Why is it so hard for us to not be afraid?

So many times the Bible tells us to not be afraid. That probably means nothing to non-Christians. But for us Christians, if God keeps telling us, “don’t be afraid”, then why is it so hard for us to not be afraid?

I’ve written before about my issues with depression. And I know much of it comes from even a tiny moment of fear.

I’ve also written so many times about how God keeps telling us in the Bible, “don’t be afraid”, or various words to that effect.

Some of you regular readers might have noticed, it’s been several weeks since anything’s been published here. Guess why? It’s been a tough several weeks. Because of something that really shouldn’t have been a big deal. And yet, it was.

There didn’t seem to be a way out of it. Even though, at some level, I knew it made no sense.

Don’t be afraid.

Then there was Sunday’s sermon. About David and Goliath. You know, where the young, small kid, a shepherd, takes on the nine-foot tall Goliath. Even though everyone else is “smart enough” to be afraid, David just goes and gets the job done.

You probably think that’s what got me out of it. But it wasn’t. At least not in the sense you’re probably thinking.

Instead, it was a verse that probably doesn’t get much attention most of the time. But on this particular Sunday, it did. I felt kind of like the sermon was for me.

What’s the verse?

This one.

The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.

Huh? That? I’ve never been saved from a lion or a bear. There are both mountain lions and bears in the hills/mountains just a few miles from where we live. But all we’ve got where I am is coyotes. Although, we do have the most dangerous predator on the planet – people.

If you don’t know about David and Goliath, you can read it starting at 1 Samuel 1.

Be afraid?

Let’s go over a portion of the passage. It’s probably a different point of emphasis from what you expect. And in the end, I’m also going to point out that, believe it or not, we’re not all David. Therefore, we need to be careful about applying this whole thing to ourselves.

David and Goliath

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1Sa 17:33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.”

You know what? This part is absolutely, totally, are you ready for it – true. No matter how old we are, no matter what sex we are, we are most definitely not ready, or able, to fight the battles we’ll face as a Christian. Of course, our fight isn’t against Goliath, the Philistine. Rather, our battle is against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Wear armor. God’s armor.

That should be familiar to Christians. It’s from something Paul wrote in Ephesians.

The Armor of God

Eph 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Eph 6:19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Of course, there’s a difference between familiarity and understanding. Some seem to think this passage fits for fighting battles against people. In these present times, it’s especially popular among some politicians trying to get conservative Christians to rally to their own causes in the name of God. I’m in the process of writing something about that on my other site, Which God Saves. I’ll add the specific link here when it’s published.

Anyway – the point is that we aren’t ready. We’ll never be ready. Why? Because the battle is against Satan and his fallen angels. And while they are no match for God, it’s also true that we are no match for them. It’s only because of God’s grace and with God’s help/power that we can even stand up to the forces of evil.

Do not be afraid?

1Sa 17:34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.”

David knew that it was only because of God that he could be safe.

I’m going to come back to this part shortly. But for now, let’s take it as true for David and then keep going.

Be afraid of wearing the wrong kind of armor.

1Sa 17:38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.
“I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

This is a perfect example of what I meant about the difference between familiarity and understanding. David told Saul that God would protect him. Apparently understanding, Saul said “Go, and the LORD be with you.

And yet, look what happened next. Saul put human armor on David. Saul heard the words, but didn’t understand them. David knew that since he had God with Him, for this case, then human armor wasn’t necessary. Notice – in this case. Just a reminder, not everything from the Old Testament automatically applies to New Covenant times. Again, we’ll return to this.

1Sa 17:41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”

There’s even less understanding from Goliath than there was from Saul. Of course, that’s not a surprise.

Even David’s words of explanation will, as we say these days, go in one ear and out the other without the slightest bit of understanding from Goliath.

1Sa 17:45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

Notice that last portion: All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give all of you into our hands.

Today, we must realize that David and Goliath were in the Old Testament. Under the Old Covenant. On the other hand, today’s Christians are under the New Covenant. Many things are the same. And yet, many things are also quite different. We have to take the time and put in the effort to know what’s the same and what’s different. More on that is coming shortly.

1Sa 17:48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

1Sa 17:50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
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There’s just no way a bot with a slingshot and a stone killed Goliath.

