Have you ever felt defeated by fear and anxiety, unable to find the strength to take the next step?  I think when you look at the disciples of Jesus who in Luke chapter 24 were gathered together after his crucifixion, you see a group of people who were paralyzed by their fear and doubt concerning their future.  Their individual and collective expectations of the coming Messianic Kingdom had been dashed on the cross and with the Messiah’s body lying in a tomb they simply did not know what to do next.  Even the reports of the empty tomb from Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Mary the mother of James seemed only to compound their confusion and anxiety.  In response to their fear, Jesus gave them the gift of his physical presence, reminded them of the testimony of the scriptures and he demonstrated his power over death which is the ultimate display of strength and power.  I believe Jesus gives us these same gifts to confront fear and uncertainty as I’ve written in the last three installments of Do Not Fear. 

However, I’ve saved the best gift for last.  As Jesus was saying his earthly “good-byes” to his disciples, he repeated a promise he had made many times before.  There was a helper coming that would give them (and us) the strength needed to keep the faith in times of trial and persecution.

“And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49

Jesus had been preparing his disciples for his death and his return to heaven for months prior to his crucifixion in order that they would know what to expect and so they would respond to the events of his death, resurrection and ascension with faith and not with fear.

“And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.”  John 14:29

It is in this same chapter in John where Jesus promises that God would send his Spirit fully to strengthen his disciples.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:15-17

I know we gain strength from God’s Spirit because the apostle Peter encourages us to use our gifts with the strength that God supplies and the apostle Paul identifies the source of that strength.

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” I Peter 4:10-11

“You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:9-11

As Christians, we enjoy the same promise of God’s Spirit as those disciples who were are gathered together in their fear and doubt.  Just as they were strengthened for their walk of faith by God’s Spirit, we are also given strength for our walk of faith.  The key to receiving his strength against fear comes from understanding how God empowers us through his Spirit to defeat fear and anxiety in our lives.

I believe most of the fear in our lives comes from apprehension about what the future holds.  I am not afraid of the past which is set in stone and cannot harm me in the present.  Most often my fear comes from not knowing what the future holds and further from obsessing over all the many possible negative things that could happen as my imagination runs wild thinking of all the various ways things could go wrong.  This pattern of thinking is very unhealthy and totally unproductive since we have no control over the events of the future.  God gives us the gift of perspective by assuring us of our eventual place with him in heaven, but while here on earth, we have no assurance that things will not go wrong in the future.  The way for us to defeat fear in our lives is by focusing on using the strength that God supplies to deal with the troubles of the present and wait upon the Lord to help us deal with whatever troubles the future may bring.  I believe God promises to give us the strength to deal with today’s troubles.  However, he does not promise to give us the strength to deal with all the various imagined challenges of the future.  We live in the present – only God lives in the future.  We can defeat fear through the Spirit by living in the present and dealing with the challenges of the present.

Jesus expresses this idea in Matthew 6:25-34

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

How can you defeat fear and uncertainty in your life?  Only through the strength that God supplies!  Rest in the assurance that God through his Spirit will supply you with the strength you need for this day. 

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God,
   the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
   his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
   and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
   and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
   they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
   they shall walk and not faint.
                                Isaiah 40:28-31

Until next week,

Meet me at the intersection!

Last week, we focused on how Jesus helped John and his disciples conquer fear and doubt by demonstrating his divine power.  In the process of blessing John, he blessed us by reminding us to be inspired to confidence by observing God’s power in the miracles and in nature.  I believe Jesus knew we would need constant reassurance from multiple sources that that we can defeat fear in our lives and not be held hostage to the debilitating effects of fear and doubt.  That’s why Jesus equipped us with powerful tools to go on the offensive against fear and uncertainty.  In case we are tempted to think we are alone with our periodic doubts, Luke fills the final chapter of his gospel with examples of Jesus ministering to disciples who struggled with doubts even in the presence of his empty tomb right before their eyes.

The first example involves two men traveling from Jerusalem to Emmaus as recorded in Luke 24:13-27.  They are identified as two disciples that had been with the larger group including the eleven apostles waiting together on that Sunday morning following the crucifixion.

That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.  And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”

Why the doubts?  Why are they running from Jerusalem?  Don’t they remember Jesus telling them about his death?  The tomb is empty.  Peter double-checked.  He is alive!  Why don’t they believe?  Perhaps these two men thought they had enough and it was time to get back to normal life.  Perhaps in their doubt and fear, they just couldn’t grasp the reality of this supernatural event.  It’s hard to blame them.  Dead messiahs were not all that uncommon in the first century.  Only one dead messiah walked out of his tomb.

We need to be careful judging these disciples.  If your expectations of an earthly kingdom of power had just collapsed in ashes, might you have some doubts?  Remember they didn’t yet understand the true nature of the kingdom.  They didn’t yet have the full measure of the Spirit to open their eyes and hearts.  Instead of focusing on the doubters, let’s pay attention to how Jesus responds to their doubt with a gift of love and compassion.

