By Pastor Stephen Hess –
On a recent rainy day when we were all stuck in the house, I decided it would be a good afternoon for a movie. So our family watched the Disney/Pixar movie “Monsters Inc,” which my kids had never seen but instantly loved. For those who haven’t seen the movie, it is a clever story based on the concept of small children imagining that there are monsters in their closets. This story is told from the perspective of those imaginary monsters who live in the city of “Monstropolis.” In order to power the city, the monsters must enter the children’s world through their closet doors and scare children so that they scream. These screams are then collected and used to power their city (I know the plot sounds weird and perhaps a bit creepy, but it is actually quite a clever and endearing film).
As I watched this movie with my kids, the somewhat silly idea of monsters in the closet reminded me of a simple but profound truth: Fear comes naturally to all of us. As Christian counselor Ed Welch writes, “Fear is natural to us. We don’t have to learn it. We experience fear and anxiety even before there is any logical reason for them. Children’s fears predate their acquaintance with scary stories.”
Most of us can relate to struggling with fears as young children. As I mentioned in a recent sermon, one of my greatest fears as a small child was the fear of drowning. Many of us assume that as we get older these fears will subside and become extinct in adulthood. In reality, the opposite is true. The older we get, the more fears we tend to accumulate. Granted, we grow out of some of our fears (like monsters in the closet), but these fears are usually replaced with new fears: Fears about finances, fears for our family, fears about death, etc. All of this simply reinforces the point: We don’t have to learn fear; it comes naturally to us.
When we look throughout the Bible, many of the greatest leaders struggled with fear. Moses struggled with fear. When God called him to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt Moses said, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Ex. 3:11). He was afraid that the people wouldn’t listen to him and that he would be helpless against Pharaoh. The LORD responded, “But I will be with you” (Ex. 3:12).
Gideon struggled with fear. When God appeared to Gideon he was hiding in a winepress from the Midianites (Judg. 6:11). In response to God’s call to save Israel from the Midianites Gideon said, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house” (Judg. 6:15). Gideon was afraid that he wouldn’t stand a chance against the Midianites. The LORD responded, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man” (Judg. 6:16).
David struggled with fear. When he was on the run from Saul in the wilderness he continually cried out to God for help. In Psalm 57 he said, “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge, in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by” (Ps. 57:1). David was continually reminded that God was with him, and this gave him comfort. This was why he could say, “I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken” (Ps. 16:8).
I want you to notice a common theme here: Over and over again when God’s people struggle with fear, God reminds them of his presence with them. Fear tells us the lie that we are all alone and that there is no one to help us. But Scripture reminds us that if we know God we are never alone, and it is the knowledge of his presence that calms our fears. As Psalm 46 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear…” (Ps. 46:1-2).
The Bible calls God’s people to be a people of faith rather than fear. How can we do that? That question is precisely what we are exploring in our current sermon series on fear. This series will continue through the month of May, and I encourage you to tune in with us each week on YouTube as we explore what God’s word says about one of our most common struggles.