Isn’t all this good news for Christians?

All of that from David and Goliath raises the question – Isn’t all this good news for Christians?

Pun not really intended, but the answer to the question depends on what we mean by “good news”.

If we think good news means we’ll always prevail against our earthly human enemies, then no, it’s not good news at all.

If we think good news relates to the Gospel, to salvation through Jesus, and everything else we read in the Christian New Testament/New Covenant portion of the Bible, then yes, it’s really good news.

Let’s see why – and what “good news” really means.

What does the LORD saves mean?

Let’s get into something that’s really different between the Old and New Covenants. It’s the meaning of “The LORD saves“.

The Old Covenant meaning of The Lord Saves

Let’s go back to what David said about his battle with Goliath. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give all of you into our hands.

In that instance, and generally throughout the Old Testament, God “saving” someone was pretty much in their lifetime, on this earth, that kind of thing. It wasn’t about eternity.

The New Covenant meaning of The Lord Saves

At least, saves didn’t mean eternity in a way the people understood it. The prophecy was there. Even the Hebrew words, yes words, behind what we read as “die” in the verses below gave a hint of what was to come with the New Covenant.

Adam and Eve

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2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

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As you see, “die” is the last word. And it occurs once. However, in the Hebrew, it occurs twice. Literally, it says “die die” or “death death”. As we now know, in the New Covenant, the first death is Physical and the second is spiritual. That is one huge change.

What does the armor of God mean under the New Covenant?

Just like “The LORD saves” means two different things in the Old and New Covenants, so does the armor of God. Saul dressed David up in human armor, which is what was often done by people back then. However, when God was directly involved, things were different, even then. However, the goal was still physical victory.

But, under the new Covenant, physical victory isn’t always the objective. Sometimes, I wonder, is it ever the true objective? Or do we just decide on our own that it is?

Anyway, Paul’s description of the armor of God is very clear as to its objective. Let’s read part of it again.

Eph 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

The goal is to still be standing firmly, even after evil has done its worst. But remember, it’s not physical fighting. It’s spiritual. And it’s really God “fighting”. The details that contain the purpose of the various pieces of God’s “armor” make that crystal clear. That is, they’re crystal clear if we decide to take the time to be open to the words, to the Holy Spirit helping us understand, and finally open to trusting God.

Does wearing the armor of God mean we might lose?

Might we lose the battle if we wear the armor of God the way Paul described it? Absolutely. But then, there’s the difference between the battle and the war. It’s just like the two deaths we learn about in the Bible.

Yes, wearing the armor of God, in its intended way and for its intended purpose, might very well mean we’ll die in battle. That is, we’ll suffer physical death. However, if we stood firm, even losing the battle, and maybe even because we lost the battle, we won the war. How? Because Jesus already won the war – the war between good and evil. In doing so, Jesus conquered death. And His promise to us is that we’ll win the war. Physical death, but eternal life.

But guess what? We’re all going to die anyway. Physically, that is. Every single person Jesus raised from the dead eventually died a physical death. Again. Death is a consequence of our physical bodies, which are a consequence of The Fall. There’s no way around it.

Well, that might require some explanation. After all, what about Enoch and Elijah? They didn’t suffer a physical death. But then, if Biblical scholars are correct, it’s just that they haven’t suffered physical death – yet. Huh?

This isn’t the place to go into details, although I hope to do it some day before too long. In any case, check out the two men in the passage below, from Revelation.

The Two Witnesses

Rev 11:1 I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there. 2 But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. 3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. 6 These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.

Rev 11:7 Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. 8 Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. 10 The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.

Rev 11:11 But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.
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Lots of Biblical scholars think those two men will be Enoch and Elijah. Ultimately, even they will die.

Is all this good news for Christians?

So, if you’re Christian, do you think everything I wrote was good news? Or do you think/hope I’m all wrong and that the armor of God really is what some power-hungry politician wants to get everyone to believe so he can achieve his own ends? Ends that have nothing to do with what Paul wrote. And ends that, while carrying some words from the Bible, are very much at odds with what Jesus taught? In fact, at odds with what Jesus died for?

Will Christians abandon God if He doesn’t give us the life we want?

