An Idea That Overcomes Fear
Can you think of any characters in the bible who lived a life of comfort and ease with no trouble or trials ? If you stop to think about it, there are a couple of examples. We will come back to this idea in a second. When we think about the idea of fear, trials and troubles, it can be helpful to stop and think about ideas themselves. Ideas are alive. They have a pulse. They can change your life and they can change your destiny. Facts are dead. They don’t move people in the way that ideas do. Bill Gates had an idea of a computer on every desktop. He says he came up with the idea in the mid 1970s. That idea made him one of the richest men in the world and it also changed the entire world. I’m benefitting from his idea at this very moment as I type these words out on the Microsoft Word program.
If we think about comfort, ease and suffering, one idea that is powerful that I’m sure you’ve heard before is, “God allowed Jesus to suffer, why do we think we get a pass? Are we more special than Jesus?” This idea is helpful when we are going through a tough time because, if we want to get to know Jesus in a more deep and intimate way, we are going to have to suffer and we are going to have to overcome fear. That is part of the deal.
For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.
Phillipians 1:29 NLT
Now this is a very powerful idea. It is a “privilege” to suffer for Christ. What if that is true? It sure does change your perspective if you feel that what you are doing for your faith and for Jesus is causing pain or suffering or you feel that you are wasting your time.
We’re Human Avoiders
One idea that is helpful because it’s true is that life is hard and life is suffering. If you have lived any length of time you are very well aware of this fact. Life is suffering and it is tainted by evil. It really doens’t make any difference how smart you are or what you do for a living or what you believe, you will suffer. There is no question about that and it really doesn’t matter what you believe or what your faith is. The sooner we learn to deal with that idea and the sooner our children learn to embrace that idea, the better we feel, because they are more prepared to face life. Whenever you face a task that you know is going to be difficult, is it better to go into it saying “this is going to be really hard” or “this should be really easy”?
The most painful experiences I have had involve going into a task thinking that task would be easy. Starting a business and getting it to profitability was just such a task. We live on a broken fallen world that is full of evil, sin and suffering, that is just a fact.
This brings us to a very important question. If life is suffering and we were born to suffer and we know that it is a privilege to suffer for Jesus, why are safety, comfort, ease and luxury our idols? Why is there so much focus on safety, comfort and ease ?
There is no reason to feel guilty, we just need to understand that we are not human beings, we are human avoiders. That is the essence of our natural selves. It’s in our DNA. We seek safety and we seek to avoid pain. Those are natural survival instincts and we shouldn’t be ashamed of them. Avoiding pain and discomfort is one of our strongest motivators, It’s even more powerful than the instinct to seek pleasure. What we should be doing is focusing on how to overcome those natural instincts in order to grow and develop into our authentic selves, the selves God had in mind for us.
Comfort Can’t Be King
Let’s go back to the question of who in the bible had a life of comfort, ease and safety. There are two people who did.
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;
(Genesis 2:15-16 NLT)
Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
(Genesis 2:25 NLT)
So here we have Adam and Eve walking around the garden of Eden, naked with plenty of fruit and animals and livestock and everything you could ever want. They were walking around with no shame and no guilt. Comfortable. No fear. The “good life.” Is there any other character in the bible you can think of that had it this easy? If you can come up with anyone who had it this easy, please email me at bravethewaveweride@gmail.com.
What is the point of this idea? We know that Eve ate the forbidden fruit. She was told by the serpent that she would be like God if she did. God gave Adam and Eve everything that they needed including safety, comfort, and ease. What happened? They blew it. No surprise here. Can you see why God can’t give us safety, comfort, and ease? We will blow it. I know that I do when I have too much safety, comfort, and ease, I get lazy and slothful. I become an avoider. Not good. No Bueno.
Life isn’t supposed to be easy or comfortable. The closer we get to Jesus, the more discomfort we will have to endure. That is just the nature of the Christian life. Especially if you take on goals that involve the Kingdom of God. I was listening to an audiobook the other day and the narrator said, “only a blessed very few get to be martyrs.” Stop and think about that. It is an honor and a privilege to give your life for Jesus. We may not be put in a position to be a martyr, but we can all live for Jesus. We can live and work to introduce others to him and tell everyone we can about what he brings to the table.
If you are interested in overcoming fear, trials and troubles, you are going to have to incorporate some ideas into your head that help you see that clinging to safety, comfort and ease is actually more dangerous than facing your own fears. Especially if we are not pursuing passion or purpose. If we are comparing risk, what is more dangerous, temporary or eternal consequences?
When we think about safety, ease and comfort, these are temporary ideas. Right? What does it matter if we live a life of comfort and ease for 80 or 90 years, but then spend an eternity separated from God and totally overwhelmed with regret?
Regret is a horrible world we can create for ourselves in our later years if we have done nothing with the talent and gifts that God has bestowed on us. We need to understand and appreciate the very real danger in standing pat. If we are Christians, we miss out on wonderful experiences by not putting any effort into growing spiritually. When we make complacency our king instead of Jesus, we engage in the zombie walk. The arms outstretched grasping at air kind of walk where there is no thinking, no movement, no growth and no emphasis on true value.
So what is the take home here? To be honest, I’m emphasizing this point for my own edification just as much as to drive home a point that needs to be highlighted. Anything of value or of worth is going to be hard. Very hard. Especially if it involves bringing anyone else to Jesus or strengthening or furthering the Kingdom of God. God doesn’t need us. It is an absolute honor and privilege to serve alongside Jesus in furthering this message. It practically guarantees that you will suffer and that you will have to confront your fear, deemphasize comfort, forgo easy, and forget about safety. This is a hard sell, but it’s absolute truth.
Frontline Covid Report
In my own urgent care and in the emergency rooms I am working in, we are seeing a definite spike in covid cases. Brothers and sisters, please get your flu shots. If we have a “twindemic” with covid and a hard tough flu season, there will be much suffering and much pain. We must remain steadfast and focus on the things that don’t change, those being the love that Jesus has for us and the purpose and plan he has for us.
Be careful and God bless you !!
Your brother in Christ
Johnny
Update Discover Your Passion, Release Your Power is now available on audible. If you would like a promo code to buy the audible version at a reduced price, please email me at bravethewaveweride@gmail.com.
I would appreciate any reviews.