Set Free From Fear
Read:
Matthew 8:23-27, 10:28-31, 14:22-27
The word fear has such a negative connotation in our world that for many people the idea of fearing God may be difficult to properly understand. What may make the situation even worse, is that some of us may have even been part of a church in our past which depicted God, as a God of anger and wrath.
While it is true that God does get angry, that is not His primary character trait. For some of us, one of the most difficult parts of our spiritual growth will be to learn that God is a God of love, not anger. Because God is a God of love and not anger, it is safe for us to trust Him.
When we live our lives in constant fear that God is going to harm us, or that He is just waiting to ‘get us’ when we do something wrong, it makes it impossible for us to truly trust Him. This is not what God wants for any of us. Jesus tells us this Himself in John 3:17 when He said, ‘God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.’
1. Can you think of a time when you were paralyzed with fear? What was the situation?
2. In the message Joe said that ‘Fear is no the obstacle of faith, it is the opportunity for faith.’ Why does fear create an opportunity for faith?
3. Is there something that you are fearing right now?
4. One of the most important things for us to realize in these sections of Scripture is that Jesus never tells us that what we face in life isn’t scary. That is not the lesson that Jesus is teaching us. Instead, He’s teaching us to be dependent on Him when we face feel fear and not try to rely on ourselves. Why do you think Jesus wants us to be dependent on Him during our times of fear?