What To Do When You’re Too Afraid
To Anything.
“What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.” Ps. 56:3,4
Pastor Walt , Preached on August 17th,
2003
I’ve read this verse I don’t know how many times over the years and I was
always kind of drawn to it you know. “What time I’m afraid I’ll trust in
thee..” V.3 Praying about a sermon title
I came up with, “What To Do When
You’re To Afraid To Do Anything” or another title might be “What To Do When
There’s Nothing You Can Do”, Amen? Have you ever been there?
What to do when you’re too afraid to do anything or what to do when you can’t do anything. What do you do then? Well somebody say’s, “You can’t do anything!” Well you can still do something when you can’t do anything Amen?
This thing called fear, times when I’m afraid. I asked my computer to kick out for me all these verses that mention the word afraid in the Bible. I found 200 verses in the Bible that mention the word “afraid” not counting the verses that mention fear or other words that have the same meaning like the word ‘terror’ but just the one word, afraid. Anybody here ever been afraid? All of you have been afraid at some point in time. All of you have have experienced fear.
This thing called fear comes in all shapes and sizes. It comes at all different times of the night and day. It favors the night by the way. It comes in every degree of intensity from a nagging troubling fear to stark terror. This thing called fear comes waking or sleeping. Nightmares can wake you up in a cold sweat. Fear expresses itself in different ways. From goose bumps, ever had goose bumps? I’m not talking about chill bumps I’m talking goose bumps. Goose bumps I don’t know why but I have a thing about being afraid you know that the bumps pop out all over me. But I don’t know why they call them goose bumps. There’s a difference between goose bumps and chill bumps. How many of you have heard me remark on this before? Well good you don’t remember it, that’s good. When you get cold, when a cold breeze has come and you get bumps all over you know those are chill bumps. But when the bumps come out and there’s no cold breeze that’s a goose bump, that’s cause something scared you. Amen?
Fear can come in every degree of intensity. From goose bumps to apprehension. You just feel apprehensive. How many of you have ever felt apprehensive? And you had no reason to feel that way? How many of you have felt anxiety, but you could not nail it down, there was no reason you should feel anxious. It was very physical wasn’t it? It was like inside you and you wonder what’s going on here, am I having a problem? Maybe something’s happening upstairs that I don’t know about. Why am I feeling anxious and apprehensive. You know that could lead to something much worse if you don’t deal with it. And so it goes from goose bumps to apprehension to anxiety to the pounding of your heart and your hair standing straight up. (If you had any hair to stand straight up. Amen?)
Yes it strikes every age and occupation from the poverty stricken to the millionaire. All know fear. Every one of us know fear. And in a sense we all live with fear. There are no fearless individuals. Somebody says “Hey man I’m not afraid of anything.” You’re not afraid of anything? And I’m with you in a car and all of a sudden you say what it that? It just a guy with a red light blinking on and off that pulled behind you. But you’re not afraid of anything! Hey brother you’re afraid of the highway patrol when he gets behind you and those lights start blinking. Amen! Don’t tell me you’re not afraid!
One of my scariest times, you young people can relate to this, how many of you are 15 years old right now? I was 15 years old on Saipan. It was in1944 before I had my sixteenth birthday. Saipan, that’s one of the Marianas Islands, world war two. So dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. And I’m out there in a certain compound where they have all these goods stored up. They had a fence around it and I’m supposed to march around that thing with my rifle and protect it . You talk about scared! Man I was scared to death. Four hours right in the dead middle of the night from 12 to 4 o’clock in the morning I had to march around that place. Fifteen years old, out there with a rifle with Japanese all over the island. It was supposed to be secured but the Japanese were still up in the hills and they were coming down during the night. Much like Iraq today. You know you hear any noise at all and whoa, man you didn’t want to hear anything . Amen? And you were just like a robot marching around thinking, Oh God, O God, O God …… I was an atheist and I was praying, amen. ?
I’m telling you it was one of the scariest times in my life. Worse than that was a time of personal horror back in 1954, that’s about 50 years ago right? Forty-nine years ago when I was filled with the fear of insanity and suicide and that is a horror that is a horror and if you’ve never been there you can’t appreciate what people go through who fear they are loosing their sanity and fear they are going to commit suicide whether they want to or not. They fear they’re under a compulsion to commit suicide, you know what I mean? Now some of you do know what I mean. Raise your hand if you know what I mean. Some of you know, amen? A few of you know, some of you are not admitting it. You think that’s a sign of weakness or something but it’s not, dear friend. And by the way I did go insane and I did commit suicide. But that was a real horror for me.
