The Only Way to Rid Your Life of Fear
“Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).
What Pains Humanity the Most.
There was a counselor and journalist named Ron Ashley who received tens of thousands of letters per month from readers seeking his advice on life. Someone asked him what the greatest single problem that people struggled with was. The person was expecting the answer to be something along the lines of money, love, relationships, success, or health. But what he got was completely unexpected. Ron answered, “All of our problems can be lumped together to one thing and that is fear.”
What if my house undergoes foreclosure with this bad economy and I am no longer able to pay my mortgage on time? What if I am laid off from my job? What if my kids hang out with the wrong crowd and get lost in drugs or crime? Is this sudden pain in my chest a sign of lung cancer? My car is so old I wonder if it’s going to give up on the freeway; then where will I get the money to get a new car? Such worries never stop in this hard-knock life. If one problem is solved, another surfaces. No matter what the cause is, the thing that troubles us the most in our short lifespan is simply fear.
“Meekness” that the Bible talks about does not refer to merely an innate trait of being gentle, weak, having lots of empathy for others and a humble attitude. “Meekness” is having assurance that God is with us and because of that being able to restrain our innate sinful nature. It is being steadfast in our walk with God whatever hardship may come our way. To put it simply a “meek” Christian is someone who has been stripped away of what everybody else struggles with in life- fear.
Be honest with yourself. Has fear and worry disappeared from your life? Is there a need for you to get counseling for some grave issue in your life? Are you still walled in from all four corners that even just a small trial brings about a panic attack that you break out in anger? We’re not asking whether you are facing hardships or not. We’re asking when those trials and tribulations come are you still overtaken by fear or are you instead covered with the peace from God to trust Him and display true meekness in your life? It’s probably true that most Christians regardless of how long they have been churchgoers are far from true meekness and are stuck somewhere with fear on their backs.
The reason why meekness is not displayed in the Christian’s life is because although they claim to believe that God is with them and they surely believe it, they have a wrong notion of what that means. Most Christians believe that God is near them only when the stumbling block or the danger is removed from them. That is, they understand God to be a kind of a guardian angel. So that the whole focus of their faith becomes about overcoming trials and tribulations by relying on God. Naturally they place the center of their faith life on praying fervently, filling their schedule with church activities- volunteering, offering that stretches their finances, and having zeal in evangelism and studying the word; only then do they feel that the blockades and dangers will disappear from their life. But this is a wrong attitude to have for the Christian.
Many Christians pray that there would be no trials whatsoever in their lives, or if that is not a possibility, that there would be less of them. And if they happen to experience such a trial, that the pain may be lessened and their fears would not overcome them. They even pray that there would be no pain at all or that they may focus on other things to ease the pain. If the degree of their fear increases some merely pray their days away while neglecting their reality even to the point of giving up on life. In this case faith has stooped to the level of being merely a pain killer, a sleeping pill, or a magic wand.
To believe that if one is faithful in their Christian life there will no longer be any trials or that they will receive much worldly prosperity is not true. That is not Christianity nor does it have anything to do with God. Before Jesus comes back to restore all things, while we continue to live on this earth trials and tribulations will never cease both for the Christian and non-Christian alike. There are a few reasons why we have this wrongheaded view. It may be that we have prosperity gospel rooted in us from our worldly ideologies carried over from our days as unbelievers. It may also be that we are deceived by the devil moment to moment to think in such a way. It may even be that some pastors and leaders have taught that way on the pulpit. Unless we get rid of such wrong attitudes our faith will not stand strong. Obviously when our faith is not strong, then whenever trials come our way, we cannot but tremble in fear.
Face of Fear
The trap that we Christians easily fall into is when we’re in a crisis we’re so busy trying to dispel our fears that we do not take the time to understand where that fear stems from. We naively think that such fears are based merely on the physical, mental, and the financial pain we experience in the midst of our trials, yet in this we are mistaken. In other words a person may think that if he or she is fired from their job, the resulting financial hardship will breed fear. Therefore they tend to believe being fired as the cause of that fear. Once they are able to secure their job position and not get fired, they believe that the cause of fear will disappear. This is naive on the part of the Christian who has downgraded the faith life into a simple mathematic equation.
