Are you struggling with fear in your life? Is there a fear that torments you and keeps you as its captive? Are you faced with fear that you don’t know how to cope with?
If so, I want to tell you that God has a way for you to be free once and for all from the fear that torments you. For God has given you the faith to overcome your fear and live above it forever.
I want to share with you a message from God’s Holy Word that I believe will help you to get rid of your fear and replace it with faith. In Mark 4:36-40 we read:
And when they [disciples] had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?
I want you to picture this scene in your mind. Jesus and His disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was asleep in the bottom of the boat. Suddenly, the wind began to blow and the waves began to rise. As water began flooding the boat, the disciples became fearful. They forgot that Jesus— the Master of wind and waves — was on board with them.
Then someone remembered that He was asleep below. They rushed down and shook Him and Jesus woke up. They said, “Jesus, the wind is whipping the boat, and water is flooding the bow. We’re about to go under! Don’t You even care that we’re about to perish?”
Jesus got up and went to the bow of the boat. He stretched out His hands and said, “Peace, be still.” He hushed the sea to sleep with the authority of His Word. Then He turned to His disciples and said, “[Why are you afraid...] where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25).
My friend, I believe that Jesus is still asking you and me that same question today: “Where is your faith?” Because many times you and I are like the disciples. We allow our faith to be crowded out by fear. We become frightened and alarmed at the storms around us, when all along Jesus is beside us saying, “Your faith will overcome your fear.”
There are four actions you can take to overcome your fear and replace it with faith. I believe that if you will accept them and practice them in your life, you will never be the same again. They will help you use the faith you have to live above fear. The first action you can take is:
There are two kinds of fear. One is a normal, natural kind of fear. It’s a healthy respect for danger. For example, when you walk across the street you look both ways. You have a healthy respect for traffic. Or when you take a child’s hand so he or she won’t dart out in front of a car, you have a natural respect for danger.
Recently, my wife Lindsay and I were holding a crusade in West Virginia. As we left the motel to go to the service, we noticed a small child playing around the edge of an uncovered, empty swimming pool. No one was around and naturally we became fearful for his life. Instinctively, Lindsay quickly ran over, picked up the little boy, and found his mother.
You see, that’s a normal, healthy kind of fear. But there is another fear that isn’t healthy. It’s the kind of fear that torments us in our minds — the fear that tries to control our spirit and emotions. It’s the fear that causes us to lose our faith.
I heard an interesting story about a great thoroughbred racehorse named Gallant Man.
He had won many championship races and was entered in the Kentucky Derby. One night just before the race, his owner had a dream. In it he saw the jockey riding Gallant Man down the home stretch. Suddenly, thinking he’d already crossed the finish line, the jockey stood up in the saddle. As he did, another horse raced past him and Gallant Man lost by a nose.
A few days later in the Kentucky Derby, everything happened just as the owner had dreamed. The jockey, near the end of the stretch, stood in his saddle too early and another horse beat Gallant Man by a nose.
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