Well you know the Bible says that God is the God of all comfort who comforts us in our tribulation. that we might be able to comfort others with the same comfort for which we were comforted of God. Over the years you would not believe how many people I have been able to help through my testimony, how God got me through that awful dark tunnel of fear of insanity and fear of suicide. Thank you Lord!
The parade of fears. Fear of the dark, how many of you are still afraid of the dark, raise your hand. Some of you are still afraid of the dark. Some of you say, “I’m not afraid of the dark!” Oh yah?. Let’s take you to east LA, you’ve lost your way, its about one o’clock in the morning and you’ve run out of gas on the street and you have to walk home in the dark. You’re not afraid? Don’t kid me buster you’re scared to death! Yes you are. People are afraid of the dark. People are afraid of growing old. People say, “I’m not afraid of growing old.” Yes you are and you know you are, amen?
Some of you are afraid of growing old because you see what happens to old people. Some of us get downright ugly. You see someone who’s had a stroke and you know it could happen to you. They’ll be holding you and you’re going to have your walker and walking strange and all that and you’re not going to be thinking straight and it’s going to get worse than that brother. They will have to feed you with tubes and things like that if you live so long, amen? You’re not afraid of that? That doesn’t bother you? I don’t think so.
The fear of getting ugly. Some are afraid of getting ugly. This is a very real fear for some people. They make their living by being beautiful but they know that they are going to get ugly, amen? You can’t stop it. Did you watch that thing on Extreme Make Over? How many of you watched it Friday night? Boy, she needed it too. Didn’t she, wow, did she! I telling you they showed this homely girl and I said dear God help her do something about that nose, please! Didn’t I honey? I’m sitting there and saying, “Do something about the nose, do something about that nose!” The doctor said, “We got to do something about your nose because when you smile your nose covers up your lip.” Now if you thought for a minute you were going to get that ugly you’d be scared to death.
Fear of pain. I’m deathly afraid of pain. All I’ve got to do is see a needle and I get fainting spells, amen? I hate those needles. Fear of violence. Somebody says well that makes me afraid, specially my own violence. Fear of battle. Some of you guys, some of you going to Iraq, some of you just got back. Do we have anybody here who just got back? A few of you just got back from Iraq. You never were scared over there, no sir. Don’t you lie to me I know you were, amen? We’re talking about the parade of fears. Fear of humiliation, fear of embarrassment, fear of change. I don’t want to change. Don’t talk about change with some people they are deathly afraid of change. A lot of churches are afraid of change. And they should be in some cases, amen? When it’s going from bad to worse maybe. Fear of life itself. I was afraid of life as a teenager. I was really afraid of life. I was afraid of me. I was afraid when I looked in the mirror. Not that I was that ugly, I looked pretty good as a kid. But there I was, how do I account for it. I don’t believe in God so how do I account for being here and life itself scared me. Fear of failure stops a lot of people in their tracks. They don’t do anything because they are afraid. They are going to fail. Fear of public speaking. I get afraid every time I get up here to speak. Amen? Isn’t it wonderful what the psalmist said? That when I’m afraid what am I going to do? Trust in the Lord, amen?
Afraid of death. The Bible says, “Who all their life time were subject to bondage through fear of death.” And people say I don’t fear death. Well maybe in one way you don’t but in another way you do, I’m certain you do. Fear of the grave. They picture themselves being dead and in a coffin and in a hole in the ground. Dirt coming in on top of them, they think they’re going to suffocate, hey you’re already dead! You can’t get any deader than you are, you’re not going to suffocate you’re already dead! Don’t worry about it, amen? And if you’re a Christian ain’t it wonderful to know you’re not going to be in that box. It’s just the bodyhouse you used to live in.
Fear of the grave. Fear of hell, and you ought to be afraid of hell. Fear of God, and certainly you ought to be afraid of God, the Bible says that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fear of witnessing. Christians that are afraid to witness, it stops you in your tracks.
