Bryan Craddock - Overcoming Fear and Worry

About two years ago our family decided to get a dog. I know that doesn't seem like a big deal, but it was for us. Our children had been terrified of dogs. Whenever we would be walking somewhere and someone would come up with a dog, our kids would scream and run away. We would try to tell them not to be afraid, but that didn't help. It didn't matter what kind of dog it was or how big it was. It didn't matter if the dog was barking or totally calm. The kids were just terrified of dogs. Whenever we would go to the park, they would even worry that dogs would be there. I don't remember them having any negative experience with dogs. Dogs were just unfamiliar. And I guess it is a little strange when you're a toddler to have some animal come up and look you in the eyes.

Their feelings about dogs began to change when the kids spent a few days at the Thorns' home. The Thorns watched our children so that Shari and I could go away to a Pastor's Retreat, so the kids had to confront their fears. They had to be around the Thorns' dog - a black lab mix named Ebony. When the kids came home they suddenly loved dogs. They couldn't stop talking about dogs. They were placed in a situation in which they had to trust the adults who were telling them that they had nothing to worry about. And as they did, they found that their fears were unnecessary.

I wonder if the same might be said about many of our fears and worries. Could it be that many of our fears are simply unnecessary? The phrase "do not be afraid" occurs forty-six times in the Bible. In most of those cases, God is speaking words of comfort to His people just like I used to do to my kids. Call it what we will--fear, worry, anxiety, concern, stress, panic, insecurity. We're really talking about the same feeling at different levels of intensity.

Throughout the summer this series that I've called "Overcoming Life's Challenges" has really been about how we respond to the feelings produced by those challenges. We've talked about desire, anger, guilt, hurt, and sadness, and we conclude the series today by talking about fear.

Many people seem to allow their feelings to control their lives, and that is dangerous. On the other hand, a lot of Christians seem to think that we need to deny all of these feelings and go through life with a constant smile. But that approach is neither healthy nor biblical. We have seen that the Bible teaches us to make a distinction between how we feel and how we behave in response to those feelings. There are mature, godly, appropriate ways to respond to each of those feelings.

For instance, on one of our response cards a few weeks ago someone asked me when anger is justified. But you see, if we are talking about the feeling of anger, it's really not a question of whether it's justified. It just is. That's how you feel at that moment. The real question is how you respond to that feeling of anger. Is it justifiable to scream at people, to break things, or to become violent? No. When we feel angry, we need to express our anger in a way that isn't sinful.

So how should we respond to feelings of fear? As I mentioned last time with depression, if you feel anxious or afraid a lot of the time, it's always wise to consult with your medical doctor. But in general, when we feel fear or anxiety, the simple answer is to trust God. Faith not fear should control our behavior. We should live as God wants us to. To develop this thought, I want to direct our attention to a passage of Scripture that gives us four reasons that we can fully trust God when we are afraid. Turn with me to 1 Peter 5:6-11.

Peter probably wrote these words sometime around the mid 60s of the First Century, roughly 30 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. The church had grown and spread throughout the Roman Empire. But with that growth, the believers were encountering more and more persecution, ranging from mocking and discrimination in their local community all the way up to the beginnings of concerted government opposition to Christianity.

In AD 64, the Roman Emperor Nero blamed Christians for the burning of Rome, which many historians think that Nero himself set so that he could rebuild the city to his own design. We're told that Christians were captured and thrown to wild animals to be torn apart for public entertainment. It's said that Christians were covered in pitch and burned as torches. How would you feel if we faced persecution like this today? These were genuinely frightening things, yet in the midst of that hostile atmosphere Peter wrote to the Christians encouraging them to trust God.

6Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 8Be of sober spirit, be on the alert Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. 10After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. 11To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.

1. The Mighty Hand of God

First, Peter makes the point in verse 6 that you can trust God because of His mighty hand. The expression "mighty hand" is found at least twenty-three times in the Old Testament. Most of those references speak of the Exodus. God had taken the family of Jacob or Israel to Egypt to protect them from a time of famine. Over four hundred years they multiplied to become such a great nation of people, that the Egyptians were afraid of them and subjected them to slavery. So God raised up Moses to be their deliverer. God wanted him to tell the Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, but in Exodus 3:19 God said to Moses, "But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him" (NIV)

The mighty hand of God was demonstrated through a series of ten plagues. The Nile river was turned to blood. Frogs swarmed over the land. The dust became gnats. Then there were swarms of flies over the Egyptians but not the Israelites. Then a disease struck the livestock of the Egyptians. Then the Egyptians were were struck with boils all over their bodies. Then a heavy hail ruined half of the Egyptians' crops. Then locusts finished off the other half of their crops. Then God brought total and complete darkness upon the Egyptians for three days. And finally, the firstborn of every human and animal family was struck down. God was demonstrating the superiority of His power over nature and over the so-called gods of the Egyptians. With each plague, the Pharaoh had an opportunity to let the Israelites go, and yet, he refused to humble himself under the mighty hand of God. Even though he finally allowed the Israelites to leave, the Pharaoh gathered his army and pursued them. Of course, that's where God showed His incredible power again. The Pharaoh cornered the Israelites at the Red Sea. They had no where to go. How do you think they felt? They were terrified. But listen to what happened. We pick up the story in Exodus 14:13. 13But Moses said to the people, "Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. 14The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent." 15Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. 16As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land."
When we feel afraid or worried, we have to remember that we can trust God because He has a mighty hand. He can work in miraculous ways. But trusting God requires that we humble ourselves. We have to decide to step back and say, "I can't control this, only God can." We have to trust God to work in His own time. Peter says in verse 6, "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time." Are you willing to believe in the mighty hand of God?  Are you willing to let him handle what frightens you in His way in His time? What if the "proper time" that Peter speaks of, isn't even in this life? What if the proper time is eternity? Are you willing to humbly wait upon God

