When Fear Grabs You
Matthew 26:69-75
69Now Peter was sitting outside
in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were
with Jesus the Galilean.”
70But he denied it before them
all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.”
71And when he went out to the
entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This
man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72And again he denied it with an
oath: “I do not know the man.”
73After a little while the
bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for
your accent betrays you.”
74Then he began to invoke a curse
on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster
crowed.
75And Peter remembered the saying
of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went
out and wept bitterly.
No one plans on being afraid. Fear grabs you suddenly and
turns you on your head. When I was a kid at camp almost 50 years ago I learned
a lesson about fear. I lived in Nebraska and went to a camp on the Platte River
every summer for several years. For the most part those memories are really
good ones. There was swimming, archery, horseback riding, crafts, songs, and
friends. But one night was just fear. In Nebraska, violent weather can sweep in
at a moment’s notice during the summer. Fifty years ago weather
forecasting was not nearly as sophisticated as it is now. There may have been
radar but it was nothing like we have today. It was the night for the
evening hike. We left camp on the horseback right after dinner, riding to the base
the tallest hill in the area (it's Nebraska after all), then walked on foot to the top of a hill for a campfire
and singing. Just as we were arriving at the top, a violent storm engulfed us.
The rain was torrential, complete with strong wind, thunder, and lightening.
And of course in Nebraska there is the ever present threat of tornadoes. I was
just a kid and really at the beginning it was just a walk in the rain. Sure we
were wet but it was still fairly warm and as kids we didn’t care. But as things
progressed we noticed that the counselors (and we’re talking High
School/college kids here) were panicked. They didn’t know what to do. Should
they head the group back down the hill? Should we sit down and wait it out? I
just remember they were completely freaked out and of course that panic spread
to us kids. Now there was crying and screaming when the thunder and lightning rolled
through. I remember being told to sit on a big log and wait. I was truly
afraid. That fear just jumped up and grabbed me. Finally they decided we needed
to get out of there and it was a mad and foolish dash down the hillside to the
horses that were equally crazed. We did make it back and no one was hurt only a
little traumatized. As I pondered fear in the light of today’s reading that was
the memory that came to mind.
Peter has already been told by Jesus that He would deny his
Lord. Of course Peter is adamant about the fact that this will never happen.
And now – here it is. Three times in a short span Peter is questioned about his
association with the guy on trial during the middle of the night. And three
times Peter denies even knowing Jesus at all. His response is born out of
complete fear. And really, can you blame him? During the volatile moments of
that night it was clear that a relationship with Jesus might mean your own death.
Of course he experienced pure fear. And it made him respond in the one way he
promised he would not; he denies his Lord and his own heart is shattered.
The Bible recognizes that we are going to be afraid. There
are hundreds of verses that deal with fear albeit some deal with fear of the
Lord, which is a different topic. But without variance these verses tell us the
same path dealing with fear; run to the Lord for He will shelter us. When we
calm a child who is fearful we tell them not to be afraid because “I’ve got you”.
We hold them close and whisper in their ear that everything is okay. Someone
stronger and more powerful than they are has the situation in hand. We are no
different with our heavenly Father. He is stronger and more power and has
everything in hand. He whispers into our ear "I've got you." We deliver our fear into His care and allow Him to deal
with it. He doesn’t promise us that we will never be afraid again but He does
promise that He is there to handle it for us.
There’s a song out right now called Do Not Be Afraid by Tanner Clark. If you want to give it a listen,
here’s a link.
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