Thinking
What is Fear?
Fear
is a powerful human emotion
It
alerts us to the presence of danger
Without
it you may not be here because it kept our ancestors alive
Fear
can be divided into two responses
Biochemical
and Emotional
The
biochemical response is universal
While
the emotional response is highly individual
All of us including the
great men and women of the Bible
Experienced sweating hands
and racing hearts
What made them great was the
action they took
Action based on believing God is a rewarded of those who seek Him
And faith in His Word
Your fear will cause you to
Fight or Flight from God
Or
Fight or Flight for God
What is Fear?
Fear
is a powerful human emotion.
It
alerts us to the presence of danger.
Without
it you may not be here
because
it kept our ancestors alive.
Fear
can be divided into two responses…
Biochemical
and Emotional.
The
biochemical response is universal.
While
the emotional response is highly individual.
Biochemical Reaction
Fear
is a natural emotion and a survival mechanism.
When
we confront a perceived threat,
our
bodies responds in specific ways.
Physical
reactions to fear include
sweating,
increased heart rate, and high
adrenaline
levels that make us extremely alert.
This
physical response is also known as the
“Fight
or Flight” response, in which your body
prepares
itself to either enter combat or run away.
It's
an automatic response that is crucial to our survival.
Emotional Response
Because
fear involves some of the same
chemical
reactions in our brains that positive
emotions
like happiness and excitement do,
feeling
fear under certain circumstances can be
seen
as fun, like when you watch scary movies.
thriving
on extreme sports and
other
fear-inducing thrill situations.
Others
have a negative reaction to the feeling of
fear,
avoiding fear-inducing situations at all costs.
Although
the physical reaction is the same,
fear
may be perceived as either positive
or
negative, depending on the person.
Causes of Fear
Fear
is incredibly complex.
Some
fears may be a result of experiences or
trauma,
while others may represent a fear of
something
else entirely, such as a loss of control.
Still,
other fears may occur because
they
cause physical symptoms, such as…
Being afraid of heights because they make you
feel
dizzy
and sick to your stomach, even if you're watching
a
video or looking at a picture and in no actual danger.
Acclimation
Repeated
exposure to similar
situations
leads to familiarity.
This
dramatically reduces both the fear
response
and the resulting elation, leading
adrenaline
junkies to seek out new and bigger thrills.
which
depend on slowly minimizing the fear
response
by making it feel familiar.
Response to fear
God
created the brain.
The
brain is amazing.
God made it with an alerted system.
The
biochemical reaction works without thinking.
Every
part of the body receives the alert signal.
It
is from this point we need to think.
We
need to make a decision…
“Fight
or Flight”
If
we all have this alert system of biochemical
reaction
than think about Bible characters.
They
all experienced the same physical
reactions to
fear,
sweating, heart rate, and high adrenaline levels.
Imagine
Noah living in a community where
the
thoughts of the people were evil continually.
Or,
Lot and his family in Sodom.
The
three Hebrews who did not bow to the idol of
King
Nebuchadnezzar and
Daniel facing the lion’s den.
Abraham as he traveled as an alien in other
countries.
Those Bible characters like the
ones in
Hebrews 11 all knew what it was
like to
have their heart race and hands
sweat.
What was the process of their thinking?
Enoch’s life is the life we all
dream of.
He pleased God, lived to be 430
years old, and
did not experience death because
God took him home.
How did he get so blessed?
Enoch had faith.
He believed God exists and God
rewards
those who seek Him.
Hebrews 11:5- 6
But all the rest of the Bible
characters lived and
died and here is God’s commentary
on them…
All
these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive
the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And
they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14 People who say
such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they
had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity
to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country — a heavenly one.
Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city
for them.
Hebrews 11:13-16
What
were they thinking?
How did they know whether to “fight of flight”?
And what more shall I say? I
do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel
and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice,
and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury
of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to
strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women
received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and
refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some
faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison.
They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword.
They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and
mistreated—he world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and
mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
These were all commended for
their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned
something better for us so that only together with us would they be made
perfect.
Hebrews
11:32-40
What
were they thinking?
The
common theme is they all lived by “Faith”.
Faith comes by hearing the
Word of God.
They
all had the Word of God implanted in their minds.
The
Word of God helped them focus.
The
Word of God that revealed who
God
is and His eternal purpose.
It
was faith in God’s Word
that
empowered them to know…
“When to Fight and when to Flight”.
So
the next time your heart races and your hands
sweat,
will you be paralyzed with fear?
Or,
will you have confidence that God
cares
for you and His Word will guide
you
whether to Fight or Flight?
When
our faith overcomes the fear
of
death we can stay in control.
We
can think clearly even though suffering, pain
and
loss make the hands sweat and the heart race.
Overcoming
fear takes time because
knowing
God’s Word takes time.
So
take time every day to get God’s
Word
in you and think about it.
Don’t let fear cause you to fight
God
or to flight from God.
Because
God cares for you and
promises
to take care of you…
So
you will have the power
to
overcome your fears.
Resource
https://www.verywellmind.com/the-psychology-of-fear-2671696
Scripture Reading
Hebrews 11 NIV
11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain
of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at
God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain
did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his
offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did
not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away.
For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without
faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must
believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in
holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world
and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would
later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know
where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a
stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who
were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the
city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 By faith Abraham, even though he was past age — and Sarah
herself was barren — was enabled to become a father because he considered him
faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good
as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless
as the sand on the seashore.
13 All these people were still living by faith when they
died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed
them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on
earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country
of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they
would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a
better country — a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called
their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a
sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and
only son, 18 even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that
your offspring will be reckoned."
19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively
speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their
future.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of
Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the
exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.
23 By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he
was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid
of the king's edict.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known
as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the
people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26 He
regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures
of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left
Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is
invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so
that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry
land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had
marched around them for seven days.
31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the
spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell
about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33 who
through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was
promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and
escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who
became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back
their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be
released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers
and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37 They were
stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went
about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the
world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in
caves and holes in the ground.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of
them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for
us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
