Overcoming Fear - Pt. 1

 

And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom, instructing them, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob, ‘I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now. I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favor in your sight.’” And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him.” Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. (Genesis 32:3-7 ESV).

 

Fear can be a powerful force in our lives. I wish that I could honestly say that I have no fears; however, that’s simply not true. In fact, if you were to talk to any of my family, they would quickly tell you that I am a fretter. I’m not afraid of things… well maybe snakes. My fears are typically centered in the well-being of my family. I have managed to put guardrails in place to minimize those fears, however they still lurk in the back of my mind. It is at the times when they decide to come to the forefront that I must be more overt and intentional to overcome them. That exercise always begins with my faith. In the next few days, we’ll explore some ways that may as helpful to you as they have been to me.

 

Our reading today describes the meeting between Jacob and Esau. For much of his life, Jacob had tried to act as a person in control, someone who could figure his way out of any hard place. After he successfully navigated his recent awkward encounter with Laban, we might think he would have felt confident in his abilities. But now, as reports suggested that Esau, his brother, was coming to meet him with “400 men” (perhaps an army), Jacob was terrified. What more could he do to save himself? For the first time, we hear him praying the desperate prayer of a man who knows he can do nothing apart from God’s help and power.

 

We often imagine that we have the resources to deal with any problem that might come our way. Perhaps we even say that we depend wholly on God’s power, but we so often live as if our efforts and our knowledge are what really matter. When we face a situation we cannot control, we realize that we cannot rescue ourselves from our deepest fears. We cannot preserve our health. We cannot redeem our reputation. We cannot reconcile our broken relationships. We cannot save ourselves from our sin. We can depend only on the grace and power of God.

 

This is the first step to overcoming your fears. This can bring us to the point of desperate prayer. As powerful as fear is, God’s grace in Christ is far more powerful. Placing yourself in the hands of God, trusting Him for your outcomes, always forces our fears to subside.

 

Begin this little journey by acknowledging God’s promise and power in your life!