Real Fear?

What scares you? Do unexplained sounds in the middle of the night start your imagination racing? Could you spend time in a dark, creaky old attic without an immediate unraveling of your constitutions? Is simply the idea of pitch black surroundings unnerving? If so, then you're probably like most people who would rather "pass" on such experiences. It wasn’t until recently that I actually did one of the things that I thought to be most sensibly reckless: I went to a graveyard at night…on purpose.

As a child, just the idea of using today’s title image would’ve been reason enough for irrational fear to set in. However, as I grow in the knowledge of the things of God….well, it doesn’t make me want to be sensibly reckless, but it really has helped me see so many things very, very differently.

Even though I “manned up” for my trek into a creepy graveyard....at night, it doesn’t mean that I’m fearless. I'm still well aware of the presence and oppressive nature of fear. On the way to the graveyard, my friend “primed” me for the experience by having me watch a couple of really scary short films on YouTube (message me, and I’ll send you the links). Hey, what are friends for?
You know what I’ve realized? There’s something noticeably ‘tangible’ about fear. Fear “feels” like something. When you see a Ouija board or a whispy specter on videocam or any haunted tale that’s purported to be ‘…based on a true story’, something else becomes as real as this moment – and that fear holds the promise of danger. You can understand it as irrational but it’s weird just how real it feels. Isn't it interesting how fear doesn’t require that we negotiate ourselves into being afraid? It comes easy.

With that understanding of the tangible nature of fear; based only on a promise of danger (it delivers mental discomfort way more than it delivers real, physically harmful danger): Why can’t our faith work the same way? Why can’t faith feel like something? I think that too often, we spend time “trying” to have faith; negotiating why it makes sense.
Embracing the unknown as it applies to trusting God should deliver us the same ‘tangible’ assurance in the same way that fear does… easy and without all of the negotiation.

Why? When it comes to fear, we're basically operating on a "troubling" perception - with faith, it's not a perception but a promise, and the substance of that promise is Jesus. Jesus is way more affirming and real than our fear. At least He should be.

Here’s the Word;

1 John 4:18 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. (Remember, God is love - 1 John 4:8)

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

The Bible talks about both faith and fear; saying that fear delivers torment but the promise of faith is reward. My point being this: We’re admittedly more familiar with the discomforting substance of fear, whereas we should be growing to where our faith has the same kind of real substance to its promise of God honoring reward.

Here’s The Word:

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Allow me to clarify, caution for danger sake is not irrational. There are situations where it's just smart to play it safe. But it seems to me that faith and fear may be opposite sides of the same coin – belief. Unfortunately, we’re more adept at giving fear the benefit of the doubt while faith seems to be ‘less real’. My prayer is that we become hyper-sensitive to how quickly and easily we allow fear to be something real – that we would see how much we allow it to affect or lives (even subtly) and immediately feel challenged to replace it with real faith. A faith that is as reliable as The God who saved us desires our good.

Btw – this doesn’t mean that I’m up for playing with a Ouija board – Deuteronomy 18: 9 – 12 (see verse 11) prohibits us from “playing” with such things….but it’s due to obedience, not fear.


In Him,
Cros