What does all this David and Goliath stuff have to do with Why is it so hard for us to not be afraid? Or with the Armor of God? Or someone’s political choices? And what about my own inability to write anything for a while?

Well, actually, quite a bit. My inability to write is incredibly minor compared to facing Goliath. Misusing the Bible to achieve political ends instead of fulfilling God’s purpose is maybe a bit closer.

But either way, and with any instance where we read the Old Testament and think God’s going to enable us to vanquish our enemies and our problems, we’re so far off track. Furthermore, any problem we have in this life is so minor compared to the real issue addressed by Jesus’ death on the cross.

We should know that, from pretty much any reading in the New Testament. Yes, it takes wisdom from the Holy Spirit to really get it, but anyone who even trying to honestly live life as a Christian does have the Holy Spirit available to us. And He will help us.

Like when He helped me to get beyond David and Goliath. Beyond all the stuff where God intervenes and rescues people, saves their lives, brings them back from the dead. Beyond even the expectation that God is going to make things better. After all, we’re here to serve God/. God’s not here to serve us.

And that’s when I remembered three people who knew that. Even in the Old Testament, these three knew something every Christian should know. And must remember. Easy for me to write – but sometimes hard for me to do. It reminds me of a saying – when you’re knee-deep in alligators, sometimes it’s hard to remember that your original task was to drain the swamp.

So what was the task for these three? Let’s take a look.

The Image of Gold and the Fiery Furnace

Da 3:1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. 3 So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.

Da 3:4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: 5 As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

Da 3:7 Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Da 3:8 At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You have issued a decree, O king, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, 11 and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Da 3:13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

Da 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Da 3:19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

Da 3:24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”
They replied, “Certainly, O king.”

Da 3:25 He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

Da 3:26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”
So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

Da 3:28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”

Da 3:30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Once again, this isn’t the place to go into a lot of detail. And again, I made a note and will put a link in here when it’s done.

However, the key point for today is one simple thing. It’s the response when the king threatened them with death. Physical death.

Da 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

There are five words in there that we, as Christians, really need to remember when it comes to God and our physical lives.

… even if He does not …

Don’t worry about our political feelings. Don’t worry if we have a time where we can’t do things we’d like to do. These guys are talking about – even if God doesn’t save our lives – we won’t turn from Him. Wow. To be able to do that right away and always.

Conclusion – Why is it so hard for us to not be afraid?

Honestly, I feel like the biggest reason Christians find it so hard to not be afraid is because we don’t think about those five words.

… even if He does not …

Of course, non-Christians won’t understand it.

Even too many Christians don’t truly understand.

Even for me, I didn’t really understand God’s peace until I was in the hospital for a week – after two weeks of illness and before 5 weeks of at-home care – before I really felt God’s peace. You know – the peace beyond all understanding? The peace we say we feel. But then when we truly feel it, we realize that we never actually knew it at all.

For those of us who have issues with depression, even as Christians, do not be afraid is really hard. Especially when fear and anxiety are the triggers that bring about depression. And even when we know full well that we shouldn’t be depressed.

I wonder, will writing this help? Will writing about “even if he does not” help?

I kind of think the answer is – it depends. It depends on whether or not I’ll remember this. Whether I’ll remember those words. Will I remember David and Goliath or will I remember Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? And even then, will I remember that they came out of the fiery furnace alive? And will I forget that they also said “even if he does not“?

I’ll worry that I will forget. Why? Because years ago, I wrote something called Does God cry? I’m not putting a link in right now because I need to rewrite it. Actually – make two versions of it. Turns out the answer to my question – does God cry? – also applies to today’s question as well – Why is it so hard for us to not be afraid?

There’s so many reasons why we shouldn’t be afraid. And yet, we are. At least, some of us are. Some of us need reminders. The good news is that we do get them. I’ve tried over the last week or so to write this. Never really felt like the time was right. Now, today, this afternoon, I’m reminded of writing “Does God cry”? Also, “Do you make in vain?” Both of which help to make this one more complete.

It’s not truly complete though. There are so many notes I’ve made for myself to really do justice to the question. First up will be Does God cry? Then, Do you make Jesus pray in vain? I’ll put the links in here when they’re done. Probably do some updates here as well.

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Image by Christian Dorn from Pixabay

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