That is why even after becoming Christian, we with the same kind of zeal we had when we were non-Christians, doing whatever it took to spare ourselves from being fired- brownnosing our supervisors through gifts, talking behind the backs of our fellow workers- come before the Almighty God to diligently ask that He only spare us from being fired. The source of our fears then, in both when we were nonbelievers and after coming to faith is being fired. The solution then to getting rid of fear is not to get fired. The only thing that has changed then is the means of how we are to keep ourselves from being fired; it merely shifted from worldly means to praying to God. This is not faith. And even if we pray to God in such circumstances the root cause of fear will not disappear.
As a result of the 9.11. terrorist attacks when people were afraid of flying on jets, US Air Way suffered a huge loss that it had to fire thousands of its employees. You think that it was only the nonbelievers who were fired? Or only those among Christians who were lazy in their faith life while the “good” Christians who prayed a lot were spared? No. It is those who have a bad record and are slack in their work who will be the first to go. The company will make the decision based on their need, to cut down those departments that seem most unprofitable to them, those that do not affect greatly the work and flow of the job.
If the Christian prays that he be spared from this major lay off, how about the non-Christian who will take his place who is in a greater rut then they are? Would they not be fired in his place? Does not our beliefs prompt us to rather volunteer that we be fired in order to spare our non-Christian neighbor from the same fate? If God is like a genie in a bottle does it not require that He somehow change the heart of the human resources person so that the Christian who does not have such a good track record will still be spared from being fired? We must not be mistaken. There is no doubt there are instances when God miraculously works on behalf of the Christian so that he may be spared. But such miracles are restricted to those special occasions where God has a specific purpose and not so much in our day to day life.
As many people mistakenly believe if the trial or hardship itself is the cause of fear, if only those trials and hardships are removed, then fear too must subside. Yet we see those millionaires who are enormously successful by the world’s standards and seem as though they have no care in the world, who are the very ones who have much cause for fear. For example we hear that the King of Pop, Michael Jackson has quarantined his entire living facility so that there is not a single harmful bacterium in his household. Yet he still lives in great anxiety, that his voice is going to crack or something worse will happen to him even though with all the money he has it would seem to us that he wouldn’t have a care in the world.
Physical, mental suffering, pain, and heartache, are not the root cause for fear. When we go to the dentist and receive shots, or when given a knuckle sandwich in a fight, yes we may have fear because of the physical pain. But this kind of fear is like reflexes in that our bodies remember the pain we feel in such circumstances. The fear we feel in those circumstances is merely an experience we remember of the past and not fear itself. That is why we bite the bullet and take it, for we remember how much it hurt and know that the pain is short and temporary. When a person is resolved to undergo such pain, the fear subsides or disappears altogether.
The real essence of fear is something different. On Halloween many hunted houses open up for business. But no one who pays for them thinks that the houses are truly hunted (that is, they are plagued by real ghosts). They know well that all the monsters are either machine operated robots or humans in disguise. But why is it that people are scared their socks off? Because of the darkness? Then are people instinctively programmed to fear when they are in the dark? That’s not necessarily true. We all sleep sound and well at night. The reason why hunted houses are a heart stopper is because you never know when that supposed ghost or monster will rush out to frighten the pants out of you. The moment however the monster reveals itself, you know already it is no cause for fear no matter how scary the makeup is.
The true reason why people have fear is because whatever is causing the fear deals with the unknown; they fear the unpredictable nature of something. Darkness itself is not a cause for fear, but with darkness comes unpredictability; one does not know whether there is a cliff in front of them or a lion in hiding. When something is unpredictable we cannot prepare in advance for the danger it may bring. We become vulnerable. Therefore we have to face that danger head on, or from behind our backs. That is why it causes us fear.
Moreover that something is unpredictable means that I cannot be prepared for the danger it may cause. It is outside of my ability- I am incapable of controlling or restraining the thing. Why do people fear when there is thunder and lightning? Of course the loudness of its sound and speed of the flash jolts us, but it is more so that before the magnitude of nature in action, man is but a mere ant and is completely helpless. We can conclude then that the essence of fear is to realize that we cannot control by our own strength in any way whatsoever what will happen to us even one second ahead from now. Paradoxically when the outcome of an event is predictable and able to be controlled by us, no matter what we face we can stand strong without fear and maintain our meekness.
When is God with Us?