Fear carried to the extreme becomes paranoia and some of us know about people that are so full of fear that they are paranoid. They have to have medical help, they have to have treatments, they have to see the shrink and all this kind of stuff. I know one of our fellows here, his wife has such a hard time with paranoia and he’s spent literally thousands and thousands of dollars because of this paranoid fear. The least little thing goes wrong and she says call the medics call the medics and so on and countless times they’ve called the ambulance to pick her us and take her in to the hospital. No reason whatsoever just fear gone into paranoia. Everybody knows fear.
Being afraid does not make you a coward. The hero knows fears too but he acts in spite of his fear. That how hero’s are made on the battle field . Those guys are afraid too. Who wants to get shot? Who wants to get blown away? But there is something greater than their fear. The words that we have read are the words of David. David said, “What time I’m afraid I will trust in Thee.”
David was the giant killer, he killed Goliath, what does he know about fear? He knew all about fear. I think when he killed the lion and the bear he was afraid but he killed them anyway, amen? When he charged that giant I think he had an element of fear about him but he said is there not a cause? There are the armies of Isreal over here and the armies of the Philistines over there and they’re mocking the God of Israel.The giant comes out and mocks the God of Israel and the armies of Israel are a bunch of cowards they run screaming trying to find a place to hide and David is there taking lunch to his brothers, a teenager and he looks around and says what’s happening here? What about the God that I’ve heard about? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? What about that God, the God who’s been with me as a shepherd boy, the God who helped me then. Is there not a cause?
Yes, the giant was big but the cause was bigger that the giant, amen? The giant was big but David’s God was bigger than the giant. Now I want to tell you this morning it doesn’t matter what the giant is in your life, God is bigger than anything that can come into your life You get your eyes off the giant and on to your God, amen?
We see Christians doing fearless things, aren’t they afraid? Yes they’re afraid, they’re afraid but the cause is greater than their fear. Brother Dan and I went to see a guy, and I don’t know what impression you got Dan as we started talking to him but he’s like, “Ok, you’re going to be hitting on me aren’t you? You’re going to try talking to me about God. You know I got cancer and I’m dying you’re going to tell me about God. Ok, give me your best shot.”
I was kind of afraid of that guy, I don’t know whether you knew that Dan but something took over and God came in and said there’s something more important than you being afraid of this man. He’s going to die and go to hell if he doesn’t get saved. Before it was over I was on my knees and on the ground in front of him praying for him and I was weeping as I talked to him. He had to have known God was there and God had a message for him, he had to have known that.
See, that’s a lot bigger that your fear. Oh yes and when I said, “Pat while we’re still praying, if the best you know how you’d be willing to trust Jesus Christ in your heart would you right now put your hand in mine.” Boy his hand went out there and grabbed mine. And all that front he had up just evaporated, amen? He thanked us for coming didn’t he? Yes he did.
You know if I had time I could develop a message, “The greatest untapped resource in the world” what is it? It’s God’s people. It’s people who know as many people as Dan knows but they never tell anybody else about it, they never say to a soul winner, would you go with me. Some of you folks that are here this morning you have a circle of friends or a circle of family, they’re not that far away. Hey, if they were within driving distance I would go see them Brother didn’t we drive to the other side of Seattle to see your sister to tell her about Jesus?
But no we clam up. We’re the untapped resource. We don’t tell anybody. You know the guy I work with, would you go see him with me. No we never do that. I’ve got a brother, an uncle, a sister, a mother. If you got saved you know people that God wants you to reach.
How about the people around you? That’s the greatest untapped resource in the universe All these Christian people who never say a word about their friends or family. They know that they are lost and they never do a thing about it. Nothing! Nothing! If you can’t lead them to the Lord get somebody who can and take them with you, take them over there. Brother Dan’s been bird-dogging sinners for months now and I don’t know how many we’ve led to the Lord, amen? Pretty soon he’s going to be on his own doing it all by himself.
So Christians around here are doing some fearless things, aren’t they afraid? Of course they’re afraid but they’re doing it anyway. The cause is greater than their fear and if you have any other reason for not being the witness you ought to be you are so screwed up doctrinally somebody’s messed up your mind about the word of God.
Somebody says, “I’m a Paulist,” (I have to get this off my heart.) a guy told me over the telephone one day, “I don’t believe in soul winning.” Well you’re not the Paulist of the word of God, you’re not that kind of Paul. He said I knocked on doors night and day with tears. Amen? He said my hands are free from the blood of all men Ever hear a Calvinist say that? A hyper-calvinist? No way! Paul said my hearts desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. You ever hear of a hyper-calvinist praying for someone to get saved? Never!
