Surfing the Inner N8

The “Freedom” series continued yesterday at CrossWay with a message about freedom from fear. 

We all have something that scares us.  For some it might be actual dangers we encounter, such as icy roads, an abusive parent, or a disease we carry in our bodies.  For others it might be a phobia, which is a nagging fear where our imaginations exaggerate the actual danger of something.  I’ve heard of people having phobias of everything from spiders to clouds to midgets to the number 10.

Some fear is good and healthy, which is why God wired us to be able to experience fear.  It’s our bodies’ way of self-preservation in dangerous situations.  If you’re standing near the edge of a cliff, it’s good to fear the deadly drop below so that you’re not careless.  When you’re driving, it’s good to fear crashing at 100 miles per hour, so that you drive carefully and at a safe speed.  These are good kinds of fear.

But some fear is debilitating.  Sometimes our fears create imaginary boundaries that imprison us in reality.  As we try to follow Christ and live the life God created us to live, our fears will tempt us to take detours along the way.  So how do we find freedom from fear?

In yesterday’s worship service we looked at a couple Bible passages that teach us about finding freedom from fear.  The main text was Mark 4:35-41, which tells the story of Jesus sending His disciples across a lake in a boat when a powerful storm suddenly hits.  The disciples freak out while Jesus takes a nap.  They thought their lives were in danger, while Jesus knew everything was under control.

This picture of Jesus sleeping in a storm reminds me of those hurricane images we sometimes see on TV.  Right in the middle of the chaos is the eye, where everything is peaceful and calm.  I wonder if God designed storms like that on purpose to teach us something about trusting Him. 

Since Jesus loves us so completely and is completely in control, we can look to Him to see if He’s all stressed out.  If Jesus is panicking, then we have good reason to panic too.  But if He’s enjoying some nice REM sleep, we can sit back and enjoy the ride.

Of course that sounds oversimplified, and it’s not too easy to release our fears (they don’t need to release us—we need to release them), but it’s entirely possible with Christ.  He came to set us free!  You can hear more about it soon on the podcast.