Crippled by Fear ?

 

Crippled by FEAR ?

Isaiah 41:10  ‘Fear not,for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes I will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

As I awoke quite early this morning, this verse came to mind. How appropriate it was too, for many reasons. May be it was no coincidence that I was being kept awake by a very heavy storm outside, with the rain beating down onto the roof closely followed by  a loud clap of thunder and flashes of lightning. Finally I could make out the sound of hailstones beating down on the tiles above me like little bullets.

It’s stopped now and all is quiet for the time being! It’s often not  the storms outside that cause us most fear but rather those inside our heads, turmoil that won’t go away and robs of any peace. This can be caused by many different reasons:- fear associated with living on your own, fear of going into a new situation to meet people you don’t know, fear of being attacked when we are out and about, fear of a forthcoming operation, fear of debt, fear of things we have done in our past that we’re ashamed of coming to light, fear of failure.... the list goes on. Of course there are different levels of fear from acute down to mild with many others in between. One of my fears has always been going to the dentist for a filling or extraction. Nothing personal about the dentist of course .

I am presently reading John Ortberg’s ‘classic’ book, ‘ If you want to walk on water you got to get out of the boat’. It is , of course , based on the well-known incident in the New testament found in Matthew 14:25-32 when early one morning, whilst the disciples were out in their boat on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus suddenly approaches them walking on the waters ! They were all terrified thinking at first that it must be a ghost Jesus addressed their fears telling them to ‘Take heart. It is I; do not be afraid’.

Surely they then recognised His voice even if his image was Blurred. However Peter wanted more evidence and expressed some doubt and ( as usual) was the only one who spoke up. ‘ Lord, if it is you command me to come to you on the water.’ In other words , do a miracle for us then I’ll know for certain! So when Jesus invited him to come Peter stepped out of the boat and began walking towards Jesus. All went well at firstand he may have even been enjoying this ‘water-walking thing’. That was until he took his eyes off Jesus and looked down at the huge waves ! Alarmed he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ and Jesus immediately took him by the hand and upbraided him, ‘You of little faith, why did you you doubt?’ Personally I think this admonition was a little harsh. After all Peter was the only one to take Jesus at His word and at least start his journey towards Him. I don’t think I would have stepped out of the boat until I’d witnessed  all the other disciples do it successfully and return to the boat safely !

       There are many other passages in His word  where God addresses    His people in order to alleviate their natural fears. Moses was reluctant to return to Pharoah to demand the release of the Israelites from slavery . Moses gave the excuse that he was not a good speaker, not an eloquent man. So God provided Aaron his brother to go with him for companionship ! When Elijah ran for his life from Jezebel he  crawls under a scrubby tree and, in deep depression, asks God to let him die. Here We find  many classic symptoms of depression in his thinking --withdrawal or escape, moodiness, apprehension or fear, self-pity, feelings of worthlessness, loss of hope or confidence, anger, irritability and so on  to name just  some of the symptoms.                                               ‘I’ve had enough . I may as well be dead.’                           He fell asleep , weary from his long journey and when woken by an angel was given food and drink which helped to replenish his strength. God’s mercy !

Isaiah says, ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you…..’                                                    Ortberg points out that the ‘single command in scripture taht occurs more often than any other- God’s most frequently repeated instruction – is formulated in two words:- ‘Fear not.’ ‘ Or similarly,  ‘Do not be afraid.’ ‘Have no anxiety about anything.’ ‘Do not worry about tomorrow....’ etc                    ‘In fact there are 366 “fear nots” verses in the Bible- that equates to one for every day of the year , including leap years !...’

We are at the present time (2020) living in and through some of the most fearful times in living memory for most of us due to the coronavirus pandemic that has so quickly  spread it’s tentacles throughout the world. This has resulted in many thousands of deaths, countless illnesses and grief stricken families, not to mention the dreade Lockdown with its many restrictions and loss of liberties, loss of jobs, isolation and warnings not  to socialise with friends and family who live too far away from our neighbourhoods. This has resulted in folk becoming depressed or frustrated or worried ( Should  I go shopping or order goods online? Have I brought a mask to wear in public places? Was that person too close to me? How long will it be before a vaccine is discovered and available to all?     And so on....) There is inner turmoil. How we long to be ‘free’ again, able to naturally mix with others, hug friends and family, go back to work , live in a state of some sort of ‘normality’ !

I am reminded in 1 John 4: 18  ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.                                                                                     

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

Finally let’s look again at Isaiah 41:10 . Apart from telling us twice not to fear or be afraid, God draws our attention to his great promises and assurances :-  ‘I am with you!’   ‘I am your God.’  ‘I will strengthen you !’  ‘I will help you.’  ‘I will uphold you with my powerful right hand.’

The Lord promises to always be there for us whatever our circumstances and  His promise is to give us peace if we but ‘ cast all our care upon Him.’                                                                                 Phillipians 4;6,7 says ‘ Have no anxiety about anything but in everything with prayer and thanksgiving  let your request be made known to God    ... And              The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep our hearts and minds  in Christ Jesus ‘          

I love this verse for many reasons but chiefly because God promises His PEACE if  cease from our strivings and pray, thank Him and bring our concerns to Him. Peace that ‘ passes all understanding ‘ !          In the words of that lovely hymn by Horatio Spafford :-

‘ When peace like a river attendeth my way

  When sorrow like sea billows roll,

 Whatever my lot , Thou has taught me to say

It is well, it is well with my soul....’

And Horatio Spafford certainly knew sorrow like few others. The hymn was written after he had lost his 4 year old son. He was financially ruined in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 . Later he lost all 4 of his daughters at sea when the ship they were sailing in collided with another vessel whilst crossing the Atlantic.

