In the Grip of Fear

As long as there is breath in our bodies, each of us has a vulnerability to fear that doesn’t ever completely disappear.  We must face it to defeat it.  To conquer fear, we must understand the many different ways it disguises itself in its efforts to steer us away from overcoming faith.  Faith overcomes fear through courage, and courage is strengthened through exposure of fear’s masks.  I commend the reader’s courage to read on.    

Fear lurks in concerns, uncertainty, doubt, precariousness, instability, insecurity, imbalance, unpredictability, undependability, unreliability, unfairness, disorder, disarray, distress, and confusion to name some of the hiding places.  At this writing, almost 3 months into a global Wuhan China virus pandemic, the meaning of “uncertain future” has been taken to a new level for most of us.   

There is a good kind of fear that can serve as a warning for danger.  An example may be hearing a rattle while walking in the woods.  The warning of rattles on a rattle snake can help steer a person  clear of being harmed by the poison of a snake’s bite.  But fear can turn into its own kind of poison if concern is unwarranted, too much change comes our direction in a short period of time, or a crisis threatens our safety and security.  Fear is sometimes a natural response in wrestling with life’s realities.  However, if much time passes without a return to some sort of “normal,” a toxic form of stress weighs a person into anxiety or other unpleasant emotional conditions.  

When I post articles in sequence, I usually post the most recent building on the previous article.  In this case it is backwards.  The previous article called A PILL for the Virus targets how to overcome fear.  But I think I mistakenly assumed people recognize fear and want to get rid of it.  Sometimes it’s hard to see fear’s affects in our lives, and sometimes we don’t think it’s bad enough to hold us in it’s grip.  We must first train ourselves to identity fear before we can deal with it effectively.  Fear is a nasty virus.  The first step for a person to loosen its grip is to recognize what it looks like in daily life.  Asking ourselves some hard questions may be the best way to identify some roots of fear.

Are we thriving?  God created human beings to thrive, not just survive.  Have we merely adapted to a “new normal,” by creating new bad habits?  Or, are we holding firmly to values of faith, family, and friendship no matter what circumstances present us?  Whatever we do that is not done with intentional faith, is subject to a fear motivation.   

Are we believing lies?  God is the source of absolute truth.  Truth dispels fear, but fear is always attached to a lie.  In the case of this current pandemic, has the truth come out about the true origins, nature of spreading, accuracy of testing, methods of transmission, types of treatment, legitimacy of reporting, etc.?  Are we believing inaccurate science, untrustworthy government officials, propagandist so-called news reporting, opportunist financial analysts, ignorant celebrities, or simply anyone who thinks the way we think already?  

Are we over-reacting?  Everything that happens is within the sight,and timing, of God.  There is also nothing “bad” that happens, that he can’t turn into good (Romans 8:28).  If we are a follower of Christ, the very worst thing that could happen to us is that we die and go to heaven.  My readers may have a different opinion, but I don’t consider that a bad deal!  Although fear of death is real for some, the numbers of deaths in the current virus pandemic are smaller in magnitude to other similar pandemics in past times.  For persons with a healthy immune system, the chances of death are almost nothing.  In addition, because of the negative attention given to health care facilities, people with non-virus related conditions are not seeking proper medical help (or being refused in some cases), and dying from conditions they would have otherwise been successfully treated for (eg. heart attacks, strokes, mental health concerns).  Overreacting with fear of exposure to a “potential” virus is causing deaths.   Not to mention the economy and how businesses have needlessly been destroyed because of overreactions to the threat of spreading a virus.  

At this point let me say that I am not advocating removal of legitimate precautions especially for at risk groups like healthcare workers and first responders.    But in my opinion fear reactions by the general public have made conditions far worse than they need to be.  The term “self government” is not familiar to as many people these days, but it holds the key to America’s survival as a nation.  People cannot be forced to act responsibly and in good character.  Virtuous living cannot be legislated into existence.  One of our founding fathers Benjamin Franklin, in 1787 when asked what kind of government was created, answered, “A Republic ….  if you can keep it.”  The virtue practiced (or not practiced)  by individuals, makes or breaks the United States of America.  This is explained well in a book by Eric MeTaxas called “If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty.”   Fear is one of the greatest enemies of the principles and practice of the liberties we enjoy as Americans.  

