Running From Open Arms

Growing up, one of my favorite games to play was shadow tag. Anyone played shadow tag before? It’s like regular tag, except instead of physically tagging the person, you are trying to step on their shadow. Now, this was great for a couple of reasons. First, a bunch of middle school boys playing tag is 100% of the time going to lead to someone getting injured. The line between tagging someone and tackling them is a thin one. So from a safety perspective, shadow tag was much better. But I also liked shadow tag because it got more difficult as the evening went on. We would start, and my shadow would be roughly the same size as me. But what would happen as the sun set? My shadow would grow. It would get bigger and bigger, and as a result, make it much more difficult to run away from people.

Think about your shadow. It’s not you. It’s technically just the absence of light. But on the other hand, it is you. It looks like you. It follows you wherever you go. No matter how hard your try, you can’t run away from it. It’s always there, and seems to just grow bigger and bigger.

What shadow of fear are you running from tonight? We all have one. Running from the fear of not being enough. The fear of disappointing others. The fear of feeling alone. There is some fear in your life that fills you with such terror that you run and you run and you run to try and get away from that fear. But maybe that’s not you. Maybe you are thinking, “Pastor Daniel, I’m not running from anything. I’m running towards things. Goals. Achievements. Dreams for my life!” My question would be, “Why?” Why do you need all those things?” I want you to think about the accomplishment you care most about right now. Maybe it’s making that sports team or getting into that college. Maybe it’s having a happy marriage or raising strong, independent children. Maybe it’s setting yourself up for financial success later on in life. We all have that thing we are running after, and my question is, what would happen if you failed at that thing? And I’m going to guess that thought fills you with - I don’t know, maybe - fear? You see, most people find their value in what they do. This is exactly what we heard in Neil’s testimony, right? He talked about the season of his life where he was distant from God and searching for his identity in his family, his career, all these great things, but things that were being pursued were used to mask a deep seeded fear of, “Who am I apart from my accomplishments in this life?” You see, often, the most accomplished and successful people in this world are driven not by a passion for what they can achieve, but by a deep fear of what might happen if they don’t. We all are running from some shadow that fills us with fear. And like shadow tag, we run and we run and we run and the shadow doesn’t go away. You can’t get away from it. Because the problem isn’t the shadow of your fear. It’s the way your are facing.

Hear these words from Psalm 27. Psalm 27:1

Psalm 27:1 NLT

The Lord is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?

“The Lord is my light and my salvation. Why should I be afraid?” Think about this. What is the only way you can see your shadow? If you are facing away from the light. When does your shadow stretch larger and larger? When the light source is setting further and further away. The problem isn’t the shadow of fear itself. The problem is how we often try to get rid of that shadow by doing. By accomplishing. By, as Neil said, finding your identity in what you do. You spend all your time doing more and more thinking that once you accomplish enough, then…then the shadow will go away. But it won’t. Instead, that shadow of fear will only get bigger, because the more you put your identity in the accomplishments of this world, the more that identity will demand that you accomplish.

This makes me think of Tim Grover, a businessman, motivational speaker, and best known for being the personal trainer of some of the most elite athletes in the world such as Michael Jordan, Dwayne Wade, and the late Kobe Bryant. He writes in his book Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable, “Being relentless means demanding more of yourself than anyone else could ever demand of you, knowing that every time you stop, you can still do more. You must do more.” You can always do more. But not just that. You must do more, because if you don’t, then you are nothing. Do you feel that immense burden of fear?

Jesus is saying today, “Turn around. Turn from that fear of rejection. Turn from that fear of failure. Turn from that fear of not being enough. And turn to the one thing you need - my light.” The Psalmist expresses this in verse 4. He says,

Psalm 27:4 NLT

The one thing I ask of the Lord— the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.

The Psalmist is saying that being in the presence of the Lord - being in His light continually - is the one thing you need most. Why?

Psalm 27:5 NLT

For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock.

Living in the light of Jesus—rooting your identity firmly in Him—drives out all fear. Again and again, Jesus reassures His disciples, and us, saying, “Do not fear.” Why? Because with God, fear has no ground to stand on. If God is truly who He says He is, and you are who He declares you to be, what could possibly shake you? What failure in your life is powerful enough to overturn the unshakable truth spoken over you at the cross—you are chosen, beloved, His child?

Tim Grover said, “Being relentless means demanding more of yourself than anyone else could ever demand of you, knowing that every time you stop, you can still do more. You must do more.” Maybe this is how you have lived your entire life. Jesus is offering you this tonight: “Resting in Christ means Jesus giving more of Himself than you ever could, knowing that every time you fail, His grace is still enough. You don’t have to do more—you are loved by God Himself.”

In a world that says what you do determines who you are, Jesus says who you are - my beloved child - leads to what you do. As we close, I want you to identify that fear. What is that thing that if you fail at that, satan is telling you it means you are a failure. That you are worthless. We are going to enter a posture of prayer, closing our eyes. But if you can think of that fear and are led, I invite you to raise your hand as I pray for freedom from that fear over you now.