How to Stop Bowing Down to Fear
Fear is a form of worship, in that it gets us to believe and bow down, to okay and obey what was really sent from a rival god.
Have you ever known what it’s like when the sky seemed gray and the Lord far away? For some people this is a constant mindset. They seem to go through life without a single patch of blue in their sky.
The story is told of two farmers—one an optimist, the other a pessimist. One day the optimist said to the pessimist, “Wonderful sunshine!” “Yeah,” the pessimist grumbled, “it’s going to scorch the crops.” A little later in the week the optimist said, “Fine rain!” “Sure,” the pessimist challenged, “if it doesn’t flood!”
Toward the end of the week the optimist asked the pessimist, “Have you seen my new bird dog? I tell you he’s the finest money can buy!” The pessimist answered, “You mean that mutt penned up behind your house? He doesn’t look like much to me!”
Unperturbed, the optimist offered this friendly challenge, “How about going hunting with me tomorrow so you can see for yourself?”
Finding agreement with this suggestion, the two men went where the quail were sure to fly.
Presently a flock flew overhead, whereupon both men fired a round of shots—and down the quail came, right in the middle of the pond.
The optimist ordered his dog to go fetch them. But instead of swimming, the dog walked on top of the water Jesus-style; and upon fetching the quail, he walked back on top of the water and deposited the prized quail at the farmer's feet.
“Now, what do you think of my dog?” the optimist inquired.
“Humph,” the pessimist retorted, “Can’t swim, can he?”
There are other people like that who only see the worst. If there’s a silver lining, they reason there’s got to be a dark cloud somewhere!
One person said, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared with what lies in us.” It’s not circumstance that defines our outlook, but “inner stance.”
Our inner stance: What we believe in the day of trouble—what we stand on and will not depart from—predicts how we will process our emotions.
When it comes to facing the challenges of life, we would do well to consider the counsel given in II Timothy 1:7, where we are told the spirit of fear doesn’t come from the Lord (so we should repeatedly reject that); but, and this is what we should always accept, the Lord's provision—power, love, and a sound mind.
Let's briefly consider each. You will notice that the first part of God’s overcoming resources is—
Power
At our disposal is the almighty power of Jesus! “All power is given to me," Jesus declared just before ascending to Heaven. So did he take this power with him? No, because in this same message he promised he would be with us always. Therefore, the power we need is always at hand!
Often, when we hear that word power, our minds quickly interpret this to mean a miracle. But this interpretation may hurt us simply because we don't see many of those.
Power isn't always a miracle, a sudden, supernatural manifestation. If we think only that, this promise may start to slip away from us.
Power may mean an ability beyond our own, a capacity we don't have, a provision we presently need, words less sensational than that word miracle conjures up.
Moreover, this ability, capacity, provision may come—indirectly from God, not directly—through other people that God sends our way. A broader interpretation of the word power will make this promise more accessible to us.
Philippians 4:19 says God will supply all our needs—which is why D. L. Moody referred to this verse as “God’s blank check.” Whatever the need, God has a grace supply, and that supply is more than sufficient (II Corinthians 12:9).
By contrast, the blustery bravado of the flesh will fare no better than the sword-wielding Peter did that night in the garden. One whack with the sword, and then what happened? That pathetic plummeting to defeat! And then the need for the Master to undo this mess!
How fearful and fragile we then become whenever our efforts fail. And that's exactly what happened to Peter. What we see next in this story is Peter cowering in fear, a fear that took control and nearly destroyed him.
The slightest change in barometric pressure can put a violin out of tune, but a Christian shouldn’t find himself out of tune so easily. Since every problem has at least one corresponding promise from the Lord, a Christian can experience perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3) and a fullness of joy (John 15:11) which can never be taken away (John 16:22).
Also available to every Christian is God’s —
Love
Interestingly, Revelation 1:5 speaks of God’s love for us in the present tense. This is important to know, because, without thinking about it very much, we tend to relegate God’s love to the past, and particularly to that day when Jesus gave his life for us on the cross.
But God’s love for us didn’t end on the cross—he loves us today.
