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(as presented by Lisa Bishop)
When you think about fear, what are you most afraid of?
Fear has been defined as an intensely unpleasant and distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, or suffering—whether the threat is real or imagined.
We have all experienced the nagging, afflicting and at times pervasive feeling of fear. Maybe you are in the grips of fear right now. Perhaps you are in debt and see no way out and you are afraid. Maybe you made a mistake at work or received a negative performance review and you fear being fired. Maybe it’s fear of the future. Or, you have applied for nursing school or an MBA program and you worry about whether or not you will be accepted. Maybe it’s fear that you have missed your calling or fear in trying to figure out what your purpose in life is. The future of a relationship or fear of feeling alone or being single. Fear of that secret sin being exposed. Maybe you are fearful for your kids, your marriage, your financial future. You fear pain, rejection, disappointment, failure, humiliation, you fear the unknow, of getting older, maybe even death.
There are plenty of things to cause us fear. We all experience fear.
So, how do we grow in our ability to face our fears and not be held captive by them? How do we develop an unwavering confidence in the face of fear?
Let me first say that fears will never go away. There will always be things that happen in our lives that lure us to fear, but as a follower of Jesus, there are things we can learn and remember when we are tempted to fear. Ways to grow in unwavering confidence.
What is unwavering confidence? Unwavering means marked by firm determination or resolution. It means persistent and unshakeable. Confidence means belief in the certainty of something, to trust. Confidence is a belief or conviction that an outcome will be favorable.
Notice that unwavering does not mean we will never experience fear. It has to do with our perspective and response in the face of it. And who or what we are putting our confidence in matters greatly. We can be tempted to misplace our confidence in ourselves, our achievements, abilities, performance. Whether or not we get that promotion or title at work. We can misplace our confidence in our own power, intelligence and strength, in our circumstances and in other people.
Now, being confident in those things is not wrong. But depending on and relying on anything other than Jesus as our ultimate confidence will make us vulnerable to wavering. So does that mean when your confidence and trust are in Jesus you will never waver? No, you are human. Yet, you can and should be growing in your reliance and dependance on Jesus. Growing your faith and trust in Jesus, as you continue to mature in your faith to the One who is faithful.
When it comes to unwavering confidence I am reminded of the story of Peter and the disciples in the midst of a storm. Remember that scene in Matthew 14?
Jesus had just performed the miracle of feeding 5000 people with just five loaves and two fish. After the 5000 men, as well as many women and children are miraculously fed, Matthew tell us what happens next.
Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:22-31).
Forgive the play on words here but it is safe to say that the disciple’s confidence was not unwavering. Their faith faltered when things got choppy.
As you recall this story you might be thinking to yourself, “How could the disciples not realize it was Jesus walking on water coming towards them when they have spent so much time with him and were just with him a day prior? How could they have failed to recognize Jesus?
Perhaps Matthew wants us to know that sometimes it takes eyes of faith to notice when Jesus is around, especially in the midst of fear. Often in the middle of the storms and uncertainties of life we are tormented by the waves of disappointment and doubt and we are no better at recognizing his presence than the disciples were. Our confidence in God wavers.
Following Jesus is no guarantee that we will not face adversity, loss, and disappointments in life. Yet as we see the disciples in fear of the storm, and we see Peter put his confidence in his own abilities to keep himself afloat instead of keeping his eyes fixed on Jesus, we realize that we are a lot like Peter. Our confidence gets shaken when we take our eyes off Jesus.
What circumstance are you currently in that is causing you to lose sleep? Causing anxiousness, worry, doubt, fear? Where is your confidence wavering? Where are you fixing your eyes—on your circumstances rather than on the Lord?
At times in my life I have feared being single and alone. By the way I am 51 and still single but I determined several years ago to trust God and not fear being alone. Letting fear rule us doesn’t change things but faith does.
Several years ago I decided that I wanted to be able to look back on unpleasant times in my life, times that could have thrown me into a tailspin of fear and be able to say, “That was hard but I trusted God through it all.”