2. The Listening Ear of God

Not only does God have a mighty hand. Second, God has what I would call a listening ear. 1 Peter 5:7 says, "casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you." It never ceases to amaze me that as powerful as God is, He actually cares about the relatively minor things that are burdening us. And he invites us to pray to Him.  I still remember the first time I prayed with a group of believers. It was just a few days after I became a Christian, and my friend who led me to Christ invited me to come with him to a small group meeting. When it was time to pray, they began to go around the circle and each person was praying. When it came to me, I didn't know what to do. I really didn't know what prayer was, so I remained silent for an awkward moment until the person next to me realized that I wasn't going to pray. Afterward, someone explained to me that prayer is simply talking to God. He has spoken to us in the Bible, and we speak to Him through praying. 
There's no formula to praying. Jesus taught that prayer isn't supposed to be meaningless repetition. It's an opportunity, first of all, to express our love for God. It's also a time to thank Him for the ways that He has provided for us. It's a time to confess our sins. But as Peter says here, it is a time to cast our cares, our concerns upon Him. It's as if we're lifting the burdens off our shoulders and letting God bear them for us. 
Peter wanted us to know that our praying is not in vain. He assures us that God cares for us. That doesn't mean that God will always change the circumstances according to our request, but it does mean that we can be confident that God really does seek what is best for us. 
One of the great expressions of God's care is found in Philippians 4:6-7 where Paul said, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." 
The caring ear of God is what allows us to find true peace.  Are you trying to go through life in your own strength? You don't have to. Share your burdens with God. He is listening and you can trust that He cares for you.

3. The Noisy Enemy of God

A third reason to trust God is found in the fact that God has what we might call a noisy enemy.  In 1 Peter 5:8 Peter said, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."
Some people try to say that Satan or the devil is just a symbol of evil, but the Bible teaches us that Satan is a real angelic being who led a hopeless rebellion against God. He was the one at work through the serpent who tempted Eve in the garden of Eden, and he continues to work to draw people away from God today. His main strategy seems to be to work through temptation and trials, but he also works to deceive people through counterfeit religion.

Peter's description of Satan prowling around like a roaring lion, reminds me of the story of Job. Job encountered a terrible series of trials, and we're told that those trials were brought about by Satan Himself. In Job 1:6-12 we read,

6Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. 7The LORD said to Satan, "From where do you come?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it." 8The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil." 9Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nothing? 10Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face." 12Then the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him." So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD. 


This passage of Scripture gives us great insight into how life works. We have to understand that there really is a devil who is out to harm us. Satan is a roaring lion and he makes a lot of noise. As Peter says, that should cause us to be sober and alert. When various circumstances strike that make you afraid, realize that things are going on far beyond what you can see. Paul said, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).

That doesn't sound too encouraging, does it? But it really is encouraging. And here's why. Though Satan would like us to think that he can do anything to us that he wants. The truth is that he can't. He's a very powerful roaring lion. He would love to tear us apart, but he is on a leash just like the dogs that my children were afraid of. Satan couldn't tempt Job without God's permission. The same is true for us.

Furthermore, if you know Jesus Christ, then God is on your side. Yes, the events of our lives are indicative of this great cosmic battle, but you are on the winning side. That's why Peter said in 1 Peter 5:9, "But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world." The mighty hand overrules the noisy enemy. 1 John 4:4 says "Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world." 
Is this the way you look at life? Is this your worldview? There is more to life than just what we see, but you're not alone in the battles you face. God is watching us. Trust Him.

4. The Sovereign Grace of God

We can trust God because we know that He has a mighty hand, a caring ear, and a enemy whose bark is worse than his bite. Finally, we can trust God because of His sovereign grace. Peter gives us this perspective in verses 10 and 11: "After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen." 
I use that word sovereign because of that last phrase about dominion. Both words speak of God having power to rule. But the point is not just that God rules, it is that His rule is carried out in grace. God seeks to bless us in ways that we do not deserve. Peter says that He has called us to eternal glory in Christ. We get to be made perfect--no more struggles with sin or sickness or weakness.  We spoke about that a few weeks ago when we talked about grief. Our great comfort is that we will receive glorified bodies when Christ returns. 

And we saw last week, how that great hope changes our perspective on the difficulties of life now. When our hope is fixed on eternal life we see that our suffering now is temporary. That's what Peter points out here. 
I think one of the challenges that we face in our country is that we demand perfect happiness now. We don't want to wait until eternity, so we go through life with this expectation that we shouldn't have to suffer. We believe that we can find an answer to any discomfort we have. If I'm hot, I turn on the air conditioner. If I'm hungry, I should have food available right away. If I'm sick in any way, then the doctor should be able to give me a pill that will fix it immediately. That's the current version of the American dream, but it's not reality. Honestly, I think that's a lie that Satan uses to draw our eyes away from God. 
Romans 8:28 tells us that "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."  Do you believe that? Do you believe in the sovereign grace of God? Are you willing to let go of your worries and concerns now, because you believe God is preparing you for something far greater in eternity?

Conclusion

I failed to mention earlier what kind of dog we got. We have a little, miniature dachshund. Not a very frightening dog. We didn't want to press the kids too far. And I want to suggest to you, that God keeps that same idea in mind for all of us. He knows what we can handle with His help, and He knows what would totally overwhelm us. You can trust God. He has a mighty hand and a listening ear. He has a noisy enemy in Satan, but He restrains him. And he is the God of all grace working to fulfill His good and perfect plan in you.