Is that spiritual? I don’t think so. So why don’t you get your heart right with God and go by the word of God rather than some so called Bible teacher! You’re not off the hook You’re not going to get off the hook and the least little child of God is as responsible to be a witness for Jesus Christ as this pastor is or Brother Robinette is or Brother Skippy is, who excels in soul winning, amen? Are they not afraid? Sure they are but there is something a lot bigger than their fear.
In this verse we find that faith and fear can occupy the same mind at one and the same time. At what time I’m afraid, what are you going to do? Shake in your boots or go running and hiding? No I’m going to trust in the Lord. At what time I’m afraid I will trust in the Lord. I like this, I think that’s what got hold of me when I ran by this verse, whoa go back and read that again. “At what time I am afraid I will trust in the Lord.” Well I guess so, anybody can trust the Lord when they’re not afraid I guess.
So David knew fear and he assumed that there would be times when he would be afraid. Are you listening? There’s a great lesson here. He assumed that there would be times in his life when he would be afraid . Amen? Now sometimes there are things that make us afraid and we do something about it. Amen We have a coming rainy day. I don’t mean Oct. Nov Dec. I mean good times and bad, the lean and all this. Money’s short and the cupboards are bare, this sort of thing and so what do you do? You prepare for this time, you lay aside, you do what you can, amen? So sometimes things that make us afraid we can do something about but there’s other things that make us afraid and we can do nothing about it. Absolutely nothing about it. There’s nothing we can do to change that situation.
I’m going to get old some day. Somebody says surprise surprise preacher you’re already there. No I’m not . I resent that. David decided ahead of time what he would do when he was afraid. Now some of you folks that know what your fears are, you ought to start working on that right now. You say well I’m sitting in the church, I’m listening to the pastor and I’m not afraid of anything but I know when I leave here I get afraid of traffic, I get afraid of this or that. Now you ought to say, ok, right now I’m going to make some decisions. I know I’m going to be afraid down the road somewhere and here’s what I’m going to do.
Certain things we need to decide ahead of time. Girls you don’t wait till you’re in a car with a guy and him pawing you all over to decide you’re going to remain pure. Are you listening? You don’t wait till you’re out in lovers lane with some guy in a car and he starts necking on you and feeling around on you. You don’t wait till that time to decide you’re going to be pure. You decide that right now. You decide that right now and that keeps you out of his car. If you’re not in his car you’re not going to be in lovers lane. Amen? You’re not going to be given that opportunity to mess around when you decide ahead of time.
You decide ahead of time that when you’re offered a drink you’re not going to touch alcohol. You decide ahead of time. You don’t wait till somebody says here have a drink, well I don’t know whether I should or not . Hey you decide that ahead of time and say I’ll never touch alcohol as a beverage. And you decide ahead of time. And you need to decide right now what your going to do when temptations come your way. Decide right now, don’t wait till it comes. Decide right now.
He said there are going to be times when I’m afraid and I want to know what I’m going to do when that time comes. God’s best have been men who knew fear, the very best. Paul said I was with you in weakness and much trembling. Paul walked around half scared to death. Amen? But he went ahead and did what God wanted him to do anyway cause he knew his God was greater than all his fears and the cause was greater that all his fears. Abraham knew fear, Danial knew fear, Peter knew fear, they all knew fear. David said I will fear no evil. Do you know how David could say that. He could say that because he knew “For thou art with me” for thou art with me, halleluiah! I know what to do with my fear. Amen. David decided ahead of time when I’m afraid I will trust in thee.
Notice Verse. 4 I’ll read it, “In God I have (already) put my trust.” Now that’s a thought, amen? He had already put his trust in God and he would put his trust in God. There’s that initial trust of salvation. Salvation, dear friend, is trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is trusting in Jesus as a person, as the Lord who went to the cross and died and paid your sin debt for you. That’s where salvation is. I’ll prove it to you very simply and it has done me so much good to learn this myself. I’ll read it to you out of Eph 1:12 “Who first trusted in Christ…”. Where is your trust for your salvation? Where is your trust? In your good life, in your church membership, in your religious ritual? Where is your trust? That will determine whether you go to heaven or hell. Where is your trust? My trust is in the Lord Jesus Christ, He’s my personal Lord and Savior. I put my trust in him.
