Into the Fire

Death, paralysis, maiming, rape, bankruptcy, failure, madness, disease . . . choose your “favorite”.

The ways and means of fear need to be prefaced with “Fear is not of God.” Fear is a powerful weapon wielded mightily by a crafty, insightful enemy who easily recognizes what drives us into fear and away from security and trust and the perfect love able to cast out or dispense with fear. What frightens one person might not blip the radar screen of another. But oh how real fear is.

A long time ago I rented a little cabin with a tiny kitchen, a sleeping area, and a bathroom comprised of a toilet, sink, and shower, no bigger than the size of a quarter bath—small anyway. It had one single pane push up window with a mangled screen in the corner of the sleeping area and another one in the front corner of the kitchen with a curtained small window in the only door. Some strange things began happening not too long after I moved into it. The cabin was surrounded by tall trees, very rural, and the landlord’s house was through the woods and not visible from the cabin. However, I’m sure with the music of the day being what it was pumped through the speaker system of the stereo on loan to me, the landlord could hear Santana, Credence Clearwater Revival, and the Rolling Stones or Beatles just like it was playing in his front room. Not to mention there was a fairly steady stream of visitors who often brought beverages which, when consumed, had a tendency to drive the music to its loudest.

Making a long story short, after several days of coming home from the track to weird placements of certain items outside the cabin, I was in bed one night when I woke up to hear the rear window screen moving and scratching. Fear was instantaneous. I slipped out of bed, careful not to make a sound, fearing my heartbeat would wake the dead. As I walked to the end of the twin bed, I heard loud tromping footsteps outside walking the short length of the cabin back to front and jumping up on the two-step to the door. The next sound was a sharp whack on the window which my extremely fearful imagination immediately translated as belonging to something metal, a “hook” (as in Captain Hook) being my first impression. Air was too loud to breathe. The heart was threatening to bounce out of my chest, and I wasn’t sure whether or not whatever it was that had stepped up to the window had stepped down. As quietly as I could, I got my keys out of my purse. I can’t remember if I took my purse, but I waited for as long as I could before determining to run for my car and get away from there, hoping I could make it and determined not to remain in the cabin. I was terrified.

Finally I unlatched the door, each move as deliberate to quench noise as was humanly possible. When I had it unlocked, I threw it open and ran in my pajamas for my car which was about 10 feet from the door, started it up, and skid out of there like in a movie. I saw no one.

Fear paralyzed my vocal chords. No sound was available. I was “scared to death” or so it seemed to me at the time. We never found out for sure who it was, but my future first husband figured it was the landlord trying to scare me out of the place because of the noise and activity which he apparently didn’t want to confront directly.

The point being is that certain fear is crippling. Whatever kind of fear comes upon us, it can be utterly disabling. Suddenly we forget that the greater power of God is available to us, although in my described experience, I had yet to know Jesus personally. Still, even knowing Jesus and being fully aware of God’s power, it is so easy for us to find fear staring us down with a simple unrecognizable noise when we’re home alone, seeing someone watching us as we’re headed out to the parking lot at a mall, fixing a flat tire when a carload of guys slows down to assess how much trouble it might be to overtake us, passing someone actually packing heat as you head down some stairs when the elevator is out of service, seeing or hearing something supernatural which is not from God, or realizing if the finances don’t make a quick turnaround, the house you’ve worked so hard to own will be repossessed. Whatever strikes fear into your heart, at that moment it’s bigger than life itself because in some way the fear is threatening that life as you know it.

Some fear is manageable, stimulating even. Adrenaline rushes. Thrills follow. While horror flicks repulse some, others enjoy them. Perhaps because they like the feelings tension produces knowing it’s just a movie. Or a book. It can’t hurt them. It can’t control them.

Aren’t those the objectives of fear? Feeling unprotected. Out of control. No one to trust for rescue. The onset of things leading to . . . death or any of the rest of it. Nothing the Lord would wish upon us. While He can use fear just as He can use whatever He chooses, it would be to produce dependence upon Him, not a living horror for the days of our lives. He is good. He is Love. His Word tells us His perfect Love overcomes fear. His kind of fear is the reverence and recognition of just how really big He is compared to EVERYTHING, including our enemy who lies to us and uses fear to control us.

If fear has become a controlling issue in your life, find those friends, people of faith who you trust to pray with you and for you. Tell them your struggles with it. Let them continue to seek God for your deliverance. Fear is not of God. He desires us to be free in Him. The bondage of fear is tough to break, but Jesus came to set the captives free. The spirit of fear must bow to the One who holds it in grave fear. The Name of Jesus drives home the evil ones’ eternal destination. Don’t give up. One day you’ll be free and can minister to others who’ve been bound up in fear.

Father, I would ask you to bring anyone to this blog today who might need to read this post. When sin entered our world, fear came rushing in to accompany it. Lord, you see all things, know all things. You never slumber or sleep. You are our strong tower, our refuge in times of storm or trouble. You have our eternity locked up once we decide to follow Jesus. Thank you for your great provision on earth and into eternity. Thank you for being trustworthy. Thank you for the power of your Blood and the Authority of your Name. Thank you for never ending love and the available freedom from heart-rending fear. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.