Trust In God Allows Us To Soar Without Fear


June 14, 1997

Is there anyone out there who gets nervous flying, who has a fear of flying? Maybe you agree with the man who once said, ''I like terra firma, the more firma, the less terra.''

The premier science-fiction writer Ray Bradbury of Los Angeles won a top award in 1968 from the Aviation-Space Writers Association for a Life magazine article he wrote in praise of space exploration. But Bradbury didn't attend the association's awards meeting in Florida. He is afraid to fly.

The fact of the matter is, fear is an emotion that affects everyone. Did you realize that? Maybe you can't identify with the fear of getting on an airplane, but you are afraid of something. You're not alone in your fears. Everyone is afraid of something. Some people have fears that are almost pathological.

God has placed so many possibilities within each of us! God has given us so many opportunities! The only thing holding us back is our fear.

In the world-famous San Diego Zoo, one of the favorite attractions is the giraffe compound. Enclosed in a natural habitat are several of these magnificent animals. They are every bit as tall and graceful as one might imagine. But they are far more massive and muscular than many people realize.

Tall somehow seems to imply thin. But these great beasts are anything but skinny. Their necks are much thicker and their legs shorter and more powerful than one anticipates. Trainers will tell you that one kick has sent many an ambitious lion over on his back! Yet these stately, massive animals are enclosed in a small compound that seems far too restricting for their size and power.

Actually, no cage contains them; no wire holds them back. There are no bars or walls. The only thing is a simple, waterless moat, no deeper than the giraffe's knee, that circles the compound. Freedom is but a mere two steps away. But they are trapped. All of them are. You see, not one of them will take the risk of stepping down and across, out of fear of breaking its neck.

I wonder how many of us are limited like that by our fears. Fear of rejection. Fear of failure. Fear of looking foolish. Fear of being hurt. Fear of being alone. Fear of intimacy. Fear of being taken advantage of. Fear of change. Fear of being criticized. The list goes on and on. I wonder if any of you recognize any of those fears as your own?

Consider the Bible passage beginning at Matthew 12:22.


I should say so! The story could be made into a murder movie, Terror in the Boat, or into a book. They calm down only when Jesus himself says, in verse 27: ''Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid.''

That is miracle enough, but it doesn't end there.

Mouthy Peter, good old impetuous Peter, leaps from the boat to test both himself and Jesus. Verse 28:

''Lord, if it's you,'' Peter replied, ''tell me to come to you on the water.'' ''Come,'' Jesus said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

He challenges Jesus, and Jesus passes the test; but, as we discover, Peter flunks - and almost permanently. He said, ''Lord, if it's really you, and not my imagination or a hallucination - tell me to come to you on the water.'' And Jesus says, simply, ''Come.''

Verse 29: Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ''Lord, save me!'' Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ''You of little faith,'' he said, ''why did you doubt?''

Well, we all think we know what happened. Peter took his walk on the water, lost his nerve, nearly sank, and cried out to Jesus for help. Jesus had to rescue him, and said to Peter, ''You of little faith, why did you doubt?''

There it is. Or so it appears. If you trust in God you won't sink beneath the waves; if you doubt God's strength, down you go. This is a parable about insufficient trust in God. Isn't it? Isn't that what the sermons you've heard on this passage usually come around to?

But is it really about trust in God? A trust in whom? A trust in what? In whom is trust lacking?

Oh, to be sure, Peter certainly experiences a lack of trust, a loss of confidence, a loss of attitude, a loss of buoyancy.

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