Remember, while others have shed tears for us, he shed his blood. And is he sorry? No, unlike human love that can be fickle and fading, the Lord's love is fixed and final.
With this truth in mind, Romans, chapter 8, poses a question many of us have asked: Can anything separate us from the love of God?
Seventeen possibilities are cited, possibilities that include extreme realities such as distress, depths, demons, and even death. But the happy conclusion of this passage is that “nothing can separate us from the love of God.” We may fail, we may fall, but the Lord’s love remains undiminished—he loves us to the uttermost.
“Yeah, yeah,” may be the instinctive and unvoiced response from those who have heard this stuff before. Deeper down though, many Christians think God is only tolerating them, that they are really a disappointment to God, one who has brought him more grief than gladness.
They think his smiles of satisfaction are reserved for others in the family, not for them. Whenever their name is mentioned, they imagine, God shakes his head in wordless frustration—the furrow in his brow conveying no pleasure, the look in his eye conveying no favor.
That’s not a good way to go through life! Yet it is precisely the way many Christians do go through life.
This would end immediately, though, were they to know that God loves what he gave. And what he gave is the Lord’s life within them, the new nature.
That new nature totally defines them! And this is precisely why there will be no fluctuations in the Father’s feelings. The abiding presence of his Son's nature within us assures that.
In our world, there is such a thing as buyer’s remorse, but not in God’s world. What he paid for–and the price couldn’t have been higher! —he cherishes!
Not to believe this, dear reader, is to self-sabotage your assurance. And there’s no reason to do that.
A third overcoming resource available to every Christian is a—
Sound Mind
Too often, the immature Christian will let his brain go out of gear just as the disciples did when the storm gales blew that night at sea. Hovering over their Savior sleeping on the boat, they surrendered to their panic by shaking Jesus awake with these shrilled and ill-considered words, “Don’t you even care that we’re about to die?”
It isn’t clear why Jesus was to be blamed for this storm, but for some reason or another the fearful person is usually upset with God.
And just here may I say, and please don’t ever forget this: Always stay on God’s side. Never slander him. Never blame him. Never turn away from him. Because God has never been your problem!
So, tell him soon and tell him often that you trust him, that you know he’ll never let you down, that he’ll always see you through, and that because of his faithfulness you will get to the victory side of life’s storms.
The approach recommended here is one that follows the psalmist’s example who asked, “Why are you cast down, o my soul. And why are you disquieted within me” (Psalm 42:5)?
Taking himself in hand, the psalmist attempted to understand why he was so upset. That's a good place to begin—to think and not just feel.
Many people never do this but instead externalize their trouble and try to blame, or perhaps reform, everyone else. In this regard, D.H. Lawrence wrote of one of his characters, “Poor Richard Lovett wearied himself to death struggling with the problem of himself and calling it Australia.”
Having located the problem, the next thing we need to do is to become aggressive with ourselves. Some people lack the stamina for this, preferring what Eric Berne calls “Yes, but games.” “I know you’re right, but ...” “I should take your advice, but ...”
By bowing down to fear in this way, they virtually welcome the demon of depression instead of upbraiding him and reminding him of what they know!
The assignment from God, fearful Christian, is to get rid of bad thoughts and to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2).
Unfortunately, there are more than a few pew-sitters in our midst who act as if they were born yesterday and as if the Bible never said a single word about their situation.
Whether they moan and groan, or whine and wail, unbelief takes over as they go under.
A.B. Simpson wrote, “One hour of fretting will wear out more vitality than a week of work.” And do we gain anything from this investment of energy? No, we only lose—big time!
When the psalmist said, “I have set the Lord always before me,” he didn’t mean he had this little statue of God he carried around, or that he had some other icon that functioned like a rabbit’s foot. To set the Lord before him meant focusing on God being present and faithful.
Once this image was vividly intact, the psalmist proceeded to say, “Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved” (Psalm 16:8). Not in my emotions, not in my convictions, not in my goals—I’m not backing up an inch!
Isn’t that good? The overcoming resources of God—power, love and a sound mind!
Will they work?
Yes, they will! So stop bowing down to fear!
