When Fear seizes you.

My fear of flying.

Fear is an interesting concept, in one sense of the word, it is something that is a natural reaction that we have as human beings, this is that fight or flight reaction. Fear grips us whenever we believe that apart from, or in spite of, our best efforts, something undesirable is going to happen and we can’t stop it no matter what we do. Sometimes fear is irrational, and sometimes it’s rational. But no matter what kind of fear it is, it always affects us.

Fear is a big deal in our personal stories with God. In the Bible, the commandment repeated the most is the commandment to fear not. Someone added these up, and apparently there are 366 “Fear nots” in the Bible. I think it is safe to say that fear is something that affects all of us, and these reminders in scripture are for every single one of us.

All of us have different things that we are fearful of, but where things can cross a line for the Christian is when it comes to being fearful of something happening like maybe seeing a snake, spider, some people have a bird fear, some people are fearful of clowns, mine is mascots, but where it crosses the line for us is when we live so much in our fear that we don’t live life, we refuse to leave our house because we are afraid of seeing a clown, or a mascot.

I cannot let my fear of flying, keep me from going to the nations to spread the Gospel. We cannot let our fears keep us from service to God.

My fear of flying.

Fear is an interesting concept, in one sense of the word, it is something that is a natural reaction that we have as human beings, this is that fight or flight reaction. Fear grips us whenever we believe that apart from, or in spite of, our best efforts, something undesirable is going to happen and we can’t stop it no matter what we do. Sometimes fear is irrational, and sometimes it’s rational. But no matter what kind of fear it is, it always affects us.

Fear is a big deal in our personal stories with God. In the Bible, the commandment repeated the most is the commandment to fear not. Someone added these up, and apparently there are 366 “Fear nots” in the Bible. I think it is safe to say that fear is something that affects all of us, and these reminders in scripture are for every single one of us.

All of us have different things that we are fearful of, but where things can cross a line for the Christian is when it comes to being fearful of something happening like maybe seeing a snake, spider, some people have a bird fear, some people are fearful of clowns, mine is mascots, but where it crosses the line for us is when we live so much in our fear that we don’t live life, we refuse to leave our house because we are afraid of seeing a clown, or a mascot.

And in no way whatsoever am I disrespecting, or disregarding any anxiety at all.

I cannot let my fear of flying, keep me from going to the nations to spread the Gospel. We cannot let our fears keep us from service to God.

Today, I want to tell you about a young boy named David, if you have your Bibles and I hope you do then turn with me to 1 Samuel 17: 2-16.

This philistine named Goliath was around 9 foot tall, his armor weighed over a hundred pounds, he was literally a beast of a man. And everyday for forty days, Goliath would come out and taunt Israel and say come at me guys, if someone can take me then we will serve you, but that isn’t going to happen, but come on and try anyway.

David, who was a youth, he was a messenger boy, a young man who is described here as just a youth, he was a smaller man. And he had heard what this philistine was saying to God’s people, and he said enough is enough, He said the Lord has delivered me from a bear, david was able to slay a bear, not only that, but also able to slay a lion. David said this day that the Lord has been faithful and had delivered him from the lion and bear, and that He would deliver him from the sword of Goliath, that with The Lord, David will win.

So what happens? David goes down and stands toe to toe with this behemoth of a man, as Goliath begins to draw his sword on him, David reaches down, picks up a sling and a stone, hurls that rock at Goliath, it hits him right in the head, and Goliath goes down.

What this story is not about.

Many think David’s defeat of Goliath is a story of personal courage in the face of overwhelming odds. They see David as the archetypal underdog, an Old Testament Rocky Balboa, standing up to an arrogant, powerful jerk that is Goliath. They see him as a self-confident, independent young man who was brave enough to fight for what was right and rely on his own strength and skills, rather than conform to cowardice of his allies.

The popular moral of the story is this: Get out there and face down your giant because the heroically courageous come out on top.

But that is not at all what this story is about. It’s true that David was courageous, and courage is an essential, glorious virtue. But when he faced Goliath, David’s courage was not his own. It was being empowered by something else.

Before looking at where David’s courage came from, we need to ask why Saul and his soldiers lacked it, at least at this moment. On the surface, the answer seems manifestly obvious. The Philistine champion was about nine-feet tall and incredibly strong (1 Samuel 17:4–7). He was a highly trained, experienced massacre machine who had sent many opponents to meet their Maker (1 Samuel 17:33). Physically, every man in the Hebrew camp was outclassed. Fighting Goliath looked like the end for them, plain and simple.

But it is not so plain and simple. First of all, because fighting Goliath didn’t look like the end to David, who was as physically outclassed as anyone else. But also, because these men believed in God and knew Israel’s history. They knew the stories, how God had overcome one giant adversary after another. Many of them had personally seen God do amazing things, and definitely have heard of God’s faithfulness from the beginning of their nation.

No, the men lacked courage to face Goliath because at this moment the men lacked faith. At this moment, for whatever reason, despite all the stories and past experiences, Goliath looked bigger than God. Each man believed that if he went out against this humungous human, he would be on his own and end up as bird food (1 Samuel 17:44).

David’s Deep Confidence in God

So what made David different? It was not because he had the self-generated, raw, cool courage of the American action-movie hero. What fueled David’s courage was his confidence in God’s promises and God’s power to fulfill them.

