More than My Fear

Have you ever sensed panic rising in you, wanting to run from a situation as fast as you can or to find a place to hide? I remember facing major surgery for the first time in my life about 15 years ago and feeling possibly the worst fear I had ever known. Waiting outside the operating room, I trembled, my breath coming in short gasps! I survived and learned a whole new lesson about overcoming panicky emotions.

Fear can be conquered with faith! Jesus' disciples who were in a boat with Him as a storm rose on the Sea of Galilee. When they panicked, they turned on Him and accused Him of not caring for them! Mark tells it this way – The disciples said, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

He asked them to think about their reaction to the storm, to consider the totality of their resources, wondering why they gave into fear so quickly.

Emotions are a wonderful gift UNTIL they are allowed to rule us.

Fear can become a panic, running wildly through our thoughts, if we do not speak faith to it.

Anger can turn into a roaring blaze of rage if we do not restrain it.

Desire will turn rapidly to all-consuming lust, greed, or gluttony if we do not invite the Spirit to rule in us.

So, David teaches us by example when he talks to himself! He says, "Praise the Lord, I tell myself, and never forget the good things he does for me." (Psalm 103:2, NLT)

There is an attractive myth of our time, widely believed, that tells us that every thought must be spoken, every feeling explored, every desire fulfilled. In truth, self-discipline, that wonderfully valuable tool for successful living, teaches us to rein in our thoughts, or redirect our emotions, and to restrain our desires. Those choices may cause us some discomfort, but none of them will be fatal!

Ever see a fully grown adult throwing a tantrum? Not pretty, is it? Then, too, some make poor choices to satisfy some urge today and in the process sabotage tomorrow, immaturely blaming the mess they create on someone else. We try to excuse ourselves by saying, “I just could not help it,” but in this we lie. People enslaved by ‘living in the moment’ are often unaware of the deepening chaos they are creating. So we must learn to speak to our own soul with the voice of reason and in the power of God's Spirit.

Spirit-filled Christians who speak Truth to their inner storms gain greater freedom with each victory. They grow in godliness. The Spirit produces a wholeness of life that makes them the overcomers God desires them to be.

We do not gain this victory by ignoring the inner tumult, or by denying negative emotions, or by repressing unpleasant feelings. We know what we feel, but we also know that God gives the power of choice and promises us His Spirit lives in us to help us be over-comers! We can fully acknowledge our emotions without letting them take control.

Jeremiah, called 'the weeping prophet,' faced calamity and felt the crushing weight of sorrow. His example is powerful. Here is how he spoke to himself - “My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the LORD." I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness, and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassion never fails. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:18-23, NIV) Oh, how I love that passage as it gives me courage to face reality and to overcome my first responses.

Here is a truth to take with you today. “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."  (2 Corinthians 10:5, NIV)

A contemporary paraphrase of the holy Word, The Message, enlarges the thought. Let these words become part of your resources to overcome fear. Learn to live in faith, and to see what God can do with the challenges of your life.

Read and rejoice! "The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fairly. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture.

We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity."  (2 Corinthians 10:3-6, The Message)

Lord, help us to become ‘more than overcomers’ so that we live for Your glory. Amen.