During our
staff meeting yesterday, I was sharing with some of our leadership the desires
I believe God is putting on my heart for some changes within how we “do”
church. As I shared, I allowed the little fear bug begin to creep into my
brain! Arrgghh! The more I shared, the more nervous I became. I even found
myself championing for non-compliance with what God is downloading into many of
our hearts. Do you ever argue with God; or at least question His leading?
Welcome to the club! I’ve come to realize the fear bug is very similar to a
termite: slowly chewing and eating away the dreams and vision God puts on our
heart. Just like a termite, we don’t always see the damage until it’s too late.
What is fear keeping you from? How do you get over it?
This past
Sunday, I preached for awhile about Peter and His step of faith into the water.
Do you think he was fearful? Of course he was. Two times in Matthew 14 we can
read how Peter and the other disciples were in fear. Fear of the storm crashing
around them, fear of the “ghost” walking toward them, and then the fear Peter
realized when he stepped out of the boat and saw the wind and waves raging
against him. The Greek word used in this scripture is Phobos, which is where we derive the English word, Phobia. In a quick Google research, I found there are over 500 documented phobias. This
means there are over 500 hundred irrational fears in society today and over 500
reasons to keep you from doing what God puts on your heart. Dictionary.com
defines phobias as: a persistent, irrational fear of a specific object,
activity, or situation that leads to a compelling desire to avoid it. So when Peter stepped out of the boat, he
faced both aquaphobia and astraphobia: the
fear of water and the fear of storms. But yet, he still got out of the boat?
How did Peter face his fears? How did he overcome them? I think it was because
Jesus said “come” and Peter was willing to act.
Matthew
14:28-29 28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord,
if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” 29
“Yes, come,” Jesus said.
(New Living Translation)
Here is the
rationale to overcome irrational fears…JESUS! If He is leading you to step in
the water, then know He will be the one walking on the water with you!
After
sharing my fears and concerns in our meeting, our children’s pastor, Sharon
Toll, and relayed a story I wanted to pass along. When she was 24 years old,
she decided it was time for her to learn how to swim. Her oldest son, Drake,
was enrolled in swim lessons, so the natural step would be for her to do the
same. The instructor at the time took Sharon into the deep end, and told her
she would be jumping into the pool that day with a life jacket, but the next
day, she would go without. After jumping in, Sharon swam back to the edge of
the pool and her instructor informed her right then it was time to remove the
life jacket. Sharon, being the rational one, argued with the instructor, trying
to prove how unwise it might be to remove the one thing that was keeping her
afloat. But the answer the instructor gave had the wisdom I needed to hear: “If
you don’t do it now, you’re not going to do it ever.” I’m unsure of her reluctance
at the moment, but Sharon got out of the deep end, took off her life jacket,
jumped back in to the deep end, and lived to tell me about it!
Is Christ
telling you to “come”? Is He there in the water waiting for you to step out of
the boat? Is your fear keeping you from avoiding His leading? Are you willing
to take off your life jacket and trust the Instructor? Don’t let fear dictate
your life. Let your life in Christ dictate to your fear! If you don’t follow
Him now, will you ever?