The surprise here isn’t how these two disciples responded.  With all the mind-blowing events of that weekend, I might run away too.  Have you ever been on a path that seemed to be leading in completely the wrong direction or perhaps no direction at all?  Have you ever felt like you were wandering without direction and with no open doors in sight and you just felt like God suddenly dropped you off blindfolded in a strange part of town to find your own way home?  These disciples are seeking guidance and assurance of their direction.   What is important is how God responds to these disciples through Jesus. 

And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!  Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”  And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Notice how Jesus responds to their doubts with a gift of love, compassion and affirmation.  He does give them a little slap on the wrist, but then he proceeds to patiently teach them from God’s Word.  He showed them how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together and point to no one but Jesus.  He showed them how the love and grace God was bestowed on an undeserving world.  He gives them a gift they already possessed.  He gives the assuring gift of the Word.

When we struggle with doubt, we should meditate on the word of God.  The miraculous Bible is a seamless work of multiple authors over 1500 years telling the same story of redemption.  There are hundreds of prophesies pointing to Jesus who could be the only fulfillment of each prophesy.  There is the powerful testimony of the Spirit-led explosion of the early church as recorded in the book of Acts.  In all the great world religions, there is no book like the Bible.  Read it, consume it and be comforted.

Although we should be inspired to confidence by observing God’s power in the miracles and in nature and through meditating on his word, we still sometimes experience fear and doubt.  For those times, Jesus has a very personal way to comfort us.  Come back next week to be comforted! 

Until next week,

Meet me at the intersection!

I find it very interesting to note how many times in the Gospel accounts Jesus tells us to not be afraid. I think Jesus knew how much we would need constant reassurance that we can defeat fear in our lives and not be held hostage to the debilitating effects of fear and doubt. I also think Jesus knew how difficult it would be for us humans to conquer fear and doubt as we cope with our crazy topsy-turvy lives. I don’t think Jesus expects we will never experience common human fear and doubt. I do think he expects we’ll confront these negative emotions head-on and emerge victorious. That’s why Jesus not only encouraged us with his words, he equipped us with powerful tools to go on the offensive against fear and uncertainty. Over the next few weeks, we will focus on some examples from the Gospel of Luke where Jesus helped people conquer fear and doubt and in the process he gives us the power to also be victorious.

The first example is found in Luke chapter 7:

The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’”

John had baptized Jesus and heard God’s testimony from heaven in God’s own voice. He had probably heard Jesus preach and seen the mighty works and he did expect his own ministry to decline as Jesus’ ministry ascended. So then, why the doubts? Why would John say, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” Surely with John’s divine appointment and with all that he had witnessed, he would not question the identity of the son of God. After all, in this same chapter Jesus affirms John as one of the greatest man to have ever lived. Is there room for doubt within such a great prophet?

Before criticizing John, we need to spend some time in John’s sandals. According to Matthew 11, John is in prison waiting a likely execution. I don’t think this is how John expected his ministry to end. Perhaps some of these questions went through his mind: “When is the Messiah going to move this pretend king, Herod aside and claim his throne? When is he going to fulfill his mission? Will I even be around to see his triumph?”

The surprise here isn’t how John responds. He responds like the weak human that he is. He responds like most of us would respond in similar circumstances. Have you ever been in a place you never expected, circumstances totally outside your control, feeling powerless and abandoned? Did you wonder where God was at that time? I think that is the way John felt as he sat in that prison. In the midst of uncertainty and doubt, John seeks confirmation that everything will be OK and things are going according to plan.

Notice how Jesus responds to John’s doubt with a response of love, compassion and affirmation. He creates an impromptu opportunity for John’s disciples to witness the power of the Trinity working in the Son. He lets them see once again the love he bestows on the weak, hurting and fearful. He unveils his power to remind them of his divine nature and packages this power in simple human touch. Then he sends these comforted disciples back to John with his gift to sooth John’s doubts with a reminder of his power.

In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

For the times we struggle with doubts and fears, we should be willing to receive this gift from God. We should meditate on the power of God as evidenced in the recorded miracles of Jesus. We should ponder the testimony of the power of nature and the miracle of life that transpires right before our eyes. Paul tells us basically in Romans chapter 1, when in doubt, look around! Nature itself testifies to the work of the creator.

Although we should be inspired to confidence by observing God’s power in the miracles and in nature, we still sometimes experience fear and doubt. In case we are tempted to think we are alone with our periodic doubts, Luke fills the final chapter of his gospel with examples of Jesus ministering to disciples who struggled with doubts even in the presence of his empty tomb right before their eyes. Jesus blessed his hurting disciples with his healing words and I believe he wants to bless you in the same way. Come back next week to join me in receiving his blessing!

Until next week,

Meet me at the intersection!