Are we motivated by fear of loss?  God, our creator, created us to be creative.  Each person has a God-given purpose and meaning in life.  Our greatest satisfaction is felt when we are most in alignment with expressions of this purpose.  We are naturally motivated to try to make the most of any opportunity to advance this purpose.  The loss of missed opportunities are something we want to avoid, so we sometimes settle for the good instead of the best.  We go for the counterfeit and forfeit the real thing.  We grab the temporary, and lose sight of the lasting satisfaction.  Anything we are addicted to (feel like we can’t live without) fits in this category (eg. drugs, porn, busyness, nonmarital intimate relationship, phone, other technology).  Fear is the motivator behind the thinking that, “If I don’t have this _______ (fill in blank with person, activity, or thing), then I’ll be missing out on life.”    

TV advertisers have exploited our fear of loss for years with “Buy this product or service so you don’t miss out.”  Authoritarian style leaders promise, “Give us your acceptance of this inconvenience or restriction, and we’ll provide you with safety.”  Fear of loss of security is what motivates people to give up their God-given rights and freedoms.   

In recent months the assault of fear has shown itself in many other ways too numerous to mention here.  Fear has made everyone suffer (needlessly) for the misdeeds of a few.  Fear has people dwelling on the negative (pessimism), and not seeing the positive (optimism).  Fear has people drawing away from each other (physical presence) at a time (in crisis) when human connection is needed most (for endurance to persevere to make it through).  Especially those being stricken with the Covid-19 virus,  isolating them completely from their families is extremely short-sighted.  Fear creates and aggravates deeper mental health problems.  

Fear is creating havoc in our community, but its roots grow in each individual’s heart.  I pose some additional questions here for each person to ask.  

How/ where is fear operating in my life?

How/ where has fear become a negative influence in my thinking and actions in a crisis?

In what ways am I thinking differently (than pre-crisis)?  

From whom or where did I get information that made me think this way?  

How have my beliefs changed?  

What am I saying differently?  

From whom or where did I/ we acquire the new phrases I/ we am/ are hearing and repeating?

(eg. “flattening the curve,” “social distancing,” “new normal,” “public safety,” “essential services,” “non-essential workers”)

What things am I doing differently?

From whom or where did I pick up these actions and behaviors?  

What important values or aspirations have I given up on (as a result of all this)?

Have I/ we been suckered into accepting a dumbed-down existence for no real reason?

   How did I/ we let it happen?  

What could have I/ we done differently, and how do I/ we now make adjustments/ amends?

Am I/ Are we willing to refrain from complaining, justifying, and blaming

(and take responsibility for our contribution)?  

What have I/ we lost? What has been stolen/ destroyed?    

   How does that make me feel?   

   How have these thoughts and feelings turned into decisions, opinions, and condemning judgments?   

   Am I holding bitterness, resentment, or blame that I need to relinquish?

Am I/ Are we still is so much denial that these questions don’t make sense enough to stir thinking?     

If it seems like I may have more questions than answers, I guess that’s true.  Hopefully these question can spur some rational thinking.  Fear traffickers do not want people thinking for themselves.  Irrational fear has destructive results.  Fear-focused people are doomed to destructive outcomes.  Rational thinking focuses on solutions, not the problem.  Perhaps now the reader is better prepared to read my previous article for a P-I-L-L (solution) for this virus of fear.  (See article at: http://authoredhersh.blogspot.com/2020/05/a-pill-for-virus.html ,  OR see video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Px1tt5rjdM )

My hope for each reader is to escape the grip of fear as much as possible. This is our only hope for keeping the liberties we value as Americans.  

by Ed Hersh, BnB Healing Ministry

A PILL for the Virus

In times of great uncertainty we are prone to doubt, worry, and anxious thoughts in larger quantities and with greater intensity than our “normal” is comfortable with.  Most of us are having that “normal” greatly stretched with the recent events of a world-wide virus pandemic.  Although fear may be a helpful reaction when faced with potential physical harm, fear can become a dangerous virus of its own taking the form of chronic unsettledness, discontent, and confusion.   I would like to prescribe the following P-I-L-L for reducing fear and anxiety.  

