The other day I took one of my good friends to down town Indy for the first time. She had never been there before so naturally I took her to the Circle Center Mall. She was excited for the new experience, but as we parked in the lower level garage and approached the entrance to the mall, something came over her.
She stopped in her tracks, and I could see in her eyes the only thing she wanted to do was head back to the car and get out of there fast. I looked around to see if there was a creepy old man. .. Nope that wasn’t the answer. Then I checked my teeth . . . nothing there. I was stumped but then I saw what she was staring at.
The thing that was striking so much fear in my friend’s heart was a very simple set of escalators. There wasn’t anything new or tricky about them. They were plain old normal escalators . . . but there seemed to be something more going on . . . it seemed like these escalators held a power over my friend rendering her legs inoperable.
But I wasn’t going to let this escalator win . . . I mean it was an inanimate object . . . so I thought I could take it down. I would use my intellect and logic and I would defeat this possessed escalator and free my friend from it’s strangle-hold.
So I gently grabbed the back of my friends arm, told her it would be alright and we both got on the escalator . . . she didn’t breath for the 15 seconds we were on that “hellish” ride . . . but she made it . . . we defeated the evil beast
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When I was a kid I remember being terrified of an escalator. I vividly remember shopping with my mother, and her getting on the escalator, while my feet just wouldn’t move me on with her. I remember seeing her get further and further away; further down and further away. I remember balling and being so very scared.
Another thing I was scared of as a kid was sitting on the toilet. I remember watching one of those “real stories” TV shows, where they tell you unbelievable events that have happened that you should believe. The episode that scared me away from the toilet involved a giant snake coming into a family’s home through the toilet. Every time I had to “go”, I was worried a snake would come up and bite me. This was a tragic experience for me. (I still check the toilet for snakes today)
Indiana Jones has this famous fear of snakes. It seems like in every Indiana Jones movie or story he comes into contact with some huge snake, a ridiculous amount of snakes, or is trapped with snakes in a very small space. I remember the paralyzing fear that would come over him, at each of these encounters.
Fears are normal. Everyone has them. Everyone has some of them. There are even really cool names for very weird fears, like . . .
Aulophobia- Fear of flutes
Arachibutyrophobia- Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth (I suffer from this one)
Trichopathophobia- Fear of hair
Helmintophobia- Fear of being infested with worms (who isn’t afraid of this)
Chronophobia- Fear of time
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia- Fear of long words (oh the irony)
Phobophobia- Fear of fear (a little redundant ?)
There is pretty much an “official” sounding name for any fear you can think of. That’s how fear-ridden we are as human beings. Not only do we fear things, but when you put us all together there is at least one person who fears every different thing in life.
Fear has this crippling effect . . . just like my friend and escalators, my childhood & toilets, Indiana Jones & snakes . . . something strange happens when we are afraid. It is as if our fears overtake who we are and start making decisions for us.
Fear stops us in our tracks . . . and keeps us from doing what we want to do, or what we NEED to do.
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I have lots of fears right now in my life. Things that keep me from doing what I want or need to do. At times I really do feel crippled in how I live my life, how I interact with others, and in the way that I handle myself.
This summer it even has gotten to the point of being so overwhelming at times, that I really wonder where my fears hid me, because the real me is hard to find.
I decided a while ago, that I liked the old me better.
Knowing that my fears and insecurities were holding me back; I have been trying to keep my eyes, ears, and heart open to the spiritual realities about our fears.
And like with most things in life, before I realized it God started revealing exactly what I needed.
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There is this story of a time when Jesus was teaching a huge crowd. He was trying to communicate to the masses to avoid “the yeast of the Pharisees”, which was knowing what was right but not doing it (hypocrisy). Apparently either there was some uneasiness about this statement or Jesus just knew the hearts of the people in the crowd. Because he follows that statement with this one . . .
“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.”
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When I was younger I always thought this referred to the devil, but let’s not make that mistake here. The “him” is the one who sits in judgment on humanity. That means the one you should fear is God. You should be afraid of God.
I don’t know about you but for some reason that statement doesn’t sit well with me. It doesn’t seem like the God I know. There has to be some more depth to it. I mean I never saw Jesus and his followers running around being afraid of God or what he was doing. What I do see, is Jesus making simple yet tough statement that were very deep . . . that was just the way he liked to roll.
