Heartland Community Church

LOST…and Afraid
By Roger Pryor, Heartland Community Church

I’m sure we all have our stories about an airplane flight that didn’t meet our expectations—that boosted the fear factor in us. Turbulence, air pockets, sharp turns, fast stops, gate agents who announce, "due to mechanical malfunctions, the plane will be delayed" or flight attendants who say, "I need someone to move to the back of the plane to balance the load." No wonder they put so many bars and life insurance kiosks in airports.

If you’ve seen the TV drama "Lost," one of the overriding themes is fear. The 48 survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 face enormous fears, such as the fear of survival, never being rescued, wild animals, sickness, death, the unknown, and other people on the island. These fears make for an incredible thriller for TV viewers.

We all wrestle with fear. It’s universal. What is your greatest fear? What fear is eating your lunch? Is it your health, debt, a relationship, your job? One man said this about fear. "All of us are born with a set of instinctive fears—of falling, of the dark, of lobsters, of falling on lobsters in the dark, of speaking before a Rotary Club, and of the words "some assembly required."

Now not all fear is bad. Good fear helps us survive. It teaches us to respect healthy boundaries. It alerts us to real dangers. It keeps us from touching hot stoves or from crossing the street without looking. Yet bad fear paralyzes us. It’s a chronic sense of anxiety that distorts reality.

Just so we’re clear on the distinction between good and bad fear—take this little fear quiz with me:

The fear that keeps kids from playing in the intersection of Veteran’s Parkway and College Avenue—good or bad fear? [Good fear]
The fear that keeps you from interviewing for your dream job—good or bad fear? [Bad fear]
The fear that keeps your mouth from expressing your deep down feelings to the policeman who just pulled you over on Raab Road for speeding—good or bad fear? [Good fear]
The fear that keeps a man from dressing in bold, plaid colors to express his true personality because of what his wife might say—good or bad fear? You can wrestle with that one.

Yes, there is good type of fear. But for the most part, the Bible addresses fear as a bad thing. That’s why the number one command in the entire Bible is "fear not" or "don’t be afraid." This is the most frequent instruction God gives to the human race. Why? Because fear threatens to keep people from trusting and obeying God. Let me explain.

There are two types of mindsets we can live by—two lenses to view life through. One mindset is based on faith. You trust God’s character, presence and power to get you through life. You’re confident that God has your back. Or you can live in a mindset of fear where you are on your own; you control your destiny; you call the shots to get the outcomes you want. The reason bad fear is so big in "Lost" is because there is little faith in God going on.

Here’s the deal. We think our bad circumstances produce bad fear, but actually it’s our mindset or perspective toward our circumstances that produces bad fear. How is it that someone freaks out in fear over some medical test results and another with the exact same results deals with it calmly? How is it that one person melts down in fear over a job evaluation and another faces it with a settled confidence? One sees it through the eyes of fear; the other through the eyes of faith. You see. It’s our mindset or perspective toward our problems and circumstances that will determine if we become fearful or faithful.

"Lost" is a character study on conflicting perspectives. Everyone is on the same island with identical circumstances and challenges. Some passengers sit nervously on the beach, afraid to enter the jungle. Some are so paralyzed by fear that they make foolish mistakes. Others have given up hope. Yet, some consider the island the ultimate adventure theme park. A few live in faith. Most live in fear. What’s the difference? It’s perspective. Perspective is everything. It’s your choice whether you will live life with the mindset of faith or the mindset of fear.

Bad fear comes with a huge price tag, doesn’t it? That’s why God commanded, "Fear not" more than any other command in the Bible. Fear will keep you from living a risky, adventuresome, obedient life with God. Fear will keep you isolated on your own island indefinitely. Fear will keep you from trusting and obeying God. It’s only when we can’t afford the price tag of fear that we even consider looking at the option of faith.

Here are four costs of living in bad fear. 1. Bad fear erodes self-worth. After Adam and Eve sinned against God, they experienced fear for the first time. Genesis 3:10 says, "Adam replied, "I heard you (God), so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked." When you come up against a difficult, fear-producing situation do you face it head on and take action, or do you run and hide from it?

Every time you swing for the fences, something grows inside you. You become stronger; your confidence grows, and a rush of satisfaction builds because you took a God-step of faith. But if you live in fear and avoidance, you will experience the erosion of self-worth.