I have not always done that. I have had my fair share of fear that tries to creep in: fear of my mom aging and no longer being with me, fear of a career transition, fear of failure, fear of not having enough money, fear of what others think of me, fear of not being enough, and too much at the same time, fear of aging and dying alone with nobody to help me. And then there is the state of the world we live in today, the uncertainty, chaos, violence, division, war. There is so much we can fear.
But now, when fear tries to throw me off kilter and seduce me to waver I am ready to speak to my fear with the truth of God’s Word. Here are some truths to speak to your fears.“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble” (Psalms 46:1).
Declare and make those words personal! God is my refuge and strength, always ready to help me in times of trouble. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Or when Jesus says, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you” (Hebrews 13:5, NLT).
Turn it into a prayer of gratitude: “Thank you Jesus that you are my refuge and strength, you help me when I am in trouble. Thank you that you work all things for my good, that you will never fail me or leave me!”
Speak the words of Isaiah 41:10 to your fears: “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”
When you are feeling threatened or under attack: “The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior! He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me, who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from a violent man you rescued me” (Psalm 18:46-48).
Your confidence in the Lord will grow when in the midst of fear you remember what the Apostle Paul said to the Philippians: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
Luke 12:25 reminds us: “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life”? This is more than a confidence boost; this is anchoring yourself in God’s Word and preaching the truth to yourself.
Let’s take a few minutes to circle back to the story in Matthew with the disciples and Peter attempting his water walking.
The disciples are in the boat far from shore, the waves are crashing. One translation says, they were in trouble far away from land, a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. It is safe to say that water was filling the boat. These followers of Jesus were already fearful, when to add more panic to the mix, they saw what appeared to be a ghost walking on water towards them. They did not recognize that it was Jesus (even though they had just been with him). Sounds like a scary scene to me. In their terror they cried out in fear. And we read that immediately, Jesus responds to their cry and says,
“Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
And when Peter is walking on water, his fear kicks in, his confidence wavers and he begins to sink. Notice Jesus’s response. He reaches out his hand and catches Peter and says, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when Jesus asks this question of Peter, I hear the compassionate and loving words of the Father. He is not rebuking him, Jesus is saying, hey, trust me, I’ve got you.
The disciples cried out in fear and Jesus responded, immediately. Peter panics and Jesus reaches out his hand and catches him. This is so like Jesus and this is a great reminder for you and me. Jesus is with you in the storm and he is ready to calm your fears when you cry out for help.
Sometimes we fail to recognize the Lord when he comes alongside us during our own personal storms. We forget how he has been faithful and with us in hard times. We miss his voice that says to us: “You can trust me. You know my character and competence. You can safely put your confidence in me. Take courage. I am with you and I am for you.”
Just as Peter with his physical sight sees the wind and waves surrounding him and his fear causes him to sink, if we take our eyes off Jesus and focus on our circumstances, we too will fall under the weight of our problems. Yet, when we call to Jesus in faith, he will catch us and lift us above our seemingly impossible situation. Peter let doubt misplace his confidence and displace his faith. In all the time he had been with Jesus, even Peter, one of Christ’s closest friends, was still learning to trust the Lord completely.
So don’t beat yourself up when you forget to choose faith in the midst of fear. Growing in unwavering confidence in the Lord is an ongoing journey. But it is a choice, a choice to say, “Jesus I trust you.” Even when, especially when the waves are crashing all around you.
Where is fear causing your confidence to waver? Take time today to take your concerns to God. Cry out to him. Preach truth to your fears. Ask God to help build your confidence in him.
Trust and faith in God must fuel our confidence. Life will not always go the way we planned. We will experience loss and disappointments, but resist letting your fear replace remembering the faithfulness of God. When you are tempted to lose your confidence, shift your eyes away from your circumstances and onto your Savior, Jesus. He is your ever-present help in times of trouble.