Monday, June 7, 2010

God Meets You Where You Are: Fear

Sorry for the extremely long period with no posts. MUST try to do better. Anyhows, this is coming from Psalm 56. So, you'll need your bibles for this one (I'm not going to put a whole psalm up here). Read Psalm 56 before you read further (Please).


I. What Happens When I Am Afraid? Psalm 56:3

Fear is recurring everywhere: People, animals, (Obviously not things) all around the world. It is phenomenally universal. So...Why do we commonly fear things? How do we know we fear something when it's not obvious?

It
usually has to do with control. We are typically afraid of things that aren't under our control. It's human nature to desire to have control of things and situations, because it makes you feel so much better. We can also get angry at the things we fear. (Well, duh...I mean, we get mad when we have to do something we're afraid of, right? That shouldn't be to hard to figure out...)

David, the psalmist, is terrified.
(Psalm 56:1, 1 Samuel 21:12-15, Psalm 56:5-6) More importantly, when we are afraid we put our trust in God. So: 1. When I am afraid I put my trust in God. 2. Our fear always involves trust. (Or a lack of trust, or trust in something useless [yourself for one {Yes I'm being mean now, but it's the truth! Me included!}])


II. So How Do We Deal With Fear? How Do We Become Unafraid?

You know, it's truly almost IMPOSSIBLE. (Unless you're the annoying [I'm not afraid of anything] {In my case, that doesn't apply to me for one reason: I have no clue. I call things as I see them}) However, looking to the Lord for dealing with fear is the best answer. No joke. None at all. On the other hand though, that doesn't mean that you won't have things that might scare you. If it's life threatening, (You DO NOT TEST THE LORD BY DOING THIS ON PURPOSE) and you believe your going to heaven because the Son Of God died for you, well your going to a better place anyways. That's my way of thinking. I hope it's yours as well. ;)

But, how do we (Our human sinful natures) try to do it? Usually, in the non-believers sense, they'll try to do one of these two things: 1. Avoidance. Just run from the fear all the time. 2. Trying to be self-confident and stand up to your fears. In my mind, choice 2 is a pretty good idea. But let God help you to be confident. Don't be confident in yourself (If something can go wrong, it will) but (With God all things are possible). No joke. God's proven that all throughout history in the bible. After all, what can man possibly do to you? Sure, they could kill you with a shotgun rifle. They could kill you with a knife. They can break all your limbs, but guess what? NONE of that matters! They won't decide whether you go to Heaven or Hell. They will never
ever be able to do that. God is the only one who decides where you will spend eternity: Whether it be Hell or Heaven. He's the one you should fear. However, because I'm a Christian, I believe and know that he will lead me to heaven. (
Matthew 10:28) (That doesn't mean though that I can sin anyway, I will, but I won't do it willingly. I hope. I know you already know that. I've said it time and again on this blog. If you're new to me, well, then now you know. :)
"The more you focus on something, (Fear or anything else - put in by me) the more you'll see
problems with it," -Wayne Brooks. (My pastor)



III. How Do I Put My Trust In God?


Hmmm. Well, that's one heck of a question. You don't just do it once, after all. He said "When I am afraid I put my trust in God." That's literally what he means. The only other way I can think to put it: You want to grow in your trust in God? Well, by all means, grow in knowing God. :) Once you really know a lot about God by reading the Bible, and you have held a conversation with him, you should be able to fully put your trust in him.



IV. Why Overcome Fear?

Well, now that's another amazing question. You're pretty good at this. ;) My Pastor said this:

"The problem with fear is keeping us away from glorifying our Heavenly Father and Savior."

Truly, I had
NEVER EVER thought of that before. I mean, now it totally makes sense. I can put this into reason now: We may be afraid to talk to people about our Heavenly Father and His Son who died for them. What happens if they want to kill me? Well, that is fear, and it gets in the way of us serving our Lord.

Any MORE amazing questions? Feel free to ask. I'll see if I can help you. ;)






BLS