Erasing our Fears , Step 3

 Erasing our Fears.   I John 4:18

  We have chatted the last few Sundays about our phobias , that is our fears.  What have we gotten from this series so far?  The list is here (table),  and can be helpful to us as we struggle with various things.  I have always liked the first one.  "My fear is really loneliness for God.  He will never leave me or forsake me.  I will claim His promise."  Last week's sticks with me too."  Secure in God's love, I will not surrender my self-worth to the opinions and judgments of others.  ...when I am hurt and rejected I will not retaliate.  I will allow God to heal me...."   We will look at resurrection and life as we journey to that Day of Easter with another fear statement about death and life.   I suppose my favorite of all is , " I will give up the vague idea that given time things work out.  Instead I will expectantly face the future knowing that God will work out all things for my good and His glory."  In the world we live in now there are many things to scare us, and we need that assurance as Christians that God has a plan, and His plan is the best for us now and the life to come. ( In other words His foreknowledge is foreordination as well. Look at Romans 8.)

   Today we look at step 3, " I will face my fears, retrace them to their source in my heart, displace them by making my heart Christ's home, and erase them with His perfect love."  The Scripture is I John 4:18 " There is no fear in love; perfect love casts out fear..."  Perfect love is God's consummated love or lit. reaching the end , aim . This root (tel-) means "reaching the end (aim)." It is well-illustrated with the old pirate's telescope, unfolding (extending out) one stage at a time to function at full-strength (capacity effectiveness).] biblehub.com

I was visiting the other day and it hit me.  We can never know all God has for us until we reach perfection, and that comes when we see Him face to face.  The Apostle talks about that in I Corinthians 13:9 " For we know in part...But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away....For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face..."  Here we struggle with doubts, fears, criticisms, rejections and more fears.  But that will change in our futures.  

1. Face our fears. Ogilvie suggests they come in these categories,  and they all begin with p.   People, problems, perplexities, possibilities.  That seems about right.  They say stress if in two parts, eustress ( good stress) and bad stress.  Some give weight to them, and even good things have large numbers.  ( for ex. marriage has a number, and so does divorce and each contribute to it)

Situational stress---where you are caught in an unexpected way. Hard to manage this one. Adrenaline kicks in.

Anticipatory stress- worry about the future

Encounter stress- reacting with a group of people

Time stress- we all know what that one is  ( as in mentaltoughness.partners)

How can we fix it in some way if we do not id it?

2.  Retrace our fears.  In other words, go deeper, and figure out what we are really concerned about.  " What we fear is usually  not what we fear"

3.  Displace our fears. The secret is to focus on Christ and not on our fears.

"  Fear is the dark room in which we develop our negatives of frightening possibilities....But when we allow the Lord to flood our dark rooms with the brilliant light of His presence, our fears are dispelled completely.  Instead, we will picture ourselves as the person Christ wants us to be." Ogilvie, p. 56

4. Lastly, erase our fears.Only Christ can erase our fears.

Perhaps this acronym is helpful I found when I was writing this out: " “Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired.” Whenever you feel tempted to do or say something that is not conducive to the life to which God has called you, you might find it helpful to notice if you are feeling hungry, angry, lonely, or tired and then tend to some self-care. Seek nourishment, counsel for your anger, the company of a trusted friend, or take some time for respite. You might want to recall the words of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel: “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Temptation is inevitable; and we have at our disposal many tools we can use to help us withstand it."  HALT  from www.sje.org

Conclusion-  I usually do not like acronyms but sometimes they are helpful.  Perhaps the bottom line today is that we need encouragment in this life and Christ is our Pilot .  With Him we go through the storms of our outer and inner world of fear, but we are not overwhelmed.  We are not lost.  We will find out way out of the forest even before it gets dark. 

More from the monastics..."   helpful to notice if you are feeling hungry, angry, lonely, or tired and then tend to some self-care. Seek nourishment, counsel for your anger, the company of a trusted friend, or take some time for respite. You might want to recall the words of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel: “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Temptation is inevitable; and we have at our disposal many tools we can use to help us withstand it.

In our Monastery, we use a modern adaptation of the Lord’s Prayer in contemporary language which renders this line, “Save us from the time of trial.” For me, this prayer means asking for God’s grace in resisting the trap of entertaining temptation, which I can do by remembering Jesus’ example and recalling God’s desire for wholeness and abundance of life for me. 

In the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer each day, I am reminded that if I turn to God in my moments of temptation, then I, like Jesus, will be able to dismiss temptation’s toxicity, and be fortified and empowered to live into the divine life which God has enabled in me. "

In the name of the Father, and of the Son , and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.