P- Pursue God.  

The first dose of any solution to our human problems is to cry out to God.  Dating back to ancient times, we have history showing us how God has been faithful to the human race he created.  Most of the Psalms were written about 3 thousand years ago, but are incredibly relevant to today.  Psalms have been read, spoken aloud, silently meditated on, sung, memorized, dramatized, and fully engaged in other ways by generations of people before us.  The authors faced real-life circumstances causing them to seek God, pursue God, find God, and put their trust in God for their Refuge and Salvation.  Besides relating to God through the Bible, calling out to him in prayer (both as an individual and in the company of other people) is an  essential first step to combat fear.

I- Influence Restriction.  

A second dose is to cautiously limit the negative influence of fear mongers.  Fear of loss is a powerful motivator of human behavior, and there are forces in our world using this trait to manipulate for evil purposes.  For example, the traditional news media is a powerful influencer of public opinion, and have been often hijacked to promote false narratives and fear-based propaganda.  Years ago, I personally quit watching TV network so-called news for that reason.  For a while I naively thought I could watch it, sort out fact from fiction for myself, and not have the fear-based influences affect me.  I discovered a person’s best conscious efforts cannot completely overcome an emotionally manipulative message to create fear.   Especially in times when great energy is needed to reduce toxic stress, it’s not worth the risk.  Consider your circumstances to discover other negative influences to restrict (ie. so-called social media, gossip, conversations with people who condemn others).  Avoid speculators, and limit information intake to the facts.  

L- Love as defined by God.  

Jesus summarized the ten commandments into two, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the greatest and most important command.  The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39; CSB).  When our identity is rooted in God, we can know who we really are, and we can be released to love others in the way we are loved by God.  Loving others gives us our deepest meaning and purpose in life.  Besides distracting us from our own fears, looking out for the needs and interests of others helps lower others’ fears.  Love is a catalyst for good in the face of evil.  

L- Live in Faith.  

Faith is the ultimate cure for fear.  God is the author and perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:2).   As “author,” is the source and provider of faith.  As “perfecter,” God is the protector and multiplier of faith.  In order for faith to be alive it must be growing continuously.  For growth to take place, there must be a transformation of old to new and smaller to larger.   With a garden vegetable plant for example, a seed must be placed in the ground.  Then the seed becomes a sprout.  Then the sprout makes an appearance as a short stub of a plant.  A few days or weeks later, it may be a few inches high.  Then more time passes and it becomes a foot or more taller or sprawling as a vine.  Then fruit first appears as a bud, and then growth of the fruit occurs.  Good growth (“perfecting”) depends on good conditions (“authoring”) of soil, water, and temperature.   So it is with our faith in the hands of Almighty God.  The faith in our heart grows through a transformation and progressive sanctification, lifelong process.   A life of faith in God, is a life committed to inside-out change as a life time adventure.  

Fear is the greatest enemy of faith.  While faith has its source in a good God, fear has its source in an evil adversary (the devil).  Going all the way back to the creation of mankind, unbelief,  doubt , and confusion were used by our chief enemy to lure us away from God’s love.  As long as we live in this broken world, we will not be totally free of the potential harassment of fear, but through Jesus (who defeated all our enemies once for all), God’s love is fully accessible (simply by believing, John 3:16).  

We must face our fears with faith.  This is called courage.  With courage, we can choose belief over unbelief, confidence (in God) over doubt, and clarity (of identity and purpose in God) over confusion.  The temptation to fear may not be eradicated, but the courage to respond with faith can grow stronger.  Struggles, trials, and tests develop our perseverance (see James 1:2-4).  As we grow stronger we develop our capacity for larger struggles and trials.  As we witness the global scene become more tumultuous, the possibilities wrought by increasing our resilience (body, mind, soul, and spirit), through faith, should give us hope for facing the future.   (See more on the topic of Emotional Capacity in an earlier article at: http://authoredhersh.blogspot.com/2017/10/emotional-capacity-part-2.html ).

