Strategy 6: Your Fears (Confronting Your Worries; Claiming Your Calling)

• Fervent Reading: Chapter 6, Your Fears
• Bible Reading: 2 Timothy 1:7, Matthew 6:25-34, Philippians 4:4-8, Psalm 34:8-10

"If I were your enemy, I'd magnify your fears, making them appear insurmountable, intimidating you with enough worries until avoiding them becomes your driving motivation. I would use anxiety to cripple you, to paralyze you, leaving you indecisive, clinging to safety and sameness, always on the defensive because of what might happen. When you hear the word faith, all I'd want you to hear is 'unnecessary risk.'"

Notes from the study:

• What are some of your fears? (i.e. What keeps you up at night? What causes you daily stress or worry? Where do you struggle to make clear decisions out of fear for what could happen? What is your worst case scenario that your mind always takes you to?)

Personal Story:  I would worry a little as a kid—fear of the dark, fear of heights, fear of a stranger breaking into the house, and so on—but those fears only got magnified as I got married and suddenly loved someone so deeply that I became afraid of ever losing him. Nights when my husband would be driving home late from work and it would be snowing outside, I could not rest until he was home safe. And if I could not get ahold of him on the phone, I would be a mess! I would worry about my husband on the job as he was doing more dangerous jobs like roofing and such. Then, I had children. And my fears got out of control! My heart dropped with every scream and cry of hurt. Worst case scenarios raced through my head as my child lay sick in bed. "What ifs" kept me paralyzed from making clear decisions for them. And then, we moved to the mountains where we have bears that have taken our trash cans, copper head snakes, hills that have flipped my husband's mower, large sink holes that have appeared, powerful storms that make the tall trees by our house sway and creek, not to mention "the hill of doom" as my friend calls it—the top of our driveway that keeps us stranded if there is ever a snow storm. 

BUT, the summer before our move, God started working with me on my out-of-control fears. He allowed my children to get hurt or sick at different times and He helped me through each situation, building my faith in His care. Then, He put a great test in front of me. He allowed a group of 20-year-old men to move in across the street from our house who were not good news and clearly did not work. And so, here was I, home alone homeschooling my four beautiful little children, while these men hung around the cul-de-sac all day with cars coming and going, which we suspected and later found out they were dealing drugs. I was scared even to go to my mail box or to let my children play outside. One of the guys almost ran over my daughter on her bike with his car TWICE! The house next to theirs had just had a man arrested for sexually offending young girls in the neighborhood and the house across from that one had a previous sex offender, and the house next to that one had a college-age guy home all day playing video games. So, I was on high alert and STRESSED with fear.

I started reading through the Psalms, a chapter a day, finding strength in the many promises of God. God started bolstering my faith and building in me a courage to trust in Him even when I had "every reason" to fear! In reality, as I started to remind myself of who God is, I realized I had no just cause for fear...EVER! As John Flavel says, I started subjecting my reason to faith, "to see all things through the promises, and to trust God over all events." Now, when I feel my heart starting to fear, I earnestly pray and read the Psalms until I find myself thinking again on what is TRUE—true about my God and true about His love and goodness toward me (Philippians 4:4-8). 

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 

-2 Timothy 1:7 

Power: "Strength and diligence of heart to fulfill one's calling in spite of animosity and hardships." (Reformation Heritage Study Bible)

Love: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love [Not reached maturity in assurance of God's love]." (I Jn. 4:18, note from Reformation Heritage Study Bible) 

Sound Mind: Wisdom to make the best decisions without fear of the "what ifs?" "Rooted and grounded in Christ's love." (Ephesians 3:16-20) 

In the illustration above, we discussed how like sunshine and rain give life to a tree, the Word gives wisdom and knowledge of God. Then, as we pray—like the stem of that tree carrying its food to the roots—the Spirit impresses the Word into our hearts, grounding us in the love of God (Eph. 3:16-20). As this root system (our knowledge of God and His love) grows and matures, the storms of fear that surround us cannot shake us. We will be still. Peaceful. Firmly planted. 

We recently planted new cherry trees in the front of our house. These trees need extra care and attention because their root system is not deep enough yet to support them. As believers, our "root system"—or knowledge of God—should be maturing as we are fresh in the Word and prayer each day; steadfast. So that as the storms of life come, rather than facing it with fear, we stand strong, firmly rooted in who God is and the love He has for me. 

The phrase "Do not fear" or "Do not be afraid" occurs over 300 times in Scripture…Unlike the world with all their self-helps and anxiety sprays, we are not merely trying to "manage" our fears. Rather, God wants to eliminate them!  

