Cinema has produced quite a few characters that invoke fear in us. From the terrifying likes of Jason or Freddy Kruger, to the dark lord of the Sith in Darth Vader. Then there are those that take fear and use them like Batman or Voldemort for good or evil purpose. Of all these types of fear based characters - Daredevil is the one who stood out to me.
Daredevil or Matt Murdock is a character from Marvel comics who is a blind lawyer by day, and defender of Hell's Kitchen, New York by night. It was written by a few men, most famously and my favorites were Kevin Smith and John Romita Jr. Daredevil is a handicapped man who uses his other senses to overcome his blindness. Daredevil can do nearly anything because he is a man without fear.
There are some days in which I would love to be daredevil, to live life without fear. Fear is something that we all can relate to and all have our own things that cause us to be afraid. I get really freaked out each time I go on a plane or near a roller-coaster and studies show that I am not alone.
The most common fears are:
1. Snakes. 51% of us are afraid of them to some degree.
2. Heights, 38%.
3. The dentist, 23%.
4. Confined spaces, a.k.a. claustrophobia, 21%.
5. Needles, also 21%.
6. Clowns, 18%.
7. Public speaking, 17%.
8. The dark, 15%.
9. Flying, 14%.
10. Birds, 5%.
While I am not cool with easily five of the 10 listed hear - what about you? Fear is something that traps us, that causes us to be a prisoner in life. But should we be afraid? As a believer in God, does living in fear hurt my ministry or testimony?
I think it does.
The enemy, Satan, loves to keep us in our fears and not grow in our faith. If we are afraid, filled with worry or anxiety we are not good examples of our Lord. If we let our anxiety or our worries or the dread of something in the future control us - we are trapped in our sin prisons and that is where Satan wants us to be.
Satan enjoys seeing us worry and fear over money, health problems, things we cannot control, future stuff, work, relationships and so on. Instead we need to lean on what Scripture tells us, over and over again - do not fear.
"The phrase “do not fear” (אַל־תִּֽירְאוּ; ʾal-tîrāʾ) occurs often as an encouragement or a call for courage. Joseph repeats the phrase twice when he reassures his brothers that he will not pay them back for selling him into slavery (Gen 50:19–21). The phrase is also used as a general encouragement to trust in God’s deliverance (Neh 4:14; Isa 35:4; Hag 2:5). Before battle, a priest was supposed to encourage the people to not fear since Yahweh was fighting for them (Deut 20:3–4). Moses encouraged the people with this phrase before they entered the land (Deut 31:6), and Joshua echoed this call for courage during the conquest of the land (Josh 10:25)." Lexham Theological Wordbook
As we can see in this brief look at the command to not fear, it is something that God shows us over and over again of where we need to be, to be fearless. Lets use my fear of heights as an example of how God wants us to live.
God calls us to trust Him for all that we do and are and IF we are in a relationship with God that is based on our belief in the Risen Savior who died and rose again so that we can be eternally forgiven and a trust in the Almighty Creator who established and ordained all things we can be fearless. That then would mean, I can walk onto a plane and not burst out in sweat or freak out because I know that God is in control of all things, including me and this plane.
Look at what God tells Israel in Isaiah 41 about not fearing because He is with them.
8 “But you, Israel, are My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
The descendants of Abraham My friend.
9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest regions,
And said to you,
‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not cast you away:
10 Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
This is a promise to Israel, but the principles can be applied to us in the Church Age today. God has chosen us, He will never leave us so then we have nothing to fear. How wonderful is this, How great is our God!
Living a life without fear is where I want to be as Christian but it is a daunting goal for me. Not letting my fear driven emotions deceive me into thinking that this plane that I am flying on could fall out of the air at any moment or has incompetent staff for instance. I should be replacing my fears with trust and love in God and knowing that God is my refuge.
Trust you would think is a no doubt obvious response for a believer in God. But trust can sometimes be like eating healthy or exercising. We want to do it but sadly not regularly. We trust God when things are great or fine we have a great amount of belief in God. But when things turn south, when life gets real - trust in God has a habit of shrinking. David show us that this should not be the case. Look at what David writes in Psalm 23: 4
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Even in the moments of life in which David refers to walking in the shadow or the presence of death itself, He still has nothing to fear about. WOW! What a great example for us to live by, not letting fear overtake us but still trusting that God will protect us. David can walk in presence of this shadow because God is with him and David trusts that God will provide all the time.
But Psalm 23 is not just about the great amount of trust that David has in God, it also shows us the love that David has for his God, for our God.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.
Psalm 23 is a classic Psalm of comfort in the toughest and saddest moments of out life, which is why it is a standard Scripture to be read at a funeral. But it has more to it than just in moments of grief. It can show us how to love God and others in every moment of life. Verses 5-6 ends this section of Scripture by showing us how to love even if we are filled with dread, afraid, worried or even just anxious, we can still have God's love. David shows this by describing the events of the 23rd Psalm. He has enemies around him and should be afraid but is still surround by God's love and that brings him joy and comfort.
We can learn from David in dealing with our fears and letting or trust and love of God replace them and to also get comfort from knowing that God is our refuge. Psalm 91 shows us that we have nothing to be afraid of if we have a relationship with the Lord since God is our protector and defender.
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;My God, in Him I will trust.”Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence.He shall cover you with His feathers,And under His wings you shall take refuge;His truth shall be your shield and buckler.You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,Nor of the arrow that flies by day,Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
What a comfort! If we have are part of God's family, we are in the arms of our God, protecting us from all that scare us, from all that make us want to run and hide. Look at how the author of Psalm 91 shows line by line at all the ways God protects His beloved from the attacks of the Devil. Praise God and Amen.
Fear is something that we all have, some are more common than others but all need to be addressed. We cannot pretend we are not scared or bothered by anything. If a snake dressed as a clown turned off the lights in a small plane while I am taking an exam in my underpants - the worst possible fear chain - most of us would be terrified for a while. But staying in those fears, letting them control us is not healthy.
We need to learn how to be fearless and let God into the areas of our life that Satan controls. It is not easy but learning how to trust more, to love more, to dwell in the refuge that is our God is worth all the growing pains that come with it.
So what do you fear and how can you allow God access these areas of your life? How can we be more like Daredevil - the man without fear. While I do not expect to see anyone jumping off of buildings at night to fight evil ninjas or crime lords ( I can see Jerry Miller doing this actually but please do not). But we need to be Christians that are fearless and not letting our fears control us.
Don't fear the Reaper my friends or any other Blue Oyster Cult song reference. But let us all aim to be a godly Matt Murdock - a Christian without fear!
Cheers and Excelsior!
Pastor Adam