When Fear Finds You

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever had an entire disaster happen in your head that never actually happened in your life?

Your boss says, Hey, can you stop by my office before you leave?

That's it… That's all they said

But somehow, between their office to your desk…

You're being fired

You can't make the mortgage

You're going to have to sell the house

Your kids have to change schools

And you're updating your résumé

Nothing has actually happened

But fear has already written the ending

Or you send somebody a text

You see the three little dots...

Then they disappear

No response

And fear goes to work

They're mad at me

I said something wrong

Something's changed

They don't like me anymore

Twenty minutes later: they respond

Sorry! Got pulled into a meeting

Fear created a reality that wasn't real

And there's actually research behind this

In one study, researchers asked people diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder to record specific worries and then track what actually happened

Here's what they discovered:

91.4% of their worry predictions never came true

Think about that

Their minds were telling them something was going to happen

Their bodies were responding as though it was happening

Their emotions were experiencing the consequences of it happening

But it wasn't happening

And that's one of the most dangerous things about fear:

Fear can make a possibility feel like a reality

Fear is often most convincing when it has the least information

The doctor's office calls:

We'd like you to come back in

Fear fills in the blank

Your teenager is late:

Fear fills in the blank

You notice something feels different in your marriage:

Fear fills in the blank

There's uncertainty about your job:

Fear fills in the blank

Fear apppears in unfinished stories

So when fear doesn't know the ending, it often writes one

And usually...

the worst one

TENSION

But here's the problem (9%)

Sometimes the thing you're afraid of actually happens

Sometimes the doctor's call isn't good

Sometimes the relationship does end

Sometimes you do lose the job

Sometimes the thing you prayed wouldn't happen...

happens.

So Christianity can't simply be:

Stop worrying. Everything is going to be okay.

Because sometimes everything isn't okay

At least not the way we wanted it to be

Our faith has to offer us something stronger than:

The bad thing probably won't happen.

We need to know what to do when we're actually afraid

And that's why I love what David says in Psalm 56:3 “But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.”

He doesn't say:

If I am afraid...(write over scripture with pen)

He says:

When I am afraid

David assumes fear will come

And this is a tension that we must all face:

Fear will find you

The question isn't whether you'll ever experience fear

The question is: Where does fear take you?

Because fear can drive you toward a reality that doesn't exist, or fear can drive you toward a God who does.

TRUTH

This is where the context of Psalm 56 makes the passage even more powerful

The superscription connects the psalm to the time the Philistines seized David in Gath, corresponding to the events around

1 Samuel 21:10–12 “So David escaped from Saul and went to King Achish of Gath. But the officers of Achish were unhappy about his being there. “Isn’t this David, the king of the land?” they asked. “Isn’t he the one the people honor with dances, singing, ‘Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?” David heard these comments and was very afraid of what King Achish of Gath might do to him.”

Think about the situation

David is running from Saul, the king of Israel, who wants him dead

And where does David end up?

Gath

Goliath's hometown

David… the guy who killed Goliath, is now surrounded by Philistines

So when David writes:

When I am afraid…

He isn’t teaching theoretical theology

He isn't telling us what to do if fear ever comes

He's showing us what he did when fear found him.

David is afraid

And I love that Scripture doesn't clean that up

The Bible doesn't give us a superhero David who never experiences fear

It gives us a human David who knows exactly what fear feels like

But then David makes a choice:

Psalm 56:3–4 “But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?”

Notice the progression:

I am afraid → I trust God → I am not afraid

David doesn't deny the fear

He redirects it

This is faith

Faith isn't pretending the diagnosis isn't scary

Faith isn't pretending the marriage isn't struggling

Faith isn't pretending you're not worried about your kid

Faith isn't pretending you know how everything is going to work out

Faith tells the truth about what scares you and then chooses to trust God with it

Fear says… What if

Faith says… Even if

Fear: What if this goes wrong? Faith: Even if it does, God will be with me.

Fear: What if I lose something I love? Faith: Even if I do, God will still be faithful.

Fear: What if the future isn't what I planned? Faith: Even if it isn't, my future is still in God's hands.

APPLICATION

The problem isn't feeling fear

It's following fear

Fear makes a terrible leader

Fear will tell you to run

Fear will tell you to hide

Fear will tell you to control everything

Fear will tell you to assume the worst

Fear will tell you that because you don't know what happens next, God must not be there

And David shows us another option

You can feel fear without following fear

Feeling afraid isn't the same thing as living afraid

David doesn't teach us how to prevent fear from entering our lives

He teaches us what to do when fear arrives

Let fear drive you toward God

Name what you're afraid of

David doesn't hide his circumstances

Throughout the psalm he talks openly about his enemies, opposition, tears, and fear

Faith doesn't require pretending

Remember what God has said

David repeatedly connects his trust to God's Word

Choose where you will place your trust

David says, I put my trust in you

Trust isn't merely something David feels

It's something he chooses