Fear Not!

It seems to me that our world is full of fear -- all kinds of fear! So that's what I chose to preach about on this past Sunday -- fear. You may not be afraid of the things that I mention in my sermon, but I'll bet you're afraid of something. If that is the case, I hope that this sermon is helpful.

I have a tough question for you this morning. What are you afraid of? Now, I’m not talking about little things like spiders or heights or horror movies. We can easily take care of those things. We can call an exterminator, hire someone to work on the roof, and avoid any movie that includes the word “scream” or “saw” or “nightmare.” No, I’m asking you what you’re really afraid of. What gnaws at your gut whenever you think about it? What keeps you awake at night with worry? What gives you nightmares?

While you’re pondering the answer to that question, let me tell you what the psalmist was afraid of. He tells us in Psalm 46, if we read between the lines. The psalmist was afraid that everything he knows – all the traditions that he grew up with, all the values that he holds dear, all the dreams that he cherishes – that all those things will be swept away, and that he will be left with nothing. Now, the psalmist doesn’t say that directly. No, he begins by describing an earthquake, with the earth giving way under his feet and the mountains collapsing into the abyss. In the psalmist’s day, the mountains were considered to be the pillars of creation, the physical structure on which everything else rested. If they collapsed, so did everything else. When the earth shook, he saw creation itself coming apart at the seams. Then the psalmist describes a city. It seems to be secure enough: God himself lives in its midst. But the confession that “God will help her at break of day” is ominous. In the time of the psalmist, armies usually attacked at dawn. Is this city under siege by an enemy army? When the psalmist looks out of his window, does he glimpse the sun reflecting off foreign swords and shields, and catch a whiff of smoke from enemy campfires? Victory by an invading force would sweep away his world just as surely as any natural disaster.

Earthquakes and war… that’s frightening stuff. We are sometimes afraid of those very same things. Most of us remember the panic that we felt in the days following 9/11. When we heard the drone of an aircraft overhead, we looked up with a pang of fear. Had another airliner been hijacked? Was another terrorist attack about to begin? I imagine that most of us no longer have that response; and natural disasters are few and far between here in Ohio. Sure, tornadoes hit close to home now and then. Just a few weeks ago, Vandalia was the target of a small one; but it didn’t really do much damage. Few people lose sleep worrying about earthquakes or tornadoes or hurricanes… at least, not around here. No, we are afraid of other things… and those things do keep us awake at night. Let me tell you what people are afraid of these days.

Younger folks – the ones who are in college or have recently graduated – worry that they’ll never find a decent job. We baby boomers aren’t retiring very quickly, and work is hard to find. One of my close friends who is in his his early thirties recently told me with considerable anger that my generation had lied to him. We assured him that if he did well in college, he’d have no trouble getting a good job. Ten years after graduating from a good school, he is still trying to make ends meet on a job that is less than full time. Middle-agers – folks in their 40s, 50s, and even 60s – are worried that they'll never be able to retire. Social security isn’t secure itself; and every time the economy burps, we recalculate our pension funds – if we are fortunate enough to have any. What happened to our dream of retirement? Will we need to work forever just to make ends meet? And older folks have their own nightmares. As bodies wear out and minds lose the sharpness that they once had, terrifying fears creep in. Will I be able to take care of myself? What if I can’t continue to do the things that have given me joy in life? Even worse, what if I become a burden to my family? Fears of spiders and heights and even Freddie Krueger are nothing compared to fears like these. When we get right down to it, our deepest fear is the very same fear that the psalmist had. We are afraid that all the traditions that we grew up with, all the values that we hold dear, and all the dreams that we cherish will crumble into dust, and that we will end up with nothing.

Scripture has an answer for us when that kind of fear threatens to flood over us. We hear it over and over and over again. We hear it in Old Testament stories and in the letters of the New Testament and in the Gospels. We hear it from prophets and angels and from Jesus himself. We hear the reassurance, “Fear not!” There is nothing on earth or in heaven that we need to be afraid of; because God is God and he’s got everything covered. Psalm 96 puts it this way: “God is our refuge and our strength; an ever-present help in trouble. The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our security.” Whatever we fear, God knows about it. Whatever we fear, God is holding it in his hand. Whatever we fear, God is way, way bigger than it is. God is God, and God is here to help us.

Some folks object that “Fear not” doesn’t offer any answers to our fears. It doesn’t give any instructions for dealing with whatever we’re afraid of. But fears aren’t “one size fits all.” Besides, doesn’t a parent give a child the same kind of answer? “I’m afraid of the dark, Mommy,” cries the child. “You don’t need to be afraid,” replies the mother. “I’m right here.” Now, does that answer mean that the dark will never hold any terrors? No. Any number of things might happen in the dark: a destructive storm, a home invader, even a house fire. But if one of those things happens, the parent will be right there, protecting and helping the child to deal with the situation. How much more is God with us, protecting us and helping us cope with the fears that keep us awake at night?

Fear, after all, is a terrible thing to live with. It takes its toll on the human body. Continual fear leads to stress; and stress causes all kinds of physical problems: high blood pressure, heart attacks, even strokes. But worse than that, fear paralyzes us. It turns us into “deer in the headlights,” unable to respond to changing circumstances until we’re in serious trouble. Fear keeps us from living the kind of life that God wants us to live. Why, fear even keeps us from seeing God working in our lives! After all, God doesn’t show up with a neon sign that gives us detailed instructions for coping with our problems. God works like an undercover spy, quietly poking here and secretly prodding there. If we are paralyzed by fear, we miss the signs of God’s presence with us. We ignore possibilities. We overlook opportunities. We miss the solution that is standing right in front of us! God is indeed our refuge and strength, but it’s a good thing if we’re able to recognize God when he shows up to help us!

“Fear not” is not just a religious cliché that preachers use to calm down their parishioners when times get tough. It’s one of God’s instructions for living through difficult times. When we can control our fears, we can solve our problems more effectively, and we can enjoy our lives as fully as possible. So the next time that you feel fear start to get the best of you, why not listen to Psalm 96: “Be still and know that I am God. I make wars cease to the ends of the earth. I break the bow, shatter the spear, and burn the chariots with fire. I will be exalted in the earth!” That’s some God! That’s the God who has promised to be with us. That’s our God! Fear not!