Fear of not making the grade . . .

Two of my friends have a firm knowledge of ‘salvation by faith’ yet occasionally admit to a fear: “But what if I don’t do it right?” They admit knowing that ‘doing it right’ is not the Gospel, yet this fear creeps in and turns their joy into anxiety.

Fear is mentioned hundreds of times in the Bible, most often with an admonition to have courage, or trust God. When a Jewish leader came to Jesus requesting He come home with him and heal his daughter, some came from his house saying his daughter is dead, and not to trouble Jesus any longer. However, Jesus ignored them and said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” (Mark 5:36)

Believe what? That the girl would be raised? That this bad news was in error? That she wasn’t really dead?

When I get in a dither about something, I want to believe the problem will go away, or be solved, or that I can handle this, but that is not the believing Jesus looked for. It isn’t believing that what I want to happen will happen, but believing in God and what He has done and will do. Such faith begins with believing in Him for salvation . . .

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:16–18)

The problem is human thinking and the perversity of our pride. Salvation without earning it goes against our nature and our nurture. In life, there are no rewards that are undeserved. We have to work to get paid, be nice to have friends, put our best foot forward to get a job, and so it goes. Even when we ‘know’ that salvation is by grace alone there is that nagging voice whispering, “But you have to earn it.”

It is not what I do, but what Christ has done that saves me, yet the idea creeps into my mind that before I can truly trust Christ, I must be deeply convicted of sin, weep and mourn over it, desire holiness, repent, long for Christ, and earnestly seek Him.

This sounds right, but it is merely the voice of salvation by works. This happens to people both before that initial yielding to Christ, and after trusting Him and becoming a Christian. Yet Jesus said, “Do not fear, only believe.” ONLY means ONLY — nothing more. Believing Jesus means no prerequisites or qualifications. Trusting Christ alone is how I entered into a saving relationship with Him, and it is how I am to live out my Christian life . . . 

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2:6–7)

If I am saved by faith, so also I must live in faith, trusting ONLY Christ, not myself, my own wits, or anything else. Yet even knowing this is the way it is, my pride and my sin nature often sticks thoughts into my head of what I must do to solve the issues  of life.

The rub is that God also gives directions by speaking directly into my mind. So how do I know the difference? Those thoughts must be verified by God’s Word.

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

And the Holy Spirit says, “Keep reading it, Elsie, keep reading it!”

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Jesus, You are the Living Word and by believing You, I know You as Savior and Lord. And for the nitty-gritty of life and how to address what happens, including my fears, You have blessed me with the written Word. I am so thankful for many reasons, and at the top of the list is this wonderful fact: through Your Word You reveal to me what I need to know for all decisions and in all situations. Because of Your grace, I do not need to fear, only believe.

Boldness to speak?

My husband is in a part of the world where many people are fasting because of their religious beliefs. He is told not to eat or drink in their presence out of respect for what they are doing. Of course there will be no toleration of anyone speaking about the Christ or sharing Christian truths.

While various cultures at various times sometimes respect Christian practices, this is not the norm. Intolerance began in the days of the early church when, “the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.”

They did not like what the apostles were teaching about Jesus Christ. However, “during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out.” This angel told them, “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.”

The apostles obeyed and “entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.” Without knowing this, the high priest “called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison” and returned to report, “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” As they wondered about this, someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” (Acts 5:17–25)

I’m convicted by this boldness to obey God despite the pressures to shut up. I can so easily keep my mouth closed, sometimes even with Christians who could use a good word from God’s Word. Yesterday my friends were complaining about those who try to shut down Christian practices, but they forget that this is not about fairness. Those who believe in Jesus will always be pushed aside just as He was pushed aside. We can respect others yet make no demands that they do the same for us.

But back to my problem with not speaking when I should. Paul didn’t have that problem. He continually challenged any lack of faith in his own people because his “heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.” He understood they were “ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own righteousness.” He was fully convinced that “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” and that their ‘law-keeping’ could not save them for “all fall short.” Do I have that same zeal? I don’t think so.

Paul’s message was simple: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” He knew there is “no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:1–13)

I know that too. Why then should I so quickly lose heart and become afraid to share it? Silence may be golden but is not what God wants. He clearly says that I am to turn from all “disgraceful, underhanded ways . . .  refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word . . .  and commend (myself) to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.” But I am also to speak to others about Jesus. I know that if they do not want to listen, it is because the Gospel “is veiled to those who are perishing” and “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” That is not an excuse to be silent.

