Faith to Overcome Fear
Donnie Snyder
April 2020
The television comedy-drama show “Monk” was a favorite of mine a few years ago. Actor, Tony Shaloub, plays the role of Adrian Monk. Monk is a San Francisco homicide detective who develops severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and terror of germs. While the OCD costs him his official job with the police department, his crime solving ability is so good that his former boss continues to use him on tough cases. With the help of a great personal assistant, Monk deals with his fear and solves many cases.
The theme song for the show is “It’s a Jungle Out there”, written and performed by Academy Award winner Randy Newman. If you have ever watched the show, you probably have never forgotten the tune. A few lines of the first verse goes like this:
“ It’s a jungle out there
Disorder and confusion everywhere
No one seems to care
Well I do
Hey, who’s in charge here?
It’s a jungle out there”
The truth is, it really is a jungle out there. Life on earth is a challenge to say the least. Most of us navigate the journey walking through the difficult days when they come. And they do come. Difficult times come in many ways. Family issues like divorce and prodigal children are very common. Health issues, job loss and financial setbacks touch most of us at one time or another along the journey. Sometimes the issues of life like the current pandemic are so overwhelming that debilitating fear sets in. Hey, “it’s a jungle out there”.
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I think it is interesting that when the Bible records angels interacting with humans, the first thing the angels say is “fear not”. Let’s face it, human beings are both fearful and needy. Our fear generally manifests itself in the form of “worry” or “anxiety”.
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Fear is an emotion that is healthy to protect us from certain things. For instance, fear of driving too fast on a winding mountain road protects us from harm. Fear of getting burned keeps us from getting too close to a fire. Fear of being hit by traffic keeps us from crossing the street against the traffic light. I think a good way to look at this type of fear is to call it “extreme caution”.
Unhealthy fear develops when we allow the emotion of fear to take over our lives. Unhealthy fear can result in making bad decisions based on that emotion. It can have a traumatizing effect and prevent us from using good judgement based on facts and truth.
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The Bible has many accounts of how “faith in God” overcomes “fear of human circumstances”. One that I have always been encouraged by is about three Jewish boys named Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. Taken into captivity in Babylon after King Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem, you may know them by the names Nebuchadnezzar gave them; Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
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Their story is recorded in the book of Daniel. They were brought to Babylon to be trained along with others from Jerusalem to assimilate them into Babylonian culture with the intent to eliminate their identity with Jewish religion and culture.
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Daniel 1:3-4 states:
“Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.
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Along with Daniel, they resisted the efforts to condition them to forget their Jewish heritage and God in His sovereignty blesses these three young men and gives them favor with their captors.
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In chapter 3 of the book of Daniel, because of their refusal to bow down and worship a golden image erected by Nebuchadnezzar, they are sentenced to death by being thrown into a fiery furnace. They are confronted by Nebuchadnezzar of their consequences for not bowing down to the golden image. Listen to the account recorded in Daniel:
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"Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”
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Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O
king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
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You probably know the rest of the story. Nebuchadnezzar heated the furnace seven times hotter than normal and had them thrown into it, but God protected and delivered them out alive and well. Their faith in their God has an impact on Nebuchadnezzar and he praises God.
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Here the words of these three Jewish men again:
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“O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
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“Our God whom we serve is able”. Leaning into the sovereignty of God and trusting in the character of God, these young men addressed extremely fearful circumstances with faith in their Almighty God. “Our God whom we serve is able”.
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Yes, these are unprecedented and fearful times for many of us. I am burdened by the loss of life globally and here at home. Fear has entered my mind, what about you? Hey, “it’s a jungle out there”! The reality of our fallen world is shocking and overwhelming when seen on such a grand scale. Where is God?
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The apostle John recorded in the Book of Revelation:
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“After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you
what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.” Revelation 4:1-2
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The Creator of the Universe is on His throne and I take comfort in that. What about you?
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“We The People” need to use the good judgement God has given us and do what we can to protect one another, pray for one another and minister to one another during these difficult days.
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Let’s not move into an unhealthy fear and be traumatized by “gazing” on our trouble and just “glancing” at God. Rather let’s “gaze” at God and act knowing the good character of our living God, lest we forget:
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“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
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These are as author Max Lucado said: “3:16 The Numbers of Hope”. Therefore, let’s lean into the sovereignty of God and trust His good character as we walk through this pandemic always giving an account for the faith that we have in Jesus Christ.