Published by You can choose faith instead of fear
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me (John 14:1, TNIV).
If ever there was a message straight from the heart of Jesus to those he loved, it was this one. Jesus, at the last supper, spoke of his own death which would occur soon. He knew that his death would bring his disciples face to face with fear. In effect, he said, “I am leaving, but I don’t want you to be afraid.” Actually he said more than that – he said, “I don’t want your heart to be troubled by fear.” It was a command really – a command for them (and us) to take control of our feelings before they take control of us.
Fear does that – it moves in and takes control. Soon we become accustomed to living with worry. It robs us of joy and grows to dominate our very lives. We become self-absorbed and self-centered. We have no time or energy to serve others. Fear is a full time job for many folks.
It’s interesting to me that fear does not even appear in the human experience until there is sin. Man crosses God’s boundary line and ends up hiding behind the trees which were created for his pleasure. “And the LORD God called to man, ‘Where are you?” He answered, I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid” (Genesis 3:9-10). We should notice these important facts.
- First, the power of fear is in our focus. Notice how Adam’s speech betrays him and notice how his focus had changed. Now their focus is not God – their focus is self. And as soon as their focus changes from God to self, their hearts turned from peace to fear. Hearing him had brought joy to their hearts; now it brings only fear. Once they ran to God; now they run from him.
- Conquering fear is a matter of choice. In fact, it’s a matter of choosing to stay in the presence of God. David, said, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4). Isaiah says, “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid” (Isaiah 12:2).
Jesus knew that we would all struggle with rejection, guilt and fear. He offered us the only real alternative: “Trust in God; trust also in me.” And everyday we choose to live in fear or faith. Choose faith!
Bill Anderson, Pastor
Pineville Christian Church
www.PinevilleChristian.com
