[Editor's Note: This article is the third in a series on the theme, “I Can Do All Things in Christ.” This article is from the August 2005 issue of The Word Among Us devotional magazine. Used with permission. Click here to find the first article and second article.]
In June of 1924, at the age of thirty-eight, George Mallory — one of Britain’s greatest mountain climbers — died. Having tried and failed twice before, he was attempting yet again to reach the summit of Mount Everest when he disappeared. It wasn’t until 1999 that his frozen body was discovered by another expedition — only two thousand feet short of the summit.
Some time after Mallory’s disappearance, his friends held a banquet in England to honor him. Some of the climbers who had survived that ill-fated expedition were in attendance. At the close of the banquet, a surviving team member stood up and looked around at the photos of Mallory and his comrades that had been hung on the walls. Then, in tears, he turned to face a huge picture of Mount Everest behind the banquet table. “Mount Everest,” he said, “you defeated us once, you defeated us twice, you defeated us three times. But we shall someday defeat you, because you can’t get any bigger and we can!”
For many of us, fear is the Mount Everest of our lives. Like a towering, immovable mountain, it overwhelms us and paralyzes us, convincing us that the rewards are not worth the risks.
Of course, we all experience fear in some form or other. But there is a difference between the regular fears that are a normal part of life in this world and the extreme fears that can keep some of us bound up for years. If you find yourself in that “extreme” category — suffering from an irrational fear of the dark, a fear of meeting people, a fear of failure, or any other kind of overpowering fear — you need to tell yourself, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
The “Gift” of Fear
In reality, fear can be a very useful gift from the Lord. It’s through fear that we are warned to be careful, to consider the risks at hand, and to take the proper measures in protecting ourselves. It can act as a guard against the unknown and can be instrumental in teaching us prudence and wisdom.
The problem comes when we let our fears move us in extreme and unreasonable ways. When this happens, fear becomes the controlling factor in our lives, the one filter through which every other thought or emotion must pass.
What causes this gift of fear to get out of hand and play so dominant a role in our lives? There are many possible ways to answer this question, but the most prominent factor is our own memories. Think about all the painful or traumatic events that are stored in your memory. Now imagine what it would be like for just one of these memories — and the fear it caused — to remain in the forefront of your mind, haunting and harassing you all the time. Imagine what it must be like not to be able to enjoy life because you are constantly afraid of reliving the pain of the past. Imagine what it must be like not feeling confident to tackle any new venture because you are afraid that you will only repeat the same failure that so wounded you in the past.
It’s no wonder that the Letter to the Hebrews describes the devil as holding people in slavery to fear — and most powerfully, the fear of dying (Hebrews 2:14-15). One of Satan’s most common, and most devious, strategies is to prey upon our scarred memories. He loves to accuse us, bringing up all the negative aspects of our lives — all so that he can immobilize us, get us depressed, and convince us to call it quits. Of all the weapons in his arsenal, it seems that Satan uses fear most frequently and most effectively.
A Case Study: Jim and Mary
A doctor named Jim and his wife, Mary, had been struggling with a mountain of division and animosity against one another when Mary decided one day to call it quits. She walked out on Jim and their three children and never came home again. Jim was devastated, and it only got worse when he discovered that he had nowhere to turn. Most of the members of his parish shunned him and refused to let their children play with his girls. Friends gossiped about him behind his back. Even family members kept their distance. It seemed that no one wanted to help him. They only wanted to condemn him as a failure or ignore his need altogether.
So, here he was, a doctor with hundreds of patients looking to him for medical care and personal support, yet he couldn’t even keep his marriage together. He felt more helpless and more fearful than they did. “How can I possibly raise my three girls?” he would wonder. He would go to bed each night filled with fear, guilt, and shame, and many were the times when he wished and even prayed for death.
But, the story doesn’t end there. After three months of anguish, he decided that he could not go on living this way. He feared that he was going to destroy his medical practice, alienate his girls, and ruin his life if he didn’t make some changes.
Seeing Jim go from bad to worse, a friend at the hospital suggested that he read Philippians chapter 4 over and over again. When he came to Paul’s proclamation, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” he felt a sense of hope that he hadn’t felt in a long time. For the first time in months, he believed that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. He began to pray these words to himself every day. As he read the whole chapter over and over again, other words in this letter came to life as well. He decided to take Paul’s words and apply them to his life in as specific a way possible. Here is one entry from his prayer journal, which Jim wrote as if Jesus were speaking to him:
“Jim, you can rejoice in me. You don’t have to be anxious about raising your children. Don’t be fearful. I am with you. Ask me for help. Trust that my peace is guarding your life and your children’s lives as well. Simply try to do whatever is noble and admirable in all things. Let me do the work in you I want to do.”
This passage from Philippians became the philosophy for Jim’s life. He gradually saw his confidence come back. He saw that he could go on in life and raise his daughters to be successful, well-adjusted women. His fears and his sense of guilt diminished, and his home became a place of blessing once more, no longer a place of fear and depression. One of his daughters even stitched a cloth as a birthday present for him, with Paul’s confident proclamation on it. In time, Jim began to ask God to help him forgive Mary and let go of any pent-up anger or frustration he felt toward her. Now, ten years later, Jim’s children are grown up, and his medical practice continues to thrive. And most important of all, he is at peace.
“You Are with Me”
What God did for Jim he can do for each one of us. In fact, we can do all things — including defeating fear — in Christ because the Holy Spirit is in us to strengthen us and help us do things that we would not be able to do on our own. Of course we may fail at times. Of course fear may grip us on occasion. Of course Satan may get the upper hand in some situations. But we can always get back on our feet and try again — seventy times seven times if necessary — simply because the Spirit is always with us, helping us and strengthening our faith in Jesus.
Brothers, God wants to teach us to say, “I fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff — they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). He wants to teach us to say, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1). And, to paraphrase Psalm 3:6, he wants to teach us to say, “I will not get fearful when the multitudes of fear are drawn up against me.” By contrast, Satan has a different plan in mind. He wants to rule our lives, and to that end he will try to convince us to be fearful and anxious.
If there is some area of your life where fear is keeping you bound up, now just may be the time to face it and not run away. Now — even today — may be the time of salvation for you (2 Corinthians 6:2). In hope and trust, ask the Holy Spirit to break any stronghold that fear has in your life. With the same confidence that moved St. Paul, go ahead and conquer that mountain of fear. Jesus has all the gear you need, and he is ready to climb with you — all the way to the very top.
(Many thanks to The Word Among Us for allowing us to use the article from the August 2005 issue of their devotional magazine. This article is part of NFCM's sponsorship of the Catholic Man channel. Contact NFCM at P.O. Box 86381, Gaithersburg, MD 20886 or e-mail them at info@nfcmusa.org.)
Reflection Questions on Page 2
Questions for Reflection/Discussion by Catholic Men
1. The article states that “For many of us, fear is the Mount Everest of our lives. Like a towering, immovable mountain, it overwhelms us and paralyzes us, convincing us that the rewards are not worth the risks.” What are the Mt. Everest-type fears in your life? Do you believe that you “can do all things in Christ”? What is holding you back from believing this?
2. What is the difference between the “gift of fear” and unreasonable and irrational fears that can bind us up?
3. In the Jim and Mary case study, how did Jim overcome his fears? Can you use the same approach to overcoming any deep-seated fears you may have?
4. How does Satan, the father of lies, play a hand in trying to allow fear to rule our lives? The truths in Scripture are one of the best weapons we have against him? What truths of Scripture that are quoted in the article can use as weapons against the lies of Satan?
