I’ve been reading Ed Welch’s book Running Scared, which seems pretty relevant to where I find myself these
days. The following are several quotes that caught my attention, along with a
few of my own thoughts.
“There was a time when the biblical commands ‘Do not
worry’ and ‘Do not be afraid’ put a quick end to hopes that there was anything
attractive to say to fearful people. It seemed as if the biblical counsel was
‘The law says don’t fear, so don’t. End of story.’ But there are at least two
different ways to say ‘Don’t worry.’ One is a judicial warning, which has a
threatening overtone; the other is a parental encouragement, which aims to
comfort. Scripture has both, but Luke placed the accent on parental
encouragement [in Luke 12:22-34]” (9-10).
I don’t think this is a thing
of the past. It seems very much alive today. I agree that the overall tone of
the biblical narrative regarding fear is encouragement, not condemnation.
“There are, of
course, treatments for fears and anxieties. Medication dulls the physical
symptoms, psychological treatments address the thoughts. If you are afraid to
fly because you keep thinking the place will crash, you can replace that
thought with another. I’ve flown many times before and nothing has happened.
It’s the safest way to travel. This might help, but it rests on the premise
that fear submits to logic, which is a dubious assumption. In reality, fears
are rarely logical. Or, as fearful people might protest, they are very
logical. If the statistics on plane crashes indicate that they are extremely
rare, the statistics also say that planes do crash and people actually
die in plane crashes. Someone is going to be that 1 in 100,000” (23-24).
“As worry veers out of control, cool heads try to help.
First, they state the obvious: Worry doesn’t help. Second, they add that worry
has more in common with astrology than it does careful weather forecasts. Then,
if nothing else works, helpers try to assuage the worrier by making the environment
more secure, if possible… It takes something more powerful than logic and
statistical probabilities to assuage our fears and anxieties” (52-53).
The supra-rationality of fear
is one of the most aggravating things about it. There is no logic that will automatically
calm fears. Thus we try to control the uncontrollable.
“Behind this desire for control is the gnawing awareness
that we are merely human… by design we are limited and we know it. No matter
how much we rail against our dependency on other people, we really are
dependent people with limited control… Since independence only works during the
really good times, the obvious answer would be to seek God. The problem is that
God, the One in control, does not seem to exert much control. Trust him
or not, bad things will happen” (40-41).
If faith in God guaranteed
immunity from difficulty, we’d have no problem sharing the gospel and
convincing people to follow Him.
“[Is it] wrong to
be afraid? Is it sinful? Maybe, but put those questions on hold. The emphasis
in Scripture is, ‘When I am afraid, I will trust in you’ (Ps. 56:3). The issue
isn’t so much whether or not we are afraid and worry. Scripture assumes that we
will be afraid and anxious at times. What is important is where we turn,
or to whom we turn when we are afraid. The God who calls you to trust in
him when you are afraid will spend a great deal of time showing you that you can
trust him” (69).
So we return to the basics: God
is faithful, He loves us dearly, He knows what we’re going through, He is with
us in every situation, and He will help us endure whatever He allows to come
our way.
“Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in
vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the
bread of anxious toil; for He gives to His beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:1b-2).
© 2019 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise
indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions
stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.
