In 1933, at the worst point in the Great Depression, fear was a great concern. So great in fact, President Franklin D. Roosevelt made it the central theme of his inaugural address: "So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."
On the bravery front, a lot has changed since the Great Depression. The sources of our fears, for example. But we still fear. It’s a thing we humans do. And a lot has been written about our fears. New thoughts on the subject are being forged with each passing week. There’s quite a bit out there about our reactions to them: fight or flight—or freeze.
Considering how many billions of us occupy this planet, the list of our most common fears is relatively short. Here’s the top ten: fears of failure, success, dying, commitment or intimacy, spiders, flying, public speaking, heights, the dark, rejection. The full list, of course, might be endless.
While I am not offering a cure, I do have an idea for how we should regard our fears. Perhaps from there, we can find a path toward taking away their power over us. FDR was right when he said we need to find a way "to convert retreat into advance." A start: recognize that the more we focus on our fears the greater their power over us.
That recognition is the first step toward bravery.
In this week's 1st Peter selection, he writes to believers about how to deal with the distresses in their lives, the suffering they are experiencing because they are Christians. Quoting Isaiah, Peter exhorts them to “not fear what they fear." By that, Peter means we should not fear the same things, in the same way, as nonbelievers. But how? We all fear.
The answer lies in the focus.
Isaiah told his listeners to focus on God rather than fear what "they" fear. Peter pivots that focus to Jesus. Neither is saying we are not going to fear. Both are saying we need to shift our focus, our attention, our concentration—to God.
Throughout scripture, we are told to place God first. It's the first commandment given to Moses. Jesus claimed it is the greatest commandment. Nothing and no one should be positioned ahead of God. In that light, it is probably not a great surprise that God must also be placed ahead of our fears.
We need not pretend to be fearless. And we need never be foolhardy in our actions just to prove we are brave. When faced with what we fear, we need to focus on God.
That’s how we turn retreat into advance.
_________________________
PHOTO: Steve Orr
__________________________
Can you join us Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast? We start at 8:00 and run for about an hour. The food is tasty and the company is relaxed. We enjoy reading and discussing the scripture, and finding how it applies to our real lives. Find us on Zoom** or in the back room at Our Breakfast Place.
Ask if you don't see us. There's nothing to fear.
Blessings,
Steve
**Contact me for the Zoom link
NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.
SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK
Find them here:
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=44
Print them here:
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Ax_SixthSundayofEaster.pdf
Acts 17:22-31
Psalm 66:8-20
1 Peter 3:13-22
John 14:15-21
Sixth Sunday of Easter (May 14, 2023)
No comments:
Post a Comment