Mastering Fear

 

 

Mark 4:35-41

 

On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side."  36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"

39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?"*  41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"

NKJV

Why are you so fearful? Is it because you are uncertain about your future?  Is -it because you are running all of the worst-case scenarios in your mind?  Is it financial concerns that leaves you shaking in your shoes?

According to today's verse it appears that fear is caused by a lack of faith.  Ouch!  That stings, but nevertheless contains a "helping" truth.  When we are afraid we are out of faith and are trying to steer our own lives. Fear is a common affliction of humanity. There are times we all find  ourselves in a fearful  situation.   The Lord allows us to have that emotion for good purposes at times.  It keeps us from leaping from tall buildings, or grabbing a cast iron skillet barehanded from out of the oven.  Fear helps to keep us in safe parameters within this application.

But beyond the healthy, life-preserving fear, is an ugly monster- a dark spirit, really- that the enemy uses to box a child of God in.  He  uses it to keep them from stepping out in faith when the Lord  calls them.  Fear keeps us from praying faith-filled prayers. Fear  keeps us from walking in the Lord's peace.  The Bible is plain that "God has not given us a spirit of fear."  So  when that spirit comes, we must know  it is not from God and we must resist it.

No matter how I grow in my faith, fear is a constant foe to overcome.   We have to learn to cast down the fearful thoughts that the enemy plants in our minds.  We have to bring these thoughts into captivity and make them obedient to Christ- what He says and what He has promised.   And yes,  at times,  we have to follow the advice of Joyce Meyer and "do it afraid."  What this means is that our knees can still knock, but we do not allow it to prevent us from doing what we feel we should.   We go ahead and volunteer for a ministry, we step out and go back to college, and  we share our testimony with that neighbor.   As we step out around the fear boundary, we push it further back in our lives.  Every time we stand against fear, it loses a little bit of its hold on us.

Some people allow fear to become so prevalent in their lives that they cease to truly live.   They stay in their house.  They avoid social situations.  They are eaten up with all kinds of fears and phobias.  Child of God, that is not His plan for your life!

"Even the wind and sea obey him," even nature has more sense than we do sometimes!  The natural elements know Who is God and we must do the same.   We cannot allow fear to hem us in.  We must pull against that yoke and choose, instead, a life of faith and belief.

Dear Lord, I do not want fear to have a stronghold in my life.  Break it off of me.  Teach me how to resist fear and choose faith.  In Jesus' Name. Amen.