2. Bad fear paralyzes potential. Fear limits our effectiveness. It causes us to miss opportunities. It extinguishes our fire and passion. It pushes us into stagnation instead of personal growth. Just after Jesus’ crucifixion, his closest followers caved into fear. John 20:19 says, "That evening, on the first day of the week, the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Were the doors locked from the inside or outside? The inside. That’s exactly what fear does; it’s a self-imposed prison that paralyzes our potential.

3. Bad fear hinders happiness. Fear will cost us our joy. We all know the feeling of chronic low-grade anxiety. It robs us of happiness and causes us to lose perspective. Psalm 55:5 says, "Fear and trembling overwhelm me. I can't stop shaking." Have you ever seen a fearful, joyful person? Those qualities don’t co-exist. Fear is too high a price to pay.

4. Bad fear gives rise to regret. Imagine all the risks you never took, the challenges you never embraced? Imagine all the times God encouraged you to step up to the plate and trust him, and you said no. How would your life have turned out if you had said yes? What might have been? Sadly, if bad fear rules you, you’ll find yourself sitting in the waiting room, waiting to live.

As you can see, the price tag on bad fear is huge. It keeps you from trusting and obeying God. It keeps you lost and marooned on an island with no hope of rescue. So what is the antidote to bad fear?

It’s interesting how God often times attaches an antidote to his command to "fear not". The most common antidote God gives for bad fear is His promise to be with you and me—to acknowledge His presence. For example, God says in Joshua 1:9, "I command you--be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

King David writes in Psalm 23:4, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. God says in Isaiah 41:10, "Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand." And in Jeremiah 46:28, "Fear not, Jacob, my servant," says the LORD, "for I am with you."

In the first season of "Lost," a common bad-fear-producing phrase you hear is "we’re not alone." There are others on the island. Their supposed presence produced a bad kind of fear among the survivors. But God’s presence produces the opposite in us. God says, "You’re not alone in your troubles and challenges. I’m with you. I’ll walk alongside you. You’re not alone on some deserted island of bad circumstances. Fear not. I am with you."

Back in the mid-80s, a movie was produced called "The Bear." It’s a documentary about a little bear cub whose mom dies in an accident but is adopted by a big daddy Kodiak bear who teaches the cub how to survive in the wild. One day they get separated from each other.

There’s a mountain lion that has been tracking this cub since his mother died. The lion is ready to pounce on the cub and have him for dinner, when the little cub does what big daddy bear had taught him. He rises up on his hind legs and roars—actually it was more like a squeak. Immediately, the lion turns and runs away in fear, much to the cub’s surprise. What the cub doesn’t realize is that big daddy bear is behind him on his hind legs with his paws up. The cub missed the fact that he was never alone. Though he didn’t see, hear, touch, or smell his daddy, his father was with him all the time. He was never out of the safe presence of his father.

In the same way, God challenges us not to fear or be afraid because He is present with us—right behind/beside us. God is saying, "There is nothing you and I can’t handle together. Whatever you’re going through, there’s no power on earth that can separate you from my loving care and protection. Live in the reality of My presence. Practice My presence. I will never let you go."

Now if that is true, there’s nothing—not loss, not failure, not loneliness, not bankruptcy, not divorce, not cancer, not sickness, not death itself—nothing that has the power to separate you from the love and care of our Heavenly Father in this world and the world to come.

Author Susan Jeffers says, "The ultimate fear—underneath all of our other fears of loneliness or rejection or failure or so on—the ultimate fear is, ‘I can’t handle it. Something really bad is going to happen to me, and I won’t be able to handle it." That’s the ultimate fear.

The ultimate promise from God is, "There’s nothing you and I can’t handle together." One of the great "I can handle it" statements in all of literature was written by the Apostle Paul. Imagine his situation. He had lost his job, his reputation had been trashed, and he had been falsely arrested. He was physically beaten and put in jail, awaiting possible execution.

He had every reason to fear, but instead he said in Philippians 4:13, "For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need." Can you imagine what life would be like for you and me if we could wake up each morning facing all the good and bad things of the day, breathing in and out one thought. "I can handle everything through Christ who gives me strength." Because of His presence and help, God will give you the perspective you need to live a life of faith. There’s nothing to fear. He will never let go of you.

Do you want God’s presence and help? Do you want His perspective on life? You must be rightly related to Him. If you’re not a Christ follower, the Bible explains how you can be. Romans 3:25 says, "For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God's anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us."

Remember this promise Psalm 27:1–3 makes, "The LORD is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid? The LORD protects me from danger—so why should I tremble? When evil people come to destroy me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will know no fear. Even if they attack me, I remain confident."