Moving Forward and Letting Fear Go!

We all know that fear is a drainage to our faith, our energy and our hope. Iit causes our perception to be tainted. It was not too long ago that we celebrated the power and hope of Easter. For that moment – that connection with the Lord who rose from the dead had us believing that God can do the impossible. In that moment all fear was gone and then, like the tide, it returned to many of us.

Can I ask you today – what it is that you are fearful of? Trying and failing, giving and releasing – letting go and loosing control, loving and being rejected, change and newness, death or living itself? Fear keeps us from stepping forward, from reaching out and from the power of hope. It is like a stone in front of the tomb. What is in your path today – is it fear?
Matthew 28: 5 & 8
The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.

The angel in our verses speaks to the women’s fears. He tells them, “Do not be afraid.” Fear is the one stone in our lives that can literally kill us. Fear will freeze you, prevent you from making to most of the opportunities God places in front of you. Fear paralyzes and can even cause death. If you had to jump from a sinking ship into the ocean but became fearful to the extent you stayed on board then you would die as the ship went under. Notice that the angel wants them to “go and tell”, but how can they if they are frozen in this moment of time. Likewise we cannot share our faith, our reason for the hope that lives within us if we are frozen by fear. As a church, we cannot grow, reach more for Jesus, be innovative and continue to make inroads into our community if we are gripped by fear. Someone says, “I like the church the way it is.” What they are saying is: I am afraid of what it will become or what will happen to me if it changes. They are stuck in a place of the past or of only today and must allow for God’s touch and grace to move them forward. I tell people who attend our church, "you must love CHANGE." They usually look at me with a sense of wonder. I respond quickly with the reason you have come here is becasue we have changed. We have grown, we are not even in our original building and we have added many enhancements to our services and our programming and have even added on additional pieces to our campus. What is God calling you to today that you are pushing aside because of fear? What change are you fearful of making? We must allow God to remove our fear if we are to ever become effective witnesses for Him. We must allow God to remove our fear if we are going to be creative and innovative and possess a “go for it” attitude. Let’s go for it, live our dreams, live for Him and share the Good News of Jesus with others and as we do our fear will fade and His power will live in us.