We began a series on fear last Sunday called What Keeps You Up at Night? You can watch a replay of the entire service weeknights at 6 pm on our opening page at pantano.church (scroll down to the “Watch Live” section). Or you can watch just the message anytime – click here.
The cost of fear is very high. Sustained fear causes stress that over time can erode our health resulting in diabetes, cardiovascular issues, infertility, and so much more. Fear disrupts a healthy emotional balance as it robs us of peace and often results in things like depression or outbursts of anger. Fear can hinder us from taking important and needed risks that are a normal part of life and that help us grow and move forward. And, one of the seldom mentioned consequences of fear is that it can keep us from living out our true self that can make a difference in the place God has put us.
God created each of us unique. Our true self is made up of the characteristics, desires, motivations and our unique gifts that reflect God as we were created in the image of God. The person God created us to be has been damaged by our sin but has also been redeemed and restored in Christ. Fear often causes us to back away from our true self that best reflects God, and that he created to make a difference in his name.
Here are some of the costs of fear that we too seldom reflect on or talk about: When we fear not being loved, cared for, or included, we selfishly seek ways to get love instead of looking for even imperfect ways to love. When we are afraid that we can’t make things right, the way they should be, we can react in anger rather than looking for our best or better response that might make a small difference. We are afraid of failure so we’ll choose dishonesty to get a good outcome or fall into self-doubt that paralyzes us from being a positive contributor. We fear not having enough (of anything) and rather than sharing whatever we do have, we hoard it and ironically prove in action that we have nothing to share.
Fear keeps us from giving away the gifts God gave us to help others. When fear causes us to doubt, what we have to offer won’t be seen as valuable and worthwhile, so we withdraw and others lose out on the less than perfect gifts we could have given. We fear anything that might cause us pain or suffering, so we overindulge in the things that make us happy or numb the pain and become disengaged from contributing to others. We can be afraid of being controlled and manipulated so we refuse to be vulnerable and approachable which are amazing gifts in themselves. We are afraid of change or conflict so we become neglectful of or withhold the actions that might make a difference.
There is a very high cost of living in fear. Fear is one of Satan’s best tools he uses to try and stop love, hinder service, and neutralize God’s people. In the end, we choose fear or we choose faith. It is actually easy and quite natural to choose fear. But it takes prayer, effort, courage and lots of help to choose faith in the face of fear. Faith is a deep trust and confidence that God is with us to help us be the person he made us to be…no matter what. Faith is choosing to be like Jesus…no matter what. Choose faith!
We all have fears. Some cause us nightmares that literally keep us up at night. Or, out of anxiety, we have trouble sleeping. Sunday we’ll start a new series called “What Keeps You Up at Night?” We’ll be looking closer at our fears and how God wants to lead us out of our anxiety into a place of peace.
Maybe you have struggled with fear, in general, most of your life, or at least for a long time. Maybe there is one key fear that keeps showing up. Maybe you are facing a fear that is tied to your situation right now. As I said, we all have fears. That’s part of being human. While we all will face fears, God does not want us to live or get stuck in our fears.
As we enter this new teaching series, I want to give you some hope when it comes to our fears; I love the wisdom found in Proverbs 3:21-26 (NIV):
My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight,
preserve sound judgment and discretion;
they will be life for you,
an ornament to grace your neck.
Then you will go on your way in safety,
and your foot will not stumble.
When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
Have no fear of sudden disaster
or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
for the Lord will be at your side
and will keep your foot from being snared.
Now again in the Message version – Proverbs 3:21-26:
Dear friend, guard Clear Thinking and Common Sense with your life;
don’t for a minute lose sight of them.
They’ll keep your soul alive and well,
they’ll keep you fit and attractive.
You’ll travel safely,
you’ll neither tire nor trip.
You’ll take afternoon naps without a worry,
you’ll enjoy a good night’s sleep.
No need to panic over alarms or surprises,
or predictions that doomsday’s just around the corner,
Because God will be right there with you;
he’ll keep you safe and sound.
God’s truth and God’s wisdom, which results in clear thinking and common sense will help us have correct thoughts about life and our fears. God’s truth and wisdom help keep us from spiritual danger. God’s truth and wisdom help us to sleep well at night. We put our faith in God and his wisdom to help us to overcome our fears because we know God will not abandon us, his guidance is sure and trustworthy.