If the above is true, when are Christians able to predict their future and in turn control their destinies? Is it after receiving the gift of prophesy that he is able to see into the future like some famous psychic? Is it after receiving a powerful gift like that of a magic lamp that grants one whatever he wants? Just cause it says “There is nothing impossible for those who believe,’ does it then mean that if we merely have faith enough and pray enough things will smoothly go our way?
No matter how spiritual a Christian leader may be, when they face tribulations, they are like the rest of us in that they have no clue as to what will happen to them in the near future, nor are they able to control that process on their own. The way to beat fear for a Christian is exactly opposite of the way non-Christians handle it. We must rather give up on trying to predict or control our future. It is only when we lay down such worried efforts before God, the Master of our lives that we can experience true meekness. All we need to do is step into His promises and His control, of the One who never leaves us nor forsake us and is all powerful and ruling over the universe. Trusting completely God to be under His full control is the most significant sign that we have become true Christians.
That is why the Christian instead of trying to figure out when these tough times will be over, must first search whether God is with him and near him in the midst of the storm. “The one who sent me is with me; He has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases Him” (John 8:29).What did Jesus say was the purpose for God being with Him? And why did He say that God the Father will not leave Jesus alone? He says that the Father sent Jesus and also that Jesus always does what pleases the One who sent Him. Even Jesus, God the Son who was clothed in the flesh, the reason why God did not leave Him alone was because He did what pleased God the Father.
This is the same for believers as well. We’re not talking about becoming a minister, missionary, or even becoming fired up for volunteering at church or evangelism. Believing in Jesus and becoming Christian does not merely stop at being saved and receiving a ticket to heaven. We must have a clear understanding that God has called us as His children sent into the world. It is without a doubt that as long as we live here on this earth, God has a job cut out for us, and there is His good and pleasing purpose within that work. We must be assured that the real reason why we have come so far is because it is all part of the process of our fulfilling that calling. The lives of the faithful are always heading towards a direction that God has planned in advance, so that unless He is guiding us and with us we cannot fulfill our destinies.
That is why the true meaning of the phrase “God is with us” is not merely that God protects the faithful from some danger, but that He is guiding the faithful to a specific destination. That is why the true Christian should not waver in his faith or peace of mind because of the ups and downs of his external circumstances. Because the Christian knows that if it is necessary for God to accomplish His will for the person’s life, God can either grant or take away finances and health to and from the Christian. He can make or break relationships, build up a person’s ego to win the approval of the world, or humble them to the lowest position.
To put it another way the reason why we cannot have peace of mind during tribulations may be because we have no understanding whatsoever of God’s plan for our life, or do not even consider the possibility that God could have such a plan. Another reason is because we tend to naively think that while being fired from our job is something that God hates, God loves us to enjoy life in prosperity and abundance as we see fit. Moreover we do not care for God’s approval over whatever is happening in our lives, but merely live according to our own whims and comfort while at the same time expecting God’s help. We have no understanding of the eternal purpose of God for our lives but merely desire that the current hardships be taken away.
Once again the true meaning of God being with us is just like Jesus stated that we are indeed walking and working with Him. That is why as Christians we need not try to predict or control our future. We have a sure reward and future waiting for us. Otherwise without this awareness we cannot overcome the fears that come from all of the tribulation and trials that come our way.
If I Die, then I Die.
Still we cannot know specifically how our lives will unfold. But one thing we can be sure of is that God has a specific purpose and plan for our lives and that our current life is written in God’s perfect and faithful Day Planner. That is why until God finally brings about His plan to fruition we will continue to be under His rule. In fact we have not stepped outside of His rule and will be protected in the future from doing so as well.
That Jesus mentioned how God the Father was with Him, because of His willingness to do what pleased the Father was not merely to spur us on to be zealous for God- to accomplish great feats for Him. Apart from those things He has revealed to us a simple yet clear truth. If what the Christian is doing right now is God’s work, there is no reason for God not to be there. If so, wouldn’t it only be obvious that God will guarantee a good outcome to such an effort? Moreover even if the path to such an end may be hard and lonely, because the final result is already guaranteed by Him there is no reason for us to fear failure.
