How to Trust God When You Feel Afraid
Who are you most likely to trust—and what makes that trust possible? Perhaps it is easier to identify whom you are least likely to trust or what causes you to withdraw your trust. Most of us can point to circumstances that have made trust difficult.
I hear chatter about others not trusting corporate America, educators, their bosses, food labels, and of course, the government. I remember the season when my children became more confident in themselves and less trusting of my point of view. In addition, I fully acknowledge my own internal struggle to trust.
Faith, Trust, and Fear
Often, we use trust and faith interchangeably. However, there is a subtle difference between the two words. Trust is the action we take based on our faith or belief. We struggle at times to trust or act out our faith because we encounter fear. When we experience fear, we face a choice: trust God or allow fear to direct our way forward.
For example, I often say I love macaroni and cheese. I make this claim because I believe macaroni and cheese always tastes delicious. However, I admit, I don’t always trust a restaurant to serve me macaroni and cheese I will enjoy. I imagine it will be too runny, or it won’t taste rich and cheesy enough and that fear affects my choice.
A Day in the Life of Jesus
Several Sundays ago, I participated in a Sunday School class where we discussed Luke 8:22-56. In the passage, Luke offers a day in the life of Jesus. As the class discussed a variety of things, Holy Spirit drew my attention to a pattern. On this one day, Jesus responds to four different expressions of fear and four corresponding choices about whether to trust Him.
- Fear that the worst is going to happen.
- Fear of what one doesn’t understand.
- Fear of others.
- Fear of losing what one loves.
In Luke 8:22-25, Jesus was in a boat with the disciples. Jesus fell asleep and a storm came up. The disciples woke Jesus because they feared they would die. Jesus calmed the storm, then asked the disciples, “Where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25)
The disciples and Jesus then sailed to the region of the Garasenes in Luke 8:26-39. While there, Jesus freed a demon-possessed man. When the people from the nearby town saw “the man the demons had departed from, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind,” (Luke 8:35) they were gripped by fear. They were so afraid of what they couldn’t explain they asked Jesus to leave.
Luke then weaves two stories together. When Jesus returned to Galilee, the crowd swarmed around Him. Jairus, a synagogue leader came to Jesus and begged him to come to his house because his daughter was dying.
On the way to Jairus’ house, a woman who suffered for twelve years from bleeding touched the hem of Jesus’ garment. Instantly, she was healed. She didn’t publicly approach Jesus because she was afraid of what everyone else would say and do since she was unclean. Jesus declared power left Him, and she came forward. Jesus told her, “…your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” (Luke 8:48)
As Jesus and the crowd prepared to move on, someone from Jairus’ house appeared and told Jairus it was too late, his daughter had died. Jesus reassured Jairus and said, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe and she will be saved.” (Luke 8:50) Jesus went to Jairus’ home and told the child to “get up!” Luke tells us, “…her spirit returned, and she got up at once.” (Luke 8:55)
Choosing Trust or Fear
The disciples feared the worst was going to happen, yet they trusted Jesus enough to wake Him. The townspeople of the Garasenes feared what they didn’t understand and pushed Jesus away instead of trusting Him. The woman who suffered from bleeding feared what others would say or do, yet she trusted Jesus enough to reach for Him. Jairus feared losing what he loved, yet he trusted Jesus and begged Him to heal his daughter.
We are no different from the people in these stories. Like the disciples, we fear the worst will happen when we say “I’ll never find a job, or a spouse, or a friend.” When we complain about never having enough money, or that we are always lonely, or we never get what we hope for, we choose fear over trusting God.
Many of us live within boundaries created by what we don’t understand just like the townspeople in the region of the Garasenes. For example, we meet someone who speaks a different language or has a different culture, and we refuse to get to know them because it seems too hard. We might travel, but it’s scary. Sometimes, we consider learning something new, like a new dance or a new game, but don’t because the instructions are too detailed.
Like the woman suffering from bleeding, we too often live afraid of others. We become too concerned about what others will say about us; we fear others will judge us. Each of us has thought someone didn’t really mean what they said, they were just being polite. And then there’s social media! We perceive others to be smarter, wealthier, more athletic, and/or more adventurous than us, then we fear they won’t like us.
Lastly, we all fear losing what we love just as Jairus feared losing his daughter. We beg God to save a family member or friend who is sick. We struggle as our children grow up and leave home. When we hear about floods and fires, we can’t imagine what it would be like to lose all we own. Each of us values our safety, comfort, and the rhythm of our lives.
Fear Presents Two Choices
When we experience fear, we have two choices: trust Jesus and draw near or push Him away. In three of the four stories, the people experiencing fear drew near to Jesus. They saw Him as the One to rescue and save them. In the fourth story, the townspeople pushed Jesus away because their fear consumed them.
Each story reveals a truth about fear and choosing to trust God. God wants us to trust Him without panicking or going to the worst-case scenario. He invites us to trust what we can never understand because He is good. We experience how much He values us when we keep our eyes on Him and not on others. God longs for us to know how He loves us and cares about what we care about.
However, we must remember, God won’t always calm the storm, nor will he always heal. God never guarantees we will live the life we think is ideal. Instead, He can use our fear and our circumstances to teach us to trust Him more completely. In addition, Christ will continue to remind us He values us and He will offer us peace.
Choose Where You Focus Your Thoughts
In The Passion Translation, Luke 8:50 says, “…don’t yield to your fear…” In the Easy English Bible, Luke 8:50 says, “Just believe in me.” Both statements are simple, yet difficult at times to live out. Together though, the two statements remind us we must choose where we focus our thoughts.
We are familiar with Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” Isaiah 26:3-4 says something similar. “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.”
In The Passion Translation, the Isaiah passage says, “Perfect, absolute peace surrounds those whose imaginations are consumed with you; they confidently trust in you…” I like the phrase “whose imaginations are consumed with you.” I know when the enemy tempts me to yield to fear, my imagination is working overtime leading me to be more afraid. God encourages us in His Word to use our imaginations and be consumed with Him, who He is and all He is capable of.
The four stories also reveal how fear works through our imagination. The woman with the bleeding imagined what Jesus could do, and her hope led her to trust that He would heal her. Jairus also fixed his imagination on what Jesus could do, even though approaching Him risked criticism from his peers at the synagogue. The disciples’ imaginations moved toward disaster, yet they still woke Jesus. Sadly, the townspeople in the region of the Garasenes allowed fear to consume their imaginations, so they pushed Jesus away.
Strengthen Your Trust and Overcome Fear
Proverbs 3:5 and Isaiah 26:3-4 provide us with three actions we can take to strengthen our trust. First, we must fix our thoughts and our whole imagination on who God is. Second, we refuse to depend on our own understanding or rely only on what we can figure out. Lastly, we choose to anchor our thoughts, choices, and behaviors on the truth that He is LORD and our eternal Rock. God always has the final say, and He is immovable.
Overcoming fear and choosing trust isn’t easy. Satan lies to us and tempts us to give in to fear, so the battle is constant. Yet the day in the life of Jesus recorded in Luke 8 shows us where to turn: we can draw near to Christ and trust Him. He is able to rescue and redeem us, and even when our circumstances do not change as we hope, He will meet us with His presence and peace. When fear begins to direct our thoughts, we can choose again to trust Jesus.
Trust the One Bigger than I Photo by Liane Metzler on Unsplash