Whether pressured to shut up or not, I am to proclaim “Jesus Christ as Lord” and myself as a servant to others for Jesus’ sake because God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in my heart “to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:1–6).

Paul exhorted Timothy to “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” I have not been called to that task, but still commanded to share the good news of Jesus Christ in whatever way I can. There is a need because Paul’s dire prediction to Timothy is as true today as it was then. He said, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

Like Timothy, I am to “always be sober-minded, endure suffering . . .” and fulfilling the ministry God has given me. (2 Timothy 4:2–5)

I can’t do that with my mouth shut.

Compassion for my fears

Nothing about my childhood ever made me afraid to go to sleep at night. My parents did not tease me with bogeyman stories or anything spooky or frightening. They must have been reassuring about other things for I don’t remember ever being severely frightened or even very anxious. Other than not liking the dentist very much (not my parents fault), I would try almost anything, including getting on those crazy horses that no one else would go near.

As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. (Psalm 103:13)

In the last of this series about God’s compassion, Spurgeon says that kind fathers who see that their children are afraid will do whatever they can to remove that fear because of compassion for their little ones. This is a small reflection of God’s concern that His children are not afraid.

My Bible has 33 places where it says “do not fear” and 37 for “do not be afraid.” A book I just read says there are at least 365 total places where God encourages His people to have no fear.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)

This tells me that fear is a faithless, weak, unloving and uncontrolled reaction on my part. It is also fueled by lies from my spiritual enemy who does not want me to trust God, be strong, love others and have a sound and self-controlled mind.

God has nothing to do with fear. It is not His idea, and when I struggle with it, I am in a spiritual battle. Fear indicates that my focus is not on the power and promises of God but on myself and my shortcomings. Since love is caring about others, fear drives love out too. God’s word contains many commands, but this one is repeated more often than any other; do not fear. Fear is the opposite of trust and faith, the opposite of power and victory. It makes love and sound thinking impossible. I cannot obey God and be fearful at the same time.

The problem with the command is that it sounds too much like “Don’t worry, be happy” as if worry and happiness are like faucets that can be turned off and on at will. This sort of determination does not work with fear either. The song says, “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You ….” The question is: how can anyone move from being afraid of something or someone to a sound mind filled with confidence in God?

The psalmist said that the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him. Interesting. The God who tells me over and over to not be afraid also tells me to fear Him. Of course, the words are different. Mostly, “fear” is from the same root word as phobia. It is about terror, like the way I would feel if I opened the door and a ferocious lion walked into my house. Fear of God is from another word that means awe, reverence, similar to the emotion felt when looking at a giant crater or an enormous waterfall.

Fearing God carries with it the idea that no matter what else can make me afraid, God is bigger, better, more, or whatever He needs to be to overcome or overwhelm that fearful thing that threatens me. He can stop lions in their tracks (He did it for Daniel) and can take care of anything else that seems formidable or dangerous. Nothing is too difficult for Him.

His compassion means that when I am afraid, I can trust in Him to deal with the fears. He will either remove the emotion and give me confidence in Him, even boldness so I can move forward and overcome it, or He will remove whatever it is that is making me afraid.

A multitude of examples come to mind, but the ultimate fear (despite the reports about public speaking) is death. However, trusting God means believing what His Word says: that Jesus lived to share the human experience of life with all its trauma and trials, then died and was buried, then defeated that final enemy and rose from the tomb. Knowing that happened changes the way I feel about dying.

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. (Hebrews 2:14–15)

Because Jesus conquered death, what is there to fear? Because He has great compassion for those who fear Him, I can lay all my fears at His feet and let Him decide what is the best way to deal with them. As He does that, He also changes my phobias and gives me power, even boldness instead of weakness. His Spirit turns my focus to others so I can love them with a stable soundness of mind. Those fears are swallowed up by His grace to the point that I cannot remember what they were.

Because in His great compassion my Father can do all that, I stand in awe of Him.

What about uncontrollable situations?

Yesterday something happened that put a damper on my joy. I woke this morning worried and sad. Without permission, I cannot share it except to say there is danger lurking in the life of someone dear to me, a danger that I cannot control nor do anything about.

I’ve been praying for this person and know that God can use such danger to answer my prayers. Yet I also know that this could mean a long period of suffering for him and more pain to others. As I opened today’s devotional reading, I prayed for some encouragement. The first line in the reading said, “To endure is to accept the uncontrollable.” Thud. 

