Emotons of pain -- fear

Do not worry (Matthew 6:31).

A man was driving through unfamiliar country one night when his car broke down. The steep hills made his cell phone useless, so he got out and started walking. It was extremely dark; there was no moon, and clouds covered the stars. The man took his time, knowing there was a steep ravine along one side of the road. Despite his caution, he suddenly felt nothing but empty space beneath his foot; he started to tumble down the hillside, desperately grabbing for anything to stop his fall. After a moment, his fingers close around a scraggly bush, and he held on for dear life. But as time passed, he was soon in agony. His fingers ached and his arm grew numb. At last, weak and despairing, he lost his grip and dropped—dropped six inches to the bottom of the ditch.

Think of the needless fear and suffering that man went through. Think of the times you have needlessly let fear put your life on hold.

Are you fearful? Does worry consume your thoughts? Are you addicted to watching the news? Do you fret about violence overseas or climate change? When the phone rings, do you wonder if you’re going to hear bad news?

When you make plans, do you find yourself revisiting them over and over again, tweaking them and making adjustments? Do you check every day to see how your investments are performing? Do you procrastinate, because making decisions is hard for you?

Do you constantly tell other people what to do and how to do it? Do you feel overworked because you insist on doing everything yourself? Are you afraid to take a vacation from work or be away from home because something might go wrong that only you can deal with properly?

Where do these tendencies come from? Perhaps you were once caught unprepared, and things went so badly that you are now obsessed with being ready for any situation that might come up. Maybe a person you completely trusted betrayed you, and now you fear opening up to anyone and getting hurt again. Maybe a natural disaster took away much of what you had, or you went through a time with little or no income; as a result, you now look at the future with caution and uncertainty.

The effects of living in fear are terrible. You can’t get a good night’s rest, because your mind is constantly trying to anticipate problems before they happen. Since you are reluctant to trust anyone else, you feel that you have to do everything yourself, leaving you frazzled and exhausted. When you don’t feel safe opening up to others, close relationships are few and far between. The stress of constant worry can lead to bad eating habits and other health problems too.

If there is anyone who understands the pain that comes from being afraid, it would have to be Peter. Normally, Peter was brash and impetuous. If there was something to be said, you could count on Peter to speak up first. When Jesus was threatened with arrest, it was Peter who drew a weapon to defend his Lord. On Easter morning, John hesitated to enter Jesus’ empty tomb, but Peter charged right in.

But fear could steal all of Peter’s bravado. When the disciples were out in a boat on the Sea of Galilee during a storm, they saw Jesus walking towards them on the water. Peter called out, asking for the ability to also walk on the water and approach his Lord. Jesus gave His assent and Peter started towards Him. But Peter became frightened by the savage wind and waves, and instead of focusing on Jesus he let fear squash his faith; he would have drowned had not Jesus reached out to grab him.

That lapse into fear only resulted in humiliation. But the night Jesus was arrested and put on trial, Peter’s fear resulted in the worst moment of his life. Like the other disciples, he abandoned Jesus in the olive grove to avoid being arrested. However, he and John did summon up the courage to enter the courtyard of the high priest so they could find out what was happening to their Master. We don’t know what happened to John, but apparently he and Peter got separated. Peter tried to remain inconspicuous, but soon a servant girl recognized him as one of Jesus’ followers.

Fear seized Peter as never before. He felt trapped and in danger; not knowing how else to protect himself, he lied, claiming that he didn’t know who Jesus was. In a cold sweat, he then made his way towards the gate, where he could slip away quickly if necessary. But it wasn’t long before another servant pointed him out as a disciple; growing increasingly afraid, Peter again denied being associated with Jesus.

Then the moment of crisis came. One man said that Peter was probably a member of Jesus’ group, because they both spoke with the same provincial accent; another thought he recognized Peter as the man who had drawn steel at the time of Jesus’ arrest. Now Peter was in a blind panic; he not only denied knowing Jesus, he even called on God as his witness, offering to be cursed if he was not telling the truth.

As all of this was going on, no one noticed that the soldiers were bringing Jesus out of the house. Something caused Peter to close his mouth and turn around; when he did, he was horrified to see Jesus just standing there, staring straight at him. Then it all came rushing back—how Jesus had predicted that Peter would deny Him three times, and how Peter had proudly claimed such a thing would never happen. Overcome with grief at this terrible betrayal of his Master, Peter fled into the night, weeping bitter tears.

Because of his fear, Peter had been unable to think clearly, and in his panic he made one bad decision after another. That’s what fear does to us—it ruins our ability to think and behave as God wants us to.

Fear all boils down to one thing: failure to trust in God. Obviously, Peter did not believe that Jesus could protect him from arrest; why else would he deny being the Lord’s friend? When Peter had been overcome with fear of the storm and began sinking into the Sea of Galilee, Jesus laid it right on the line: "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" (Matthew 14:31)

Jesus said, Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned (Mark 16:16). Faith in Jesus is the one thing absolutely essential for our eternal well being. But fear is the natural enemy of faith. They are polar opposites. And so Satan works mightily to make you afraid; he knows that when you fear, it interferes with your faith in Jesus. He hopes that if he can get you scared enough, you will turn your back on Jesus just as Peter did. In Peter’s case, that severed relationship cost him his position as a disciple; in our case, severing our relationship with Jesus can only lead to eternal condemnation.

Thankfully, our Savior is loving and compassionate. The reason He went willingly to the cross was because He wanted to free us from our sins. By suffering and dying in our place, He has endured God’s punishment which our sins have deserved. And Peter soon got to experience that mercy first-hand. One morning after Jesus had risen from the dead, He prepared a breakfast on the beach; during this meal, Jesus forgave Peter for denying Him and restored the humbled man to membership in the Twelve. In the same way, Jesus offers forgiveness to us when we foolishly let fear erode our faith in Him.

Living in fear is unnecessary. You don’t have to be constantly on your guard against impending disaster, whether it be fire, disease or storm. Our universe is not the result of mindless evolution; the fact that you are alive is no accident. There is an Intelligence responsible for creating and sustaining all life, and that Intelligence is characterized by power, wisdom and love. That Intelligence created you for a purpose, and sent His Son to help you fulfill that purpose. That Son is Jesus Christ. He has the power to provide for your every need. He has the ability to rescue you from every danger.

You don’t have to live in fear of mistakes—your own, or those made by others. Mistakes can result in frustration and pain, but they need not be the end of the world. Jesus is more than just a wise teacher; He is the Savior of mankind. He has the wisdom to set right every mistake resulting from your bad judgment. He has promised to forgive everyone who trusts in Him, and He assures us that if we are loyal to Him, He will treat us as His own dear friends. He loves us so much that He was willing to die for our sins in our place, sparing us from suffering in hell.

So when you’re afraid, don’t panic. Don’t spend hours in bed drenched with sweat, trying to figure out your options. Don’t spend your time frantically searching the Internet for answers. Don’t cower in your favorite chair, hoping the problem will just go away. When you are afraid, run—run to Jesus. Throw yourself into His arms. Read His Bible every day. Worship at church every time there is a service. Pray to the Lord morning, noon and night—pray that He would ease your fear, give order to your thinking, and help you respond to your problem constructively. When a child is afraid, the only comfort that satisfies is being with Mom or Dad. When we are afraid, the only comfort that really satisfies comes from spending time with our Master.

Above all, remember this: when the all-powerful Son of God is looking out for you as your Friend, there is no problem that you need to lose sleep over.