Although there is no actual P-I-L-L for the virus called fear, it can be conquering through pursuing God, restricting bad influences, loving (God, self, and others), and living in transformational faith.  We can declare with confidence, “virus be gone” by swallowing this pill.  

by Ed Hersh, Blue Rock BnB Healing Ministry

Be at Peace with Hebrews 12:14-15

“Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.  See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled” (Hebrews 12:14-15; NIV).

While recently studying these two verses of the Bible, I was challenged by new insights, some of which I share here.

Looking at the context from the beginning of this chapter, the sanctification of our souls is a much more dominent theme than I noticed in the past.  Faith is defined in the previous chapter eleven.  This chapter twelve lays out specifics of how faith is lived out.  

First, Jesus is the “founder” AND “perfector” of our faith (see Hebrews 12:2, ESV).  The Passion Translation expresses it as, “Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection” (TPT), i.e. completion.  There is a beginning and completing to faith in Christ.  Believing in Jesus at a conversion experience begins a process of completing faith’s work the remainder of our lives.  

Secondly, verses 4 - 11 speak of growing as children grow in their Father’s (parents’) care.  Growth involves change and stretching of what is, into what it needs to become.  The growth process requires discipline.  A commitment to this kind of change brings about joy and peace.  

Now to verses 14 - 15 quoted above.  Sanctification is explicitly mentioned  “without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).  Without completion of faith in Jesus through the sanctification process (change and growth through discipline toward holiness) we have no faith at all.  This ongoing change is to be pursued, intentionally sought, and not merely expected to happen on its own.  Moreover, this process is intrinsically linked back to our conversion to faith in Christ, and forward to establishing the conditions for our inner peace.   

The phrase “pursue peace with all men” is obviously an exhortation to relate to people on friendly terms whenever possible.  But a deeper meaning struck me as I did a word study on the use of the word “peace” in the Bible.    

Peace is not merely the absence of conflict.  It is not merely a feeling of self-satisfaction, contentment, security, or harmony with external worldly circumstances.  The Webster’s 1828 dictionary explains the definition of peace as, “ a state of quiet or tranquility; freedom from disturbance or agitation.”  The Bible uses the term “peace” most often as a way to describe our inner (heart) condition before Almighty God.  Authors in the Lexham Theological Wordbook point out, “In the biblical writings, peace is the wholeness that comes as a result of alignment with God’s creative and redemptive purposes. …  Peace occurs not only in interpersonal relationships, but also in ethnic and political relationships. Peace also carries a cosmic connotation, in which all aspects of creation, both human and non-human, should exist in harmony with each other. Peace is thus the ideal of creation that God’s redemptive activity seeks to restore. ….  The flourishing existence of creation described in Gen 1–2 shapes how peace is understood throughout the rest of the Bible. Peace involves well-being. ….   ultimately peace comes as a result of Jesus’ work and thus is a gift given by God. Ephesians describes Christ creating a new humanity by healing the divisions between Jews and Gentiles and making peace (eirēnē) between them (Eph 2:14–15)—and by being “our peace (eirēnē)” ”  (Lookadoo, J. (2014). Peace. D. Mangum, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, & R. Hurst (Eds.), Lexham Theological Wordbook. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press).

God’s purposes and plans for peace are far greater than our personal experiences, however, our inner life is very important to God.  So important that he commands complete surrender of our ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving in exchange for his.  The Psalmist reflects, “Those who love Your law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble” (Psalm 119:165).  God’s ways are superior to human ways.  We are wise to accept this truth, “How blessed is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding.  Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace” (Proverbs 3:13,17).  