Yet these words ring true. For now, God asks me to trust Him and remember that He can bring joy in sorrow. Not only that, biblical endurance is never mere resignation. Paul and Silas in prison at Philippi did not accept their situation with gritted teeth; instead, they sang with joy and “Jesus… for the joy set before Him endured the cross…” (Hebrews 12:2)

This reading goes on to describe three gifts from God that help His people accept the uncontrollable with joy, and endure tough situations while He uses those situations for His purposes. One gift is faith.

By faith (Moses) left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. (Hebrews 11:27)

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) Faith knows that God is in control. (If not, no one is.) I have been praying that God’s will is done, but also know that sometimes the only way up is first down. After all, it seemed all was lost when Jesus died, yet He rose from the dead. Only then were the fears and sorrows of His disciples forever changed to shouts of victory.

In this current situation, I need to remember the power and grace of God. He still brings life from death. He has not abandoned me nor forgotten those I pray for even though I cannot see Him or what He is doing with my eyes. By faith, I can focus on the One who is invisible.

A second gift from God is love. Some say God is patient and endures because He is eternal, but 1 Corinthians 13:7 says love is the source of perseverance, for “love bears all things.” This love is a deep and sacrificial desire for the eternal well-being of others. God uses life’s trials in shaping that eternal well-being. He is patient about it because He cares about the spiritual growth and well-being of everyone, even when we seem to be in grave danger. 

Also, He says this love of His is “shed abroad in my heart” so I can put my own comfort on hold and endure, even spend hours in prayer. Love asks God that His will be done, and earnestly prays that those who control this threat will not have their way.

The third gift and also a source of endurance is vision. Moses “persevered because he saw him who is invisible.” Keeping my eyes on the Lord is important. When Peter stepped out of the boat to walk on water, he stayed on the surface as long as his eyes were on Jesus. As soon as he looked at the wind, he began to sink (Matthew 14:28-29). The power of God had not changed, but fear distracted him when he looked at the danger instead of the Lord.

Yet sometimes I wonder if keeping my eyes on Christ is something like a Pollyanna who will not look at nor deal with reality. Do I focus on the One who is invisible so that I don’t have to deal with the nasty parts of life? So I can be happy all the time and not be concerned about anything else?

That could be true, yet in this situation, there seems to be nothing else I can do but trust God. If there is, God has not shown it to me. The only thing I can think of is ranting and raving about the danger, yet such fear-motivated action would certainly drive this person closer to it. Besides, whatever I do without being motivated by faith — is sin. (Romans 14:23) I need to listen to God and obey Him, not my fears.

For now, He bids me to bring this situation to Him, asking Him to take care of it and do whatever pleases Him and brings blessing to His people. I know that the invisible One can do exceedingly abundantly above all I can ask or imagine. I just cannot see what His answer looks like — yet. 

Today’s Challenge

This morning I look outside with dismay. I’ve an important appointment at 9 a.m. and it is snowing! Wet snow, big flakes, slippery roads. I want to stay home with a cup of hot tea and do something else. 
 

God challenges my attitude and my fears. He knows that I must go and gives me opportunity to trust Him in the going. How did He know that these verses would be suitable for this snowy day?

He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? (Matthew 25:24–26)

I know, this is not about the challenge of driving when I don’t want to. It is about obedience and using what God has given me to do what He asks me to do. But the attitude of the servant is the same as my attitude — fear of not being able to do a thing, or fear of not being able to do it properly. So instead of giving it my best, I am tempted to procrastinate or not do it at all. 

It is too late to call a taxi. My friends are just as leery of driving in a storm as I am. However, there is a positive in this. I’ve learned that if I start, even with fear and trepidation, and ask the Lord to help and protect me, somehow the hard stuff can be done. Afterwards, it might even look easy and I wondered why I was so hesitant. 

Most of the fear comes from listening to the Liar who says things like, “God really does not want the best for you” or “This is too trivial to even ask for help.” When I say these doubting notions aloud, I see how silly they are. Of course God wants the best for me, and of course, nothing is too small or too difficult for Him. 

Today’s comments on these verses is short. The devotional writer says, “Between the great things we cannot do and the small things we will not do, the danger is that we shall do nothing.”

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Lord, You know that I cannot miss this appointment. You also know that every time I resist the difficulties instead of facing them in Your strength, I miss finding out how much You care about everything that happens in my life. It might seem like a small thing to some, but the older I get, the more I resist driving at night or in storms. However, because You love me I will trust You for whatever I need to overcome whatever You place in my path, even wet snow and slippery streets. I will leave early, drive slowly, and trust You with this challenge.