What are you afraid of?

What scares you? Clowns, spiders, IRS audits, snakes, or maybe it the boogie man under the bed? Even as adults there are things that still scare us. Most often they are silly and inconsequential. But occasionally our fears have merit. A diagnosis can scare us and rightly so! Other times it might be a circumstance or an event. World news is scary especially in this age of elections and geopolitical chaos. It is not by accident that the most prevalent command in scripture is “Do not be afraid.”

The biggest problem with fear is not the feeling but rather what it causes us to do. On one hand it can cause us to run the opposite direction of where we ought to be headed. The danger there is that we miss what we are supposed to do. Other times it may cause over reaction and our actions are out of step for what is called for. Like shooting a spider with a shotgun, we do too much and the results are worse than the fear ever was. Most often our response to fear is paralysis.   Stuck on the edge of the high dive, we are too afraid to go backwards and too afraid to jump in.

Walking with Jesus means that we must face the things that we fear the most. Not the silly things, but those fears that actually have substance. Death, persecution, inadequacy, poverty, irrelevance, and doubt all can paralyze us. But paralysis is not an option. Jesus says “take up your cross” not “stand there and look at it trembling”.  We have no choice. It is impossible to go where Christ would take us without facing our fears. We must do what he is calling us to. No matter the consequences, our faith demands it. And that is the rub isn’t it. It is faith that dispels fear. “Do not be afraid” is actually positively said as “Trust me.” Fear is ultimately a lack of trust.

 This week you will be challenged to face some fears; to move, to let go of paralysis’s, and to get out of the boat.

 See you at church,

Pastor Chris