Jesus himself had some things to say about peace. Jesus didn’t come into the world to chase away conflict (see Matthew 10:24).  He came to deliver us from enslavement to conflict.  First, the conflict that exists within our own soul, and the conflict that puts us at war (sometimes literally) with people around us.  Without Christ, conflict is inevitable within, but with and through Christ conflict is, was, and will be inihilated.  Since the first sin of mankind, conflict within, and conflict without (our environment), is built in the default nature of every human belng.  Putting our faith and trust in Jesus means we are yielding to his power to remove the grip of unrest in lost parts of our souls.  

At the root of conflict is bitterness.  Bitterness is created by the seeds of failed expectations, disappointments, regret, hurt, or offense.  Roots of bitterness are specifically mentioned in these verses in Hebrews as destructive anti-growth agents.  Bitter roots are weeds that will “defile” (reduce the productivity of the garden of our hearts).  Bitter roots can take the form of ill-willed thoughts, envy, jealousy, malice, slander, and the like.  The critical, condemning  thoughts and opinions turn into blame, resentment, hatred and even sometimes revenge.  Our tendency to want to rule our own fate causes our failure to trust God to work all circumstances for good.  God’s justice demands that only He can sit on the throne as Judge.  Our demands to think and act as Judge, create conflict.  The rebellion against God at the core of this conflict is why the “Prince of Peace,” Messiah Jesus, came to this earth (see Isaiah 9:6).         

This goes to the heart of the gospel message.  Luke records Jesus as saying, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).  Until recently, like most Christians,  I thought of “lost” souls coming to faith in Jesus in a conversion experience as the full extent of interpreting the meaning of this statement in Luke 19.  

However, God is challenging me with a deeper understanding.   The inner peace stolen by the enemy of our soul with the entry of sin into the world, is part of the loss that Jesus came to redeem.  Through the sanctification process, the seeking and saving of the losses in our lives continues.   Faith in Jesus makes us whole.  All the broken parts of our soul still touched by the losses, are being brought together into the  wholeness God intends for us from the beginning.  Sanctification is God’s divine plan.  Being made whole through holiness (set apart on the inside) yields the fruit of increasingly greater degrees of outwardly “holy” behavior.  Being completely at peace with that plan in our inner most being only begins at conversion.  

I grew up in the Christian Church thinking the “salvation of souls” refers merely to the conversion of souls.  However, the term “salvation” includes sanctification as well.  It includes Jesus completing the faith he has begun.  It includes the discipline of growing the faith into maturity.  It  includes the inner peace Hebrews calls “peacable fruit of righteousness”  (see Hebrews 12:11).

The “harvest” of souls includes all of the above.  Let’s be clear that believing in Jesus is not just a decision of the mind to repent (turn around) from one way of life to another.  It is a radical surrender to a process of heart transformation as well.  For a Christian seeking the sanctification of our soul is not an option.  A result of responding to God and allowing him to change our hearts from the inside out, will yield greater degrees of inner peace.  Inner peace can be a gauge for measuring our progress.  The more we surrender to God, the more peace we will have in our soul.  

Inner change is difficult, but we can be at peace with the uncertainty change brings, when we are trusting God through our faith in Jesus.  An inner peace and assurance of what Jesus has accomplished for us, AND what he continues to empower us to do, is foundational for facing  the challenges of life.  It’s all about his power, not ours.

In summary, I offer my translation of the Hebrews 12:14-15 verses quoted at the beginning.   “Pursue inner peace through reconciliation with God, for yourself, and seek this condition for every person you know.  Practice surrendering your heart to God for the purpose of a holy being,  until the day you see Jesus face to face.  Make sure you are living the fullest of God’s purposes for your life by rooting out any bitterness that remains--ie. admitting your critical judgments, surrendering all judgments to God, and releasing all demands for justice so your relationships (with God, others, and self) can be made whole.”

For help in ilving out more specifics of the sanctification journey, check out some of my other blog articles (ie. http://authoredhersh.blogspot.com/2018/02/ ).  Be blessed!  Be at peace.

by Ed Hersh, Blue Rock BnB Healing Ministry