You see, we face many situations, many times in which we are going to be fearful. But one thing we need to understand, we don’t have the strength on our own to face down these giants. Our strength, our courage, our hope, everything we are comes from God. David was not self-confident, he was God-confident.

Don’t live a fearful life letting it paralyze you to the point that it becomes a standard of your life, did you see how long the Israelites allowed this fear to take them? 40 days! This is when fear becomes a life standard, find your strength, your hope, your courage in God, He is the one that is doing the fighting, He is David in this story.

When fear begins to creep in and all the “what-if” situations begin to consume your mind, here are are a few things to remember:

1. God’s truth. Is what I’m thinking about really happening? Or is it just my imagination running wild? Paul reminds us to dwell on what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8).

2. God’s presence. We can be comforted remembering that we are not alone. God is with us. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).

3. God’s grace. God promises to provide us with his all-sufficient grace for every trial that comes our way. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness,” Jesus told Paul. And therefore, with Paul, we can “boast all the more gladly of [our] weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon [us]” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

4. God’s sovereignty. God is in control over every situation in our lives. “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’” (Daniel 4:35).

5. God’s listening ear. Pour out your heart to God in prayer. “I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry” (Psalm 40:1).

6. God’s trustworthiness. “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?” (Psalm 56:3–4).

I cannot let my fear of flying, keep me from going to the nations to spread the Gospel. We cannot let our fears keep us from service to God.

Today, I want to tell you about a young boy named David, if you have your Bibles and I hope you do then turn with me to .

This philistine named Goliath was around 9 foot tall, his armor weighed over a hundred pounds, he was literally a beast of a man. And everyday for forty days, Goliath would come out and taunt Israel and say come at me guys, if someone can take me then we will serve you, but that isn’t going to happen, but come on and try anyway.

David, who was a youth, he was a messenger boy, a young man who is described here as just a youth, he was a smaller man. And he had heard what this philistine was saying to God’s people, and he said enough is enough, He said the Lord has delivered me from a bear, david was able to slay a bear, not only that, but also able to slay a lion. David said this day that the Lord has been faithful and had delivered him from the lion and bear, and that He would deliver him from the sword of Goliath, that with The Lord, David will win.

So what happens? David goes down and stands toe to toe with this behemoth of a man, as Goliath begins to draw his sword on him, David reaches down, picks up a sling and a stone, hurls that rock at Goliath, it hits him right in the head, and Goliath goes down.

What this story is not about.

Many think David’s defeat of Goliath is a story of personal courage in the face of overwhelming odds. They see David as the archetypal underdog, an Old Testament Rocky Balboa, standing up to an arrogant, powerful jerk that is Goliath. They see him as a self-confident, independent young man who was brave enough to fight for what was right and rely on his own strength and skills, rather than conform to cowardice of his allies.

The popular moral of the story is this: Get out there and face down your giant because the heroically courageous come out on top.

But that is not at all what this story is about. It’s true that David was courageous, and courage is an essential, glorious virtue. But when he faced Goliath, David’s courage was not his own. It was being empowered by something else.

Before looking at where David’s courage came from, we need to ask why Saul and his soldiers lacked it, at least at this moment. On the surface, the answer seems manifestly obvious. The Philistine champion was about nine-feet tall and incredibly strong (). He was a highly trained, experienced massacre machine who had sent many opponents to meet their Maker (). Physically, every man in the Hebrew camp was outclassed. Fighting Goliath looked like the end for them, plain and simple.

But it is not so plain and simple. First of all, because fighting Goliath didn’t look like the end to David, who was as physically outclassed as anyone else. But also, because these men believed in God and knew Israel’s history. They knew the stories, how God had overcome one giant adversary after another. Many of them had personally seen God do amazing things, and definitely have heard of God’s faithfulness from the beginning of their nation.

No, the men lacked courage to face Goliath because at this moment the men lacked faith. At this moment, for whatever reason, despite all the stories and past experiences, Goliath looked bigger than God. Each man believed that if he went out against this humungous human, he would be on his own and end up as bird food ().

David’s Deep Confidence in God

So what made David different? It was not because he had the self-generated, raw, cool courage of the American action-movie hero. What fueled David’s courage was his confidence in God’s promises and God’s power to fulfill them.

You see, we face many situations, many times in which we are going to be fearful. But one thing we need to understand, we don’t have the strength on our own to face down these giants. Our strength, our courage, our hope, everything we are comes from God. David was not self-confident, he was God-confident.

Don’t live a fearful life letting it paralyze you to the point that it becomes a standard of your life, did you see how long the Israelites allowed this fear to take them? 40 days! This is when fear becomes a life standard, find your strength, your hope, your courage in God, He is the one that is doing the fighting, He is David in this story.

When fear begins to creep in and all the “what-if” situations begin to consume your mind, here are are a few things to remember:

1. God’s truth. Is what I’m thinking about really happening? Or is it just my imagination running wild? Paul reminds us to dwell on what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, praiseworthy ().

2. God’s presence. We can be comforted remembering that we are not alone. God is with us. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” ().

3. God’s grace. God promises to provide us with his all-sufficient grace for every trial that comes our way. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness,” Jesus told Paul. And therefore, with Paul, we can “boast all the more gladly of [our] weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon [us]” ().

4. God’s sovereignty. God is in control over every situation in our lives. “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’” ().

5. God’s listening ear. Pour out your heart to God in prayer. “I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry” ().

6. God’s trustworthiness. “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?” ().