 A child will come to its mother when he or she is hurt or feeling down, lonely or scared for a cwtch or cuddle and for love. The child comes without care or fear of rebuke or rejection because it knows that the mother loves him or her unconditionally ! How much more will our heavenly Father do this for us . ‘ God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners , Christ died for us’ Through Christ God has     made a way for us to come into His arms to experience His unconditional love, His cwtch. We need have no fear in coming. There is nothing we can do to earn it, nothing we need to do to persuade God to show us this love, and nothing God can do to refuse to give us His love if we come through no merit of our own but rather in repentance, contrition and faith. He wants to give us peace for our anxiety, victory over fear, faith for our doubts and above all His infinite grace and mercy.

  The Lord said to the apostle Paul who suffered from some sort of ongoing affliction and asked God frequently to take it away, ‘My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in ( you) weakness’

 

 

Looking To Jesus

26.1.2017                                                                                                                                                                                            

What stared as a ‘kitchen sink meditation’ has somehow turned into more of a sermon. That was honestly not my intention. It just happened .  I’ve never preached in my life but as I entered another year  , I felt undeniably drawn to this passage and hope that in some small measure I can apply it to my own life.

   Philippians 3vs13,14  

‘ Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it ( see verses  8-12) But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead I press towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus. ‘

        Here  Paul exhorts the church at Philippi  to                 :-   

*        Lay hold of Christ

*        Let go of the past

*        Look forward to the future

In  verses  8 to 11 Paul says ‘ that I may gain Christ and be found in him’  and have a ‘righteousness ....through faith in Christ’  ‘ I want to know Christ..’ ‘ experience the power of Christ’s resurrection’ ‘ share in Christ’s sufferings’ ‘ become like Christ in his death’  ‘ Christ Jesus took hold of me’

Surely  if anyone in scripture could honestly say that he shared in Christ’s sufferings or had become like him in His death it was the apostle Paul. Even at  the time of writing Paul was in prison, suffering for his faith.     In 2 Corinthians chapter  11  he tells us :

  ’23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.   24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers.  27 I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. ...’

        In Ephesians he writes ‘ For it is by grace you have been saved through  faith, and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works so no one can boast’  

 Paul understood his standing , his righteousness, was all of Christ. As he embraced this truth Paul longed with every fibre of his being to be more like Christ ‘ being changed into His likeness from one degree of glory to another’ . Paul’s aim was simply to be obedient to God , to be obedient to His calling on his life , to die with Him that he might be raised with Him, to experience the ‘power of His  resurrection’

 As we lay hold of Christ  ,  we too  may often walk the painful road of self-denial . . Jesus himself said that ‘ If any man would come after me He must deny himself, take up His cross daily and follow me.’ Luke 9:23

 What is the Lord asking of my life? No one  would wish to suffer as Paul did,  and mercifully we may never have to,  so how can    this truth be applied ?  This is a personal challenge.

 It could  entail giving up a secret sin , something we cling to dearly  . It could be literally putting others first in some seemingly small way, giving  someone an hour of your time, ministering  to someone in need, giving  material goods , clothes or  money to the poor and  destitute.

Paul encourages himself  to  let go of the past.:- ‘forgetting what is behind...’                                                                  What had Paul in mind?         In chapter 3; 1-8. ,   I think Paul makes it pretty clear. Paul’s credentials were outstanding , his achievements  exemplary  , his knowledge impressive.  He had experienced an encounter with the risen Christ Himself. He had ministered to thousands. He had seen many souls saved under his ministry. If anyone had cause to boast it was Paul. Yet Paul would rather forget all of these things . Why?                                                 ‘ for the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord’.

  Paul, like all believers, recognised   that  nothing he had achieved, nothing he had suffered could put him right with God.                                                                                                                                                                                     Accolades, rewards, achievements, promotions and indeed all forms of self- aggrandisement must be left behind if we are to know Christ  and the power of His resurrection. We can praise God for the many gifts and abilities we have been given : preaching, teaching, hospitality, healing, prophecy , evangelism....... yet we do not glory in these but in the cross of Christ !

As for us,  there may be other things , more difficult , that we need to let go of :- hurts, resentments, regrets, rejections, addictions, immoral lifestyle... to name but a few. All must be brought to the foot of the cross , and left there!

‘ Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling....’

Paul’s aim, his goal , his sole desire, was to press forward. To use an analogy from athletics , it’s not how we start that’s of upmost importance , but how we finish. This means training hard, sacrificing   time and effort, pressing forward during  those times when we ‘don’t particularly feel like it’ .

Michael Phelps , the most outstanding swimmer of our time and the most decorated Olympian , with 28 medals to his name, did not achieve this by simply jumping in the pool for a few hours to practice now and again.  He trained  in the pool six days per week and did  circuit training  with weights three times per week. He swam an average of eight miles a day during his six hours of swimming. He began his training at 6:30 a.m. , a gruelling , punishing schedule !

 Paul says in Hebrews chapter 12vs 1,2  ‘ let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus....’                                                                                                                                                                I like the Living Bible paraphrase for this ... let us run with patience the particular race that God has set before us.

That’s so important . God has a particular race, a particular journey that only  I can run, not looking round, not comparing my  progress with others, and not giving up !  I keep having to remind myself of this constantly. Isn’t it great, though,  that we do not run this race alone but in the company of  fellow believers, fellow runners, the amazing fellowship of His church, God’s people, ‘encouraging one another and all the more as we see the Day approaching’ .