Fear Delievered

(James 2:23)  "and so it happened just as the Scriptures say:  "Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith."  He was even called the friend of God."

Let me start off by stating a question.  “Why is it so hard to believe what God says is true?”  I have wrestled with this question either mentally or with my attitude for years.  One might think that as you get older your ability to trust in God grows with your age, but that is not always the case.  The reality is often it is just easier to live by what we feel rather than by Gods truth.  And somewhere between the two we pick which facts suit us best for our own self-preserving outcome.  I so wish what I just wrote was not true, but fear drives this reality.

As we all know so well, fears about life are very real and very vivid in our daily existence.  As a pastor and a father I see it often.  A fear of rejection that caused us to compromise, a fear of the unknown that causes us to doubt or a fear of embarrassment that caused us to lie.  We are constantly bombarded by fears and they affect our choices and our character.  Some fears are small, but some are larger than life itself.  One thing is sure, all fears have a shackling result.

Psalm 34:4 states “I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”

Because fears are so controlling we forced to deal with them.  We seek someone or something to conquer them. Often where we go determines the outcome of fear’s control over our life.  We may have a good pep talk with ourselves, we may talk to our spouse, a friend at work or even a counselor or pastor.  But in the end we forget that only God can conquer all our fears. 

I sought the LORD….humm…gets me thinking.  How many times in the vivid midst of my fears have I sought the LORD?  Honestly, not enough.  I remember seeking God in my life during times of joy and victory and times of need and sorrow, but in times of racked, debilitating fear…not so much.

Something about fear diverts our passions away from the one who delivers from fear.  And the big truth is only God has the ability to deliver me from all my fears.  It’s in seeking the LORD only you and I will be delivered from ALL fear! 

One final thought….when something is delivered it’s transferred.  I when I order something online and it’s delivered to my front door the delivery company has ownership until it’s delivered.  Once I receive it at my front door, ownership is transferred and it’s now mine.  To be delivered from all your fears means you need to deliver or shall I say “offer” unto God all you are (fears and all).  Transfer ownership over to Him, let Him take on each and every fear.

“Heavenly Father I surrender all my fears (list each one here) into your hands today.  I transfer ownership of them..I do not own that fear anymore, instead I seek You for the answer and give you my whole heart today.  In Jesus Name…Amen”

Live In FEAR

^{What are you afraid of?  There are many fears in this world, way too many to list.  One study listed over 4,000 phobias that people live with each day.  Wow stinks to be that guy, ha!  Seriously we all have them, it almost seems to be human is to fear.}

Now some of my fears are realistic and some are unfounded.  I mean I don’t like snakes and that is a realistic fear, right?  They are slimy, sneaky, slithery … oh wait they actually aren’t slimy and I don’t think I can ever prove they are sneaky but they do slither.

And that is how fear works, it bases itself on some level of truth and then exaggerates the rest.  Fear has an uncanny ability to freeze my ability by forcing me to stare into a future of “what if’s” base on a past of “see that’s”.

Can I be honest here, one of my biggest fears is the presence of God.  Yep I fear God.  Now the Bible tells us “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding…” (Psalm 111:10) yet the fear the Bible speaks of is not trembling and groveling in horror, fright and panic but of reverence and respect.  We have other English words like awe, amazement, admiration even astonishment!

Now I know as a pastor and a life-long Christian you expect me to say I fear the LORD, in other words I worship Him and let me say I do.  But I also fear Him.  I mean I many times find myself “in fear” or reserved from Him and I think that human fear does that to a person.  It causes them to think the worst, believe the worst, live the worst.  

And when I reserve myself from my God I walk “in fear” of Him not “fearing” Him.  The good news that “fearing” God is the beginning of wisdom and good understanding additionally the Bible also tells us in Psalm 25:14 that “The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.”  That is good news.

The bad news is that the opposite is true for those that are “in fear” of him.  They walk without wisdom and good understanding.  They don’t have a God that confides in them or know the covenant of God.  Why?  Simple we are reserved.  The balance of fearing God will send us in reverence or reservation.  Where are you?

Depression is a major issue in America. It’s the physical embodiment of an emotional situation. It is a symptom of an unresolved crisis in a person’s life leading to an increasing sense of hopelessness. As you emotionally lockup you physically seize on life. Depression is not to be shoved to the side in a bus ride conversation over ambient noise and assumed dealt with. You can’t hang up on depression and close down the conversation.

Depression is serious. If you treat depression with a casual attitude it will close in surely with a death grip and lock your life down. But there is more than help available, there is a solution ready and waiting to change your life. But you have to take three steps…

1. Seek Yourself (take off the mask and be honest about your depression)

2. Seek Help (Reach out to those around you that can assist, counseling, friends, medication)

3. Seek God (He is called Jehovah Rapha for a reason, He heals. Medication only treats the symptoms, but God heals the source and redeems the life.)

Often that is where we stop short is step number 2. When the friend or the medication provide some level of relief we think the problem is solved. That is until life throws another curve our way and we spiral down and back to the doctor’s office for another mix of meds. Any honest doctor will tell you that they don’t heal. At best they aid the body in it’s own healing process. Again, only God heals!

So if you know of someone who is locked up in this battle or you are that person take my advise seriously and setup into these three simple steps. It is your path to freedom. How do I know, I suffered from depression.

“LORD my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me.” (Psalm 30:2)