"Fear is the antithesis of Faith." -Fervent 

"Somebody might say, 'Well, worry is just—you know, it's a small, trivial sin.' No, it's not…I think probably 100 per cent of all mental illness is directly related to worry, and most of physical illness. Worry is devastating, but more than that it isn't what worry does to you, it is what worry does to God. Because when you worry you are, in effect, saying, 'God, I know You keep saying that, but I just don't think I can trust You.' And worry, then, strikes a blow at the word and the person of God. 

Worry disbelieves Scripture. And you can go around all your life and say, 'I believe the inerrancy of the Bible. I believe in the absolute authority of the Scripture.'…And then just live your life worrying, and you are saying one thing out of one side of your mouth and something else out of the other. 

You see, worry means that you are mastered by your circumstances and not the truth of God. Worry misunderstands your position as a child of God. Worry is a devastating sin. Worry is a killing, debilitating, self-indulgent, possessive anxiety that says, 'God can't care for me and I've got to do this thing myself.' That's sin. That makes God a liar. It ignores His love. It ignores His power." 

-John MacArthur, Message entitled, "Overcoming Financial Worry, Part 2"  

Today, we are going to talk about:

Becoming Women of BOLD FAITH! (Trusting in the Promises and Providence of God)

• What can you do when you face overwhelming fear, incessant worry, up-all-night anxiety, worst-case scenarios becoming the only probabilities you can think about? [Think about how God brought you through before; cast your anxiety on the Lord in prayer; be grateful, focusing on what we do have] 

When facing overwhelming and difficult situations, rather than becoming anxious, you can:

1. Pray! (Philippians 4:6-7)  
2. Read God's Word (Philippians 4:8)—especially through the Psalms—and preach it to yourself!
3. Remember God's faithfulness to you in the past (Psalm 57:2 - "It is the duty of the saints, especially in times of straits, to reflect upon the performances of Providence for them in all the states and through all the stages of their live" -John Flavel, The Providence of God.)

•  What do we do with those daily, nagging concerns—finances, training children, health, decisions, schedule, the weather, people—that leave us in a continual state of worry, fear and fretting? [Pray and TRUST GOD as our Father; claim promises and truths specific to the situation]

Let's study Matthew 6:25-34:

"If your concept of God is right, and you see that He is the owner, controller, provider, then knowing beyond that that not only does He own, and control and provide, but He is your own Father, and a loving Father, at that, you have nothing for which to worry. Because if He has all things in His control, and that all things which He controls He controls in the behalf of His children, and you are His child, that should be the death of worry…Anxiety is absolutely foolish because of our Father.

Birds, God takes care of. Don't you think He'll take care of you?…[We] ignore God's priorities and His promises and [we] forfeit the carefree heart. If birds don't have any reason to worry, what are you worrying for? Are you not much better than a bird?…No bird was ever created in the image of Christ…if God sustains the life of a bird, do you think He'll take care of you?

Life is a gift from God. If God gives you the greater gift which is life, do you think He'll not give you the lesser gift which is the sustaining of that life?"

-John MacArthur, Overcoming Financial Worry, Part 1 

In this passage in Matthew 6, we learn that like the birds, we should not be concerned or worried about any area of our lives—not even the most basic one's like food and clothing. "That's My Area," says the Lord. 

Then, what is "OUR AREA"? 

To seek first God's Kingdom and to live obedient to His will (v. 33; 6:10). Our Father promises to care for the rest.   

Is it any wonder that great missionaries, martyrs and heroes of the faith, were able to continue the work God had called them to in spite of the many fears that faced them—they had one thriving passion: God's kingdom.  

A good friend of mine would often say, "The pursuit of God is the only pursuit worthy of an entire lifetime." 

And so, we can conclude: 

We fight fear with the fear of God!  

In reality, fear is foolish when we have such a powerful and loving God. We learn in Proverbs that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. It is this fear of God that tells all other fears that they have no place.

God has created you and chosen you. And because He has a specific plan and purpose for your life, He will sustain you to that end. As a child of God, you are invincible—touched only by God's Sovereign working in your life.

We must do away with our unbelieving "ifs" and "buts," our questioning and doubting of God's power, wisdom, and tender care over us. And choose to live by faith—not reason. The Christian was meant to live a life anything but ordinary. Trusting God in EVERYTHING! 

Let's conclude by reading Psalm 37.

Note: We again prayed specifically for the salvation and spiritual growth of our children at the end of the lesson today. Let's continue to make this a priority as we seek to grow in our prayer life.