Get ready to start a journey…a journey through the pages of the Bible and the pages of your life.
Fear has the power to debilitate us, cause us to make unhealthy decisions, erupt within us a volcano of hurtful words, and lead us down a dark path. Fear can come quickly and leave just as expeditiously. Or it can settle in our hearts and threaten to never leave. Fear is often brought on by uncertainty in our lives. It was the fear of uncertainty that changed the course of George’s life.
In the gritty, mean streets of real life who can you trust, the man or woman of character or those who will cut corners to win a temporary victory?
Uncertainty is the only certainty in our lives. We just don’t know what will happen tomorrow. Money markets rise and fall. Health can take a quick turn. Children make decisions that alter their lives…and ours. One phone call can change everything. Uncertainty around us produces fears within us. But…the fear of uncertainty doesn’t wear well on followers of Jesus.
If someone took a magnifying glass to your real life and inspected it thoroughly, what would He find? Integrity in the tiniest places or compromise in the spots we thought were hidden?
Have you read today’s newsfeed? The world has changed since you last scrolled through the news—division in government. Stocks are up and down—medical updates. Sports teams win and lose. Players get traded. A coach resigns, and another gets fired. Evil leaders attempt to expand their kingdoms by taking over another area. The world revolves around a twenty-four-hour cycle of change. What will happen next? No one is certain.
In real life, we rarely take time to look at the character of people, so we settle for their outward appearance.
Many believers are stuck in the past. Past disappointments. Past failures. A past demeaning comment. They have defined themselves by the past. What happened years ago is still influencing who they are today. But the cycle can be and must be broken. Our significance is not, nor has it ever been, in who we were or who we are. It is God alone who gives us significance.
What happens on the day you decide God can’t meet your needs? When you choose to fill that empty space in your real life with someone or something other than Him?
The fear of insignificance must be confronted. Positive self-talk won’t do it. A TED talk on individual value will fall short. Only the truth of God’s Word, impressed by God’s Spirit, can move us to find significance. Through the understanding of God’s Word, we switch the focus from who we are to Whose we are.
In real life, designed by God for purpose and meaning, we’re often confronted with trivial, hollow religion. A dead faith that sucks the marrow from living. How can we avoid its poison and thrive in the spirit of Christ?
“Am I good enough?” “Am I worthy?” “Does my life count?” “Will I be remembered?” All these questions, and many more like them, come from a heart desiring significance. It’s this drive for significance, or the fear of insignificance, that places us on a perilous path. Let’s consider the story of Absalom, who, I believe, struggled with the fear of insignificance.
Saving Private Ryan is an epic World War II war film that follows the search for James Ryan, the last surviving brother of four servicemen. The search is led by an army ranger captain named John Miller. Ryan is located, but on the return journey, Miller is gravely injured. As he dies, he whispers to Ryan, “Don’t waste this.” Ryan carried those words throughout his life. Years later, he broke down when he and his family visited Miller’s grave in Normandy. Through tears, he asked his wife, “Am I a good man?” He wanted his life to be significant, not wasted, for the man who had saved him.
Sin provides my greatest satisfaction apart from God. Sin is fun…for a time (Hebrews 11:25). It meets my fleshly desires. It gives me control. I think thoughts I want to think. I savor emotions that meet my needs. I do the things I want to do. Sin is all about me and all about me wanting to be in control.
God will never disappoint you, but you may be disappointed with God. What’s the difference? Expectations.
What is God calling you to do? A closer walk with him? A new focus on your marriage? More spiritually intentional parenting? A new career? A new area of service? Are you following God’s call? Do you fear that saying “yes” to God will make you say “no” to something or someone else? Are you afraid to surrender? Why?
Sometimes real life crowds our commitment to Christ—threatens to push it into a dark corner that we hope God and others never look into. But, of course, He does—and eventually they do too. What happens then?
Have you surrendered your life to God? Have you waived your rights, transferred control, and submitted to him? Have you said, “You are God, and I am not.”? Have you trusted in Jesus alone as the One who makes surrender life-changing? Have you come to grips with your spiritual need?
Have you raised the gale warning flags over your heart? Determined to signal the anxiety-storm that rages out of sight and out of control?
Kent Chavalier—Chaplain of the Pittsburgh Steelers—talks about dealing with identity and fear, areas where men struggle, how to break through those barriers, and how he was invited to become the Chaplain of the Steelers.
Do you ever make excuses? Excuses like, “The people I work with hold me back.” “I don’t have the skills for the job.” “My parents screwed me up, it’s their fault.” “I don’t have time.” “People expect too much from me.” “God expects too much from me.” When God called Moses to a great assignment, he was full of excuses.