Paralyzed By Fear

It seems that America has been overcome with fear. We are afraid of terrorism, afraid of economic crisis, afraid of getting sick, afraid of rejection, afraid of global warming, afraid of winter in Indiana, afraid of losing our jobs and afraid of just about anything else that 60 minutes tells us to be afraid of. It seems that the only thing that we are not worried about is eternity. The Super Bowl is scheduled to be held in Indianapolis in February of 2012. I can guarantee you that if it were to snow 24” the day of the Super Bowl that we would still have it. The stadium would still be packed. The Super Bowl parties would still take place, and the game would have no eternal significance whatsoever! Why? Because having tickets to the Super Bowl and not being able go would be one of our greatest fears. We would arrive hours ahead of time even though we already had an assigned seat. Why? There might be traffic, we might have a flat, it might be hard finding a place to park, etc.

Why is everybody so afraid, and why are we afraid of all of the wrong things? I’m certainly not afraid about any of the above. Are you? People tend to fear what they cannot control. Unfortunately, they do not concern themselves nearly enough with what they can control. Our eternal destiny and our relationship with Jesus fall into the category of what we can control. If we were to concern ourselves with these two things then there would be no need to fear what is beyond our control. Being secure in our relationship with Christ causes all of our insecurities to disappear. Why? Because while a great deal is beyond our control; nothing is beyond His! Satan is the source of my fears. Jesus is the source of my strength. The decision that I have to make everyday is who I am going to hang out with: Satan and my fears, or Jesus and His strength. I choose Jesus! His perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18). I have my ticket to heaven, my seat is already chosen, I’ll let Him decide how and when I get there. In the meantime I’m going to enjoy the journey!