He went on to say “ In God will I put my trust…” Not in what but in whom. Christ the person, that’s where my salvation is. Why should God let you in Heaven? Don’t you dare tell me, “Why, I’ve lived a good life. I didn’t do any real bad things” don’t you dare tell me that kind of garbage! Tell me, “Because my trust is in the God who came and died for me and paid my sin debt yonder at Calvery” that’s what you tell me, that’s what I want to hear.
Thank you Lord Jesus. So you must put your trust in Him for salvation today before you will ever be able to trust him in times of fear tomorrow. You understand that I have put my trust in Him and I’m going to put my trust in him. I’m going to fear time and again but when I fear I’m going to put my trust in him.
Folks we need to get hold of this. Every one of us need to get hold of this. You are going to have your fears. I think of Mark and Wendy. Mark has surrendered his life for full time Christian work. We are not sure what that means but it could just get kind of rough, amen? Any time a husband does something it touches the life of every one in the family. That’s the way it ought to be and God forbid that a husband and wife could live their separate lives and not affect one another. That’s sad, that is pathetic. So you’re going to trust him in salvation and you must put your trust in him today if you expect to trust him tomorrow, you must trust him when you are unafraid if you expect to trust him when you are afraid. Are you trusting him? Is He that big in your life? Is He that much a part of your life?
Folks it’s hard to trust in God if you’re not living right. That just doesn’t go together. I’ve been living a backslidden life, I never read the word of God and so forth but I ‘m going to trust in the Lord one of these days. You’re not going to find anything to trust in. You’re going to be such a stranger to the Lord that you wouldn’t know him if you saw him. He loves you, he wants you to get your life right and you need to start now Its hard to live for God if you living a self-willed life
David said “I will praise his word. …” v.4 Its hard to praise his word if you’ve never read his word. If you’ve never read his word you don’t even know those verses in the Bible that God has given you to vanish fear from your life. You don’t have those precious promises because you’re never in the word of God, never comes to you and so there’s nowhere for you to go when the fears come.“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and he will bring it to pass,” Amen? “Fear thou not for I am with thee…” you don’t know about these promises because you never read the word of God
David had God’s word for it, listen, David is on the run he’s not king. Saul is trying to kill him. Trying do everything in his power to kill David. I won’t take the time to go into it but he is out to kill this young man David . David must be in his early 20’s at this time He made Saul so insanely jealous that the only thing he knew to do was to kill David. Day and night he fled from king Saul trying to escape being murdered but you know he had something from God, “ I will praise his word.”
“I’ve got God’s word for something. What was that God said, I was going to be king one day. I havn’t become king yet. I don’t think this guys going to kill me cause I’m going to be king, God said I was.” Amen! Well I’m going to praise God for his word who said David you’re going to be the next king of Israel and no matter what king Saul does, no matter how close he comes he’s not going to get me. God has promised me that I’ll be king one day. And I know my God never lies, Amen, praise the Lord, Amen!
He’s just going to trust the Lord. Lord you know what you’re talking about, I’m just trusting you. When I’m afraid I’m just going to trust you Lord.
Jesus has told me, Walter you will never perish! Well Glory! At times I thought I was but he said I won’t, I’m going to praise your word, thank you Lord! Walter I will in no wise cast you out, not under any circumstances will I ever cast you out. Walter I will never leave you nor forsake you. Never Lord? Even in times of your worst fears I’ll be right there with you. They’ll have to get to me before they can get to you. Amen? Walter I care for you so you can cast all you’re care on me. I say thank you Lord, thank you Lord I’ve got his word for it. Ain’t that great! I will trust in what he has to say and that’s going to take care of that fear. It really will.
The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day-how come? How could he rejoice to see that fountain in his day? Because he had the word of God for it. Amen? He had Christ’s promise “Today thou shalt be with me in Paradise…”.
Dear friend know that the fears will come. Put your trust in Christ as Lord and Savior right now and tell Him, “Dear Lord Jesus the best I know how I accept you as my Lord and put my trust in you as my Savior.” Then thank Him for loving you, for dying for you, and for saving you. Then get into the word of God so that you as David can “praise His word.” As you have prepared for salvation ahead of time as it were you need to prepare for the fears of life ahead of time also. Do like David. Settle it in your heart that when those times come you will put your trust in the Lord.