irrational, harmful fear that keeps you from enjoying life. “What’s the future really hold for me? How can deal with my health issue? How are we going to make it financially?” These kinds of fear can produce an emotional paralysis that causes a person to shut down and pull away from others.

In Psalm 55, King David was experiencing a time when fear gripped his life. He first gives a description of his fears, and then he offers a prescription for them. He prayed, “Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger. My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest—I would flee far away and stay in the desert; I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.”

David was facing a time when he just couldn’t escape his troubles. Everywhere he went he was confronted with stress and anxiety. It finally got to the point where he felt like giving up. But David teaches us what to do when we reach that point: What’s David’s antidote for fear?
Seek God’s Strength. David starts by turning to God. That’s how he starts out, “Listen to my prayer, O God.” David had the kind of relationship with God that he spoke to him on a regular basis. So that when trouble came, he automatically turned to God. He admits that he wants to run and hide – but what he does is run to God instead.

Know That God Hears Your Cry For Help. In verse 17 David says, “But I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress and He hears my voice.” Just knowing that God is a listener is a powerful thing! Fear can cause all kinds of negative scenarios to play out in your mind. And it’s OK to talk to God about them. Keeping your fear to yourself is the last thing you want to do. The imagination has a way of magnifying things beyond reality. The more you keep your fear to yourself, the greater they become. The Bible says in II Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us the sprit of fear, but a spirit of power, and of love and a sound mind.” God is not the author of fear. The devil is the sinister minister of fear. He knows that if he can keep you in fear, you’ll be ineffective as a Christian.

Cast Your Cares On The Lord. In verse 22 David says, “Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.” It is a well-worn cliché, but none-the-less it’s still true; “You don’t have to be afraid of what your future holds as long as you know who holds your future.” Oswald Chambers said it well: “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 panics…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.”

Whatever it is that you are facing – Don’t face it with fear. The Lord is still on the throne. His eye is still upon you. His grace is still sufficient. His love is still everlasting. His promises are still always sure. He is and will be your defender and shield. Don’t accept the false evidence that things are out of control – no matter how real it seems. What is truly real is that Jesus has risen to conquer sin and death. He has given you a future and a hope. He reigns in heaven to intercede for you. The Spirit lives within. His word is still true, and His mercy endures forever. Face it with faith, and not with fear.
God bless,
PT