Queen Esther in order to save her people from an emergency crisis proclaimed, “If I perish, then I perish,” as she approached the King Artaxerxes. She said this not merely to express her commitment and devotion but her faith that if God considered what she was about to do as good then He will surely accomplish its purpose and bless it, if not, she was ready even to die for it. She realized that if God’s Presence would not go with her and give her favor, then the natural result would be death.
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Rom. 5:1-4). The Apostle Paul claimed that Christians are those who rather than cower with fear when trouble strikes, can joyfully face their trials, because they have the sure hope that even through their hardship God’s glory will be revealed.
How does he explain how a Christian comes to have such a hope? Was it by experiencing through prayer getting out of debt or healings of diseases? That is just steps toward the gate of hope. The real basis for such hope is only the cross Jesus Christ. It is based on the full assurance that God gave up His One and Only Son to die in my place.
“And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:5-8).
A Christian is someone who at the cross of Jesus died completely in his old sinful nature then participating in the Christ’s resurrection was born again of the Holy Spirit. He is someone who through the exchange that took place between Jesus’ life and his whole entire being, knows through personal and individual experience that God has redeemed his life by the power of the blood of Jesus Christ. He believes that God affirmed His love for us through the blood of His One and Only Son. A Christian who believes in such an assurance from God, what more proof or sign would he need? Moreover because they know that God’s final solution to their lives is the love shown on the cross, they have come to know the direction and destiny of their walk of life. In some ways his life has become predictable (in a good way) and manageable. It is only natural then that the fear should subside and he should step into the freedom. This is what it means that God is with us and the only way to live out our lives in meekness.
A Life Set apart.
The Christian life is unique. We know the answer to the question of life and we also know the way to the answer. Yet we must not try to predict our future or plan it out by our own strength and effort only. Instead we must only believe that the Omnipotent God, the author of life of the entire universe has planned our lives from eternity to eternity and is sovereign over our lives. We must stop all of our own efforts to predict the future and control it, and rather lay down our whole entire being and life upon His control.
God never leaves nor forsakes the Christian. No matter what kind of state the Christian is in, even if immersed in a grave sin, God is with him through the good and the bad. But unless the Christian comes to an assurance of God’s purposes for his life and surrender all of himself to God, God will not activate His plans but will leave it on hold until the person is ready. If God in your life is not moving but merely just “with” you, that may not truly equal walking with God. Yet many Christians describe such a state as living with God and God being with them.
What is the case with nonbelievers? They know of God’s existence and His Omnipotence. Yet the reason why they continue to remain stiff-necked and deny God is only this: when they start to acknowledge God, they must be under His rule. They hate this more than anything. When there is a hardship or tribulation, danger or a handicap, they try to overcome it with their own efforts; they want to run and control their own lives.
What does it mean that we have become Christians? Because we have wholly surrendered our lives to God’s sovereignty we no longer have to be the ones to try to predict and control our lives. Even so the reason why we have fear when we face tribulations, and that even after praying, reading the word, and praising, is this: we believe that by doing all these things that God will somehow take away the hardship itself. Praying and reading the word is not a means to eliminate trials in our lives. They are a means to having a greater hope. We may never become meek if we cannot maintain, rather, increase in our hope in God even in the midst of trials and tribulations.
But most Christians focus their prayers on asking God to remove the tribulations out of their lives. Even after they have such a great privilege of trusting in the Almighty, they are afraid, not knowing when their trials will end. They are acting in some ways like the nonbelievers who try to run their lives their own way. They are still unable to trust their lives completely upon God’s love shown on the cross through Jesus Christ.
There is a famous quote by Livingston who was the very first pioneer and missionary to Africa; his life was dramatically spared from being mauled to death by a lion, although half of one of his arms was bitten off: “I am immortal until His works be done.” In some ways this sounds like blasphemy for he used the term “immortal” that should only describe God. He does not mean of course that he himself is truly immortal. He means that as long as he is doing the work of God that pleases Him, and as one called to the specific task of bringing the Gospel to Africa, God will never leave him nor forsake him. That is what he was so assured of.
Do you have that same fearless assurance like Livingston? Can you boldly claim that truth for yourself before the world and men? If so no matter how many lions are hiding in the bushes of your path, no, even if they show up to try to devour you, or they take away one of your arms they cannot take away your meekness or frighten you. That is because no matter what happens, God’s glorious plan for the life of the saint can never be hindered even if we are killed by lions.
