Feature

What Are You Afraid of?

By Dennis Rainey

What Are You Afraid of? Do you have a bogeyman in your life? You know, someone or something that causes you to be downright fearful? While growing up, I knew there was a bogeyman that lived in our basement. He was the most frightening creature that ever lived, and he lurked in our black hole of a basement.

I must admit I never saw the bogeyman. But my big brother told me about the grim, grisly beast that ate little kids. Unfortunately, I believed my brother. I was convinced the bogeyman was alive. He lived downstairs in the room that kept the coal for our furnace, a concrete dungeon that was hideously and despicably dark. When Mom asked me to get hamburger from the freezer, I made the round trip at nearly the speed of light.

A bogeyman can be intimidating and disabling, even downright terrifying to a young person who doesn't know how to deal with something he can't see. And although I now know the truth about the bogeyman, I find my adult patterns of dealing with my fears are not unlike how I handled him as a youngster. Fear can cause me to avoid the risk, fight mystical battles in my mind against enemies who don't exist or flee in sheer terror.

I'll never forget a 6-week period several years ago when I thought I had cancer. I was absolutely overwhelmed with doubts, anxieties and fear. I was no super-spiritual Christian during that time—my lack of mature faith reduced me to a flimsy, gelatinous mass of quivering humanity! I feared the possibility of death.

But I'm learning that fear can be good. Like the pain from touching a hot skillet, fear tells me something is wrong. Fear can be the emotional pain that warns me I am no longer walking by faith. Fear and faith cannot co-exist in the human heart.

What Does Fear Do to You?

What fuels your fears? What are you afraid of? What ignites worry in your life? What do you dread? What overwhelms you?

Fear does funny things to us as adults. It can cause a grown adult to sleep with a light on. Fear has caused people to build fortresses, stockpile food and bury money. Some habitually procrastinate because they fear making a wrong decision. We scrap great ideas because we fear failure. We may grip the railing (I do) at the top of a skyscraper. We even have adults who are afraid of being alone and others who are afraid of crowds.

The way we handle fear reminds me of the Ancient Mariner in Coleridge's poem:

Like one, that on a lonesome road
Doth walk in fear and dread
And having once turned round walks on
And turns no more his head;
Because he knows, a frightful fiend
Doth close behind him tread.

Sometimes we can't handle "frightful fiends" so we deny their presence—or we run—and sometimes, we run fast! Like the man who was caught stealing watermelons out of a farmer's garden—the farmer had fired a gun at him, and later his friends asked, "Did you hear those bullets?"

He responded, "Sure did. Heard 'em twice—once when they passed me, and then again when I passed them!"

One of the most difficult types of fear to deal with is suspense. Suspense is the time between when a problem arises and when clarity occurs. Like the time between finding a lump at the doctor's office, having it removed and getting the biopsy report. Suspense, a lack of closure, can be tough to handle.

But don't feel alone—the Old Testament is full of stories about how men and women have dealt with their own bogeymen. Elijah was no sissy, but he was scared into a cave by a bogeywoman, Jezebel. The children of Israel saw a bogeyman when they entered the land—they saw giants through eyes clouded with unbelief and so became grasshoppers in their own eyes. Fear works like a magnifying glass, making things bigger than they really are. In the process of being consumed with a problem they forgot God's promise—He would give them the Promised Land. David had his own bogeyman: Goliath. He conquered him with faith in the God who brought victory.

What Are You Afraid Of?

The Dental Health Advisor recently published its findings from a survey of our most common fears. Public speaking (27 percent) was number one, followed closely by going to the dentist (21 percent), heights (20 percent), mice (12 percent) and flying (9 percent). The one I identify with most is the fear of heights—my legs turn to butter.

What about you? What are the bogeymen in your life? What are your fears? Are you afraid of being known, dying, snakes, spiders, closed-in places, risk, change, rejection, submitting to your husband, losing control, letting go of your children, growing old or trying again in a relationship that has a history of rejection and disappointment? Or are you fearful of giving your life totally and irrevocably to Jesus Christ?

Since it's clear we all have fears, let's conclude by taking a look at how to deal with them.

How to Slay the Bogeyman

Fear is assassinated by faith in a great God. "Fear not" appears 365 times in the Bible. Like a daily vitamin, God has provided just what we need in the Scripture to conquer daily dreads. Faith in Jesus Christ and the promises of His Word will cause fear to flee. Instead of being terrorized, paralyzed and hypnotized by our fears, faith galvanizes our character with courage. Why not commit one or more of these verses to memory?

• I sought the Lord, and He answered me; he delivered me from all my fears (Psalm 34:4. NIV).

• “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him; for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said (2 Chronicles 32:7,8, NIV).

• Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee (Isaiah 26:3, KJV).
Know that God rules as Sovereign and He is with you. If He isn't absolutely in charge then there are plenty of reasons to be afraid. But He is in charge. "Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9, NIV).
Realize the author of fear is Satan. Maybe you don't believe in the devil, but Jesus did. He spoke of him frequently. In Genesis 3 we find that the deceit of sin gave birth to fear. From the beginning of time the devil has used fear as his quicksand to sink Christians. Don't submit to his ploy.
Focus on the truth. Focus on what God has revealed to us in His Word. The reality of truth is often the best attack against the mirage of fear.
Don't feed your fears—starve them. Then, give your faith a feast on the love of God.

Years ago, after watching a terrifying movie, I decided that it was not smart for me to pour fear in when God was in the process of casting fear out. We know "God is love... perfect love drives out fear" (1 John 4:16,18, NIV). Starve the bogeyman and feed your faith.