Fearing God is not a “new” idea. The books of Psalms and Proverbs mention fearing God (and the benefits of it over 70 times.
King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live summed up the purpose of life this way:
“Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”
Now this is just speculation on my part but I think when Jesus was talking to this crowd, he was hinting at why we should fear God. He specifically says fear the one who after killing the body has the power to throw you into hell.
There seems to be an emphasis on God’s ability to judge souls . . . and that power is something we should fear.
This is more speculation on my part, but I believe there is something much bigger going on in our hearts when we fear someone or something.
This may seem like a stretch but take a minute to seriously think about it.
I think the reason we are told to only fear God is because in the end, when we fear something, in a strange way we worship it; and we are only supposed to five God our worship.
Think about it; if our fears paralyze us, and shape our decisions and behavior. If we give our fears priority to mold us and our lives; how is that any different from giving priority to God? The motivator may be different but the end result is the same. We are responding to something (God or our fears) saying through our actions, you are important and significant. You are significant enough to effect the decisions I make every day. In this way our fears become the object of our “worship”.
That is why we should only fear God.
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I have another friend who has recently taken on the challenge of conquering her fears and insecurities head on. I have been really proud of her. You see her wounds are very deep. She has been hurt, abandoned, and crushed by the people she cared most for in life. So when life does it normal routine of mixing things up, it is very hard for her to trust. In the back of her mind she fears those she loves most abandoning her once again.
She made the decision that she was not going to let these fears and insecurities control her life anymore. It has been an amazing thing to watch and be a part of; I truly have been blessed to be part of her healing process. And that is just it. It is a process. Fears don’t disappear overnight. And some insecurities can not be resolved without the help of others. It takes a ton of courage to overcome these fears and it takes a lot of love.
The Apostle John once wrote “There is no fear in love, for perfect love drives out fear”
That is the key to overcoming fear . . . to giving it up and not allowing it to control us any longer. We need “perfect” love to drive out the fears in our lives. I think this love obviously comes from God, but I also see a huge theme of Jesus’ teachings being his followers helping others heal. He calls us to help bring physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual healing.
So thanks to my friend I think I have the courage to beat my fears, and I think I have the right people in my life to show me the perfect kind of love that drive out fear.
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The first step to driving out the fear in your life is to put it out there. It is to bring our fears into the light, instead of letting them linger in the dark. When we keep our fears to ourselves they tend to “go bump” in our hearts and cause us that paralyzing damage we discussed before.
So let me bring some of my fears into the light. Let me expose my insecurities for what they are and with the grace of God and the love of others around me, let the power they hold over me be broken.
*disclaimer - I am writing these things, not to have you refute any of them
(I realize many of my fears are irrational, but they are my fears none the less)
· I am afraid that no one could ever love me again
· I fear never being able to do youth ministry again
· I worry that I am too “outside the box”
· I am afraid that I am not really a “good” person
· I fear living a wasted life
· I am afraid that everything was my fault
· I am afraid that I will let you down
· It’s my fear that everything important to me will fall apart
· I am afraid I am letting God down
· I worry that no one will ever really “get” me
· I fear that I am a failure
· I am afraid I will miss my purpose
These are the things that “go bump” in my heart. And today I choose to not make them the priorities of my life. From here on I will live, breathe, and move in love; perfect love which drives out fear. I will surround myself with others who are seeking and living out God’s love. I refuse to believe the lies that fuel my fears and insecurities.
Today I choose to fear God, knowing that he is so much bigger and larger than anything and everything else in life. And by fear I mean I will let the knowledge of who God is drive me to live a life in response to all that he has done, is doing , and will do in me, through me, around me, and even in spite of me. The only thing I will “fear” is being separated from the One who truly gives me life.
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I hope that you can do the same. I hope that while you are staring your fears in the eyes, and feeling your legs lock, unable to move forward, that something changes.
I pray that God puts the people in your life that can gently grab your arm, whisper softly that everything will be alright, and then join you on the “escalator”. And together (with God and others) you begin the journey to defeating your fears and insecurities.
I also pray that today you can be a “fear” fighter in the lives of the people you care about the most. That you will be that person to show perfect love and drive out the things that paralyze those dear to your heart.
And the end of the day I pray that you can say in your heart, the words to one of my favorite songs . . .
“God above all the world in motion . . .
God above all my hopes and fears . . .
And I don’t care what the world throws at me now . . .
I’m going to be alright”
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