Speaker: Ben Sigman
Theme: Fear
Weekend Music links on iTunes: All Over the World - Matt Redman, Holding Nothing Back - Jesus Culture, Let God Arise - Chris Tomlin, Hosanna - Hillsong
Read: Matthew 8:23-27
Think: Under ‘List of Phobias’, Wikipedia currently identifies 137 different fears. These include old standbys such as claustrophobia (the fear of confined spaces) and arachnophobia (fear of spiders), as well as some more obscure terrors like spectrophobia (the fear of mirrors) and nomophobia (the fear of being out of mobile phone contact). As long as this list is, I fear that it is not complete (is there a name for that?).
When Pastor Ben said that the first step toward growing through fear is to name the fear, I started thinking of all the things that cause me anxiety. The list may not be as long as the one in Wikipedia, but it is not short either. I have fears about my job, my marriage, and my children. I’m afraid of growing old.
We’re all afraid of something, whether we admit it or not. In the same way that diagnosing an illness is needed to treat the sickness, identifying a fear is the first step to overcoming that fear. We can’t confront what we don’t know is there.
The scripture reading for today has some similarities with the text from the weekend sermon – fearful disciples in a boat caught in a storm. In one, the disciples were afraid of Jesus, thinking he was a ghost. In the other, they feared for their lives, thinking that they would drown. However, the solution was the same. Jesus calmed the storm and reassured the disciples of His ability to overcome their fear. Their faith in Him grew as they faced their fear with Him. We should do the same.
Do: On a scrap of paper, write down just one of the fears you need to face. After praying over it, toss the paper in the trash as an act of faith that the fear will be overcome with God’s help.
Pray: Lord, I sometimes find it easier to deal with my fears by ignoring them. Today, I admit to this one. In my head, I know that You are stronger than my fear. But in my heart, I’m still afraid. I ask you to replace my fear with faith in You. Amen.
The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.
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