Be not afraid

“ For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. ”

It was just a fishing expedition. And it was likely to fail anyway. Simon was tired from fishing all night, had just cleaned his nets of weeds and stones—with not one fish to clean or fry, or to sell. It would be good to take a nap. But the man who was speaking from his boat was a special guest, and he couldn't deny him his request. Okay, okay, let's launch out into deep water.

We have many kinds of fear. Some useful, some debilitating, some that cause total paralysis. Fear can be a useful thing. It's good to fear certain dangers, to have a healthy respect for them. It's good to know that a gun is a lethal weapon and to treat it like it could kill you, because a gun could indeed kill you, if you disregarded its safe handling and use. I've shot a number of police weapons at a firing range: a Beretta 9mm police revolver, a Glock 40 caliber, a carbine rifle, a shotgun, and an M5 machine gun. For each one of these, there is a prescribed manner of holding it, and discharging it only when the downrange area is clear, and you get a command. You even protect your ears with plugs and headgear. No need to be afraid, just very careful.

Likewise we have a native fear of speeding vehicles, snakes in our path, black spiders, big fins in the water, and guys with too many tattoos. These kinds of fear keep you alive by calling to your self-preservation instincts there is a potential danger here. You then raise up your vigilance and beware. That's good fear.

There is even a better fear. When a sudden black cloud descends on the mountain and thunder, lightening and fire strike its slopes with a thousand voices giving commands you had better obey, fear is both natural and good. You should fear the Lord your God. Five times in the Old Testament we are told that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, or words to that effect. Job 28:28; Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7; Proverbs 9:10; Proverbs 15:33 But that fear of God is joined with faith and love toward Him, and we don't run from Him or refuse to join Him out of our fear of His almighty power and knowledge. We show Him He's the boss and we obey Him. That's rather elementary wisdom, for once we know He's God, disobedience is sort of like suicide.

But there is, of course, a more bitter and wicked side to fear. When we fear facing some dreaded task, when we fear going outside and driving to work, when we fear seeing our family or friends, or closing our eyes to sleep, perchance to dream, then our fears have taken a part of our lives away from us. We fear living. Something has rooted itself too deeply in us and made us fearful. God tells us many times not to be full of fears. “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4 “In righteousness you will be established; You will be far from oppression, for you will not fear; And from terror, for it will not come near you.” Isaiah 54:14 “The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.'” Genesis 15:1 The Lord appeared to Jacob… and said, ‘I am the God of your father Abraham; Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you, and multiply your descendants, For the sake of My servant Abraham.'” Genesis 26:24 “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.” Deut. 31:6

There is no doubt we have things to fear in our world. Worldwide terrorism makes a science of causing mass fear, and using that fear to control whole populations. Fear has subdued much of the billion-fold population of the Middle East. Fear rules the 1.3 billion in China. Fear once ruled the Soviet Bloc. Fear empowers the drug lords of Columbia, the warlords of Somalia, the homies of New York's Bowery district, and the gangs of south central L.A. Through fear and terror of what might be done in reprisal, people obey and give homage, fail to protect themselves, and give up to bad guys. Fear like that is slavery. Slavery takes away the options of a human soul. Our options are God's gift to us, to be able to choose Him and His righteousness. It is a great sin to oppress other people, especially to turn them away from God through fear.

That kind of terror has been employed to keep a billion people in line with Islam. I don't mean to say Islam is itself terrorist, but when people fear freedom to consider anything else, to seek confirmation of the claims of Jesus, for instance, an unholy fear rules them and someone has caused that fear. My wife's family moved to America in the early 50s, and enjoyed the blessings of freedom in our land from that time on. But her dad still spoke with fear many years after that against turning away from the Moslem faith they didn't practice because Iran had its own international enforcement squads, even in the Shah's era before the Ayatollah. One friend of theirs was gunned down in his own doorway, in Maryland, USA.

God doesn't rule or proselytize through fear or oppression. That's counterproductive to His desired fruit in mankind. God is seeking faith in us, and that faith has got to have room to grow and respond to His goodness, His kindly Presence that does not force us to grovel, doesn't make us obey. St. Paul wrote Timothy that, “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Tim. 1:7 The archangel Gabriel told the Virgin Mary, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.” Luke 1:30 And the angels cried likewise to the shepherds near Bethlehem.

Terrorism has taken its toll in our lives since 9-11, no doubt. The very thought of men with box cutters and mat knives doing that ever again has us controlled to the point of taking off our shoes and carrying our liquids in 3oz. containers in quart Ziploc bags at the airports, now without thinking about it, or about what it means about our world. We live in a dangerous world. And that danger has controlled us to some extent. Likewise, our newspapers report every day the body count from every car bomb or suicide bomber worldwide. We have been taught to focus on the death of our own troops and disregard, not even get told, the hundreds more of the enemy being killed or surrendering. We are certainly not told of the new freedom in Iraq or Afghanistan. We are not told of the riots in Iran against its government in recent weeks. We are not told that we are winning. Terror, and a political agenda, have given our media a perfect way to control our thinking. Fear is control. God has said we should not fear in that way. “You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day. Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not approach you… For you have made the Lord, my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent… You will tread upon the lion and cobra, The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.” Psalm 91:16

I learned long ago not to fear a bully. A bully is generally the most fearful guy on the street. He must rule through fear because he is afraid himself. Stand up to him and he may brandish weapons, talk big, puff himself up, but you stand and face him—just face him. Bullies can't do anything when we are not afraid. We may have butterflies and chill blains going all over our bodies, be sweating bullets inside, but never let him see you sweat. Just face him. Be ready, but calm. Bullies can't win when we aren't afraid.

Bullies—like certain industries—try to rule us through their power. Bullies, like some political parties, do too. Bullies, like some arms of government, global warming fear-mongers, court judges and justices, law firms, and unions try to strike fear in their opponents and cause us all to cower in terror of their clout. Don't . Just face them. Be ready, be calm. FDR, in his first inaugural address in 1933, told America reeling in a Great Depression, “First of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” That was later quoted with regard to the Axis powers. Our land has withstood giants before, and still stands. But it isn't our nation that protects us. Our money tells us who it is. In God we Trust . We all know the first verse of our national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner . Do you know what the rest of the song says? It was written in the time of a great war with Britain, by Francis Scott Key at Fort McHenry, a lawyer and amateur poet. Some of it goes:

“And where is that band who so vauntingly swore That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion A home and a country should leave us no more? Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave…

“Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand Between their loved homes and the war's desolation, Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n-rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: ‘In God is our Trust' And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

St. Peter, that fisherman in the boat, looked on two fishing vessels sinking under the weight of countless fish and realized the power and holiness in that man sitting there, a man he thought was silly to think of fishing at this hour. He felt the Presence of God, and fear fell on him. This fear, a holy fear of God incarnate, was for him the beginning of wisdom. That wisdom, and his love for Jesus, saw him through the perils ahead until he was crucified upside down in Rome. He wrote: “ But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.” 1 Peter 3:14

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