Welcome to Buoy, a Life in Deeper Water podcast.

Episode 55.

Fear Not, Fear God (replacing self-fear with God-awe)

Hello human.

My witness today is about fear. It is in response to a spiritual nudge coming from another avenue of my spiritual growth. I don’t really think that much about fear.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a purpose in this. So I begin with a work day that ran longer than usual in New York City. This was several years before the post-pandemic New York City when the time of day was the primary factor in how safe an environment was. Taking public transportation during the maddening rush of the 5-8pm daily trek for 8 million commuters was much safer than during the approaching 9pm hour.

This was a night when I was riding on the 6 train at about 8:45pm. A middle-aged male was the only other person in the car with me. A scenario to watch for. A no-go. I turned down my music… and mentally changed my route so I could get off quicker… and prayed that people would be at the stop, and that I could safely get up the stairs to the street. When the doors opened, there was no one. In that split second I had to decide to get off and walk toward the turnstiles, or take the chance of being on that car alone with him. I stepped through the subway doors, walked with authority and spoke loudly on the phone. I heard him cross the threshold, I heard his steps, but I kept going. Was he sizing up the situation? Was he gauging my potential for resistance? When I popped up onto the street, I went a few steps and decided to just stand still to challenge my anxiety, and hisdirection.

He walked by me. And nodded. I watched him walk up the street crossing into the next block, then I headed to my connecting train entrance. Turns out he wasn’t going my direction, but I had adopted his.

Fear is Not a Street I Live On

My fear was real. So was my sigh of relief. But neither were merited based on the reality. Yes, it is good to take precautions for the unexpected, and trekking through nearly two decades of work/life scenarios in New York City and Los Angeles, I know the value of that.

But I chose this situation to share because the self-made fear we have, of things that have not happened, of the possibility of what could happen was so real to me, that I literally changed the path I was on.

At the least, my 6 train experience serves as a metaphor. Fear will do that to you. It will clothe your reality in thoughts that make you fashion your circumstance into something it simply is not.

And the paradox of this for me is that I had to think for quite a while to remember a real life situation that made me afraid, really afraid. I am deficient in other spiritual areas, but fear is not a street I live on.

But others do. I see it all the time.

My current Bible study about the prophet Elijah’s life confronts fear and anxiety early in the journey. In session three it provided a nifty little side bar prompt with scriptures about fear and anxiety, recommending we reach out and comfort someone we know with one of these scriptures. It was a call to obedience. I name it this because it wasn’t some life-changing revelation for me. It is so basic, but the power of it is in the doing. To just do what I am asked to do. Obey.

So, of the 10 scripture prompts given, I selected three, and connected them to people I know (and love) and am reaching out to each of them.

Just because fear is not an ongoing challenge for me, it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t comfort others… perhaps instead of just trying to find the people who are more like me. Being a follower of Christ is about getting out of your own way to help “the woman at the well.” Or any human, that has the look, that tone, a trepidation about life that has a mental, emotional hold on the ability to take the very next step.

Because fear paralyzes people.

I Need to Share the Power of God’s Voice

I need to be the one to give someone the power of God’s voice who is facing fear. That someone who is riding the 6 train in life and creating a story around that fear:  A health condition, a hot-blooded relationship, maybe a financial fall to new life lows, or an emotional ellipsis of the heart, darkened by fear.

I should look for ongoing ways to help someone who is facing a 1,000-pound problem standing on haunches at 8 ft tall to look bigger. A 1,000 lb problem with a deep, low growl and killer claws that unearths waves of fear, anxiety, and the need to react. The need to turn and run, and run, and run. The need to run away from and sadly toward what is sure to be a fatal end, if left to nature. If left to not accepting the power of Jesus in your life. If left to not knowing that with Jesus you never have to run again.

God knows the human nature He created.

God knows human nature after the fall.

That is why His assurances about victory over self-made fear show up 500 times in the Bible. “Fear not” is the most referenced command in God’s Word.

This command is followed by His divine assurances for our safety, our comfort, our peace … but my heart is wrapped around three verses today cued from the 10 spiritual prompts I received.  Three verses that instill reverence for God in me.  What makes me follow His Son.

I Have a God Who Goes Before Me

Because fear is about making a transition from self to our Creator. Defining where we place our focus and how we lay down our life in reverence to His nature.

Because self-made fear directly contradicts the Word.

2 Timothy 1:7

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

So here are the three verses I am passing along, and, have also tightened my spiritual grip on.

Deuteronomy 31:8

8 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

 

In others words, the Lord goes before me. He sees everything before I do.

Joshua 1:9

9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

 

In other words, the Lord goes with me no matter where I go.

Daniel 10:12

Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.

 

In other words, the Lord hears me and comes to me when I am humble. And it is in humility that I will do great things for His glory.

Why Are You Still So Afraid?

And what is a good example from when Jesus walked the earth? How did He say it?

How about when He calmed the sea…

Mark 4:35-41

35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

 

So what did the disciples do?

First, they felt fear of the circumstance. Then they placed blame… on Jesus for sleeping through it.

Followed by their revelation and reverence for who Jesus was.

Revering God is about turning away from the fears created by man and seeking God’s sovereignty for our lives. We have the power through our free will to turn away from self-made fears. It is ours to do. Because God has not given us the spirit of fear.

If fear of man, of this world and all its challenges is a recurring state of mind, one that has settled in, I remind you, me, us, that we have been given the command throughout His Word, the simple next step from God.

Fear Not, Fear God

Two words. And then, two words.

Fear not. Fear God. Just as He says in the three scriptures I am passing along to people on my path, He goes before you, He walks alongside you, and He hears your humble plea and comes to you. Humility seeds our ability to revere God and the divine power of His nature. Living beyond the grips of earth-laden fears is all about knowing Him.

Simply, to echo the words of his disciples in a fearful circumstance: “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” When our fearful human nature tries to overtake us, we revere the One who is sovereign and in control. All powerful, all-knowing, all-present.

I leave today’s BUOY with an affirmation I started in an early episode:  that I would continually pray Ephesians 1:17 over your life. Second only to your salvation, and in the words of the Apostle Paul, I wish nothing more than I wish this for you, human:

Ephesians 1:17

17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.