ARCS for FEAR

I love thunderstorms and here in East Texas, we get some good ones. Watching the lightning zig zag across the sky, feeling the thunder shake the house, and listening to the rain beat upon the roof, knowing all the while I’m safe inside, just enjoying God’s display of power. But this wasn’t always the case.

Back many years ago when I was seven-ish, I was terrified of thunderstorms and always ended up in bed with my parents. I don’t know what I did to annoy Mom that day, but I remember her looking me in the eyes and saying, “Jean, if it’s your turn to go, God’s going get you whether you’re in our bed or in your own. Now, get in your own bed.” And I’m not sure why it worked, but I’ve been pretty much fearless since then. Spiders, snakes, bugs, heights, the dark, nope, doesn’t bother me.

I do have one fear that I’m working on though.

Fear of the unknown. I dislike uncertainty and the not-knowing stresses me. I start imagining all the bad things that could happen, and end up with the worst-case scenario, every time. Then I become afraid and full of fear. And just why is it that I pick the bad things and not the good things that could happen?

Not long ago, I came across the acronym for fear – False Events Appearing Real. I had to write it down because it made such perfect sense. They, and I’m not sure who they are, say that 95% of the things we worry about never happen. For me, this seems a little low, more like 99%. I’m a good worrier, even though I know better.

While working through a recent FEAR event, I decided to create my own acronym. ARCS – Acknowledge, Realize, Cast, and Scripture.

Acknowledge our fear.

I don’t know about you but admitting I’m afraid is not my favorite thing. It makes me feel vulnerable, and I hate that feeling. But it’s the first step in dealing with our fear. We then need to analyze our fear and figure out just what we’re afraid of. Once we know this, we can decide on a course of action that makes sense. For example, with thunderstorms. Was I afraid of the thunder, the lightning, or the rain? I’m not sure now, age seven was a very long time ago, but as an adult, if it was lightning, I could plan a way not to be able to see the flashes. Maybe blackout curtains. Or I could wear headphones and listen to music to avoid the loud thunder.

I’ve recently conquered the fear of car issues. Again, it was the not-knowing. Not knowing what was wrong, and especially how much it was going to cost to fix. Then there was the not-knowing of how we’d need to rearrange our schedules to fit five adults going multiple places at the same time with one less vehicle. By analyzing what I was afraid of, I could then come up with solutions that made sense. First, trust my mechanic, they are good people and always do right by me, and second, schedules can be changed and we can adapt as needed.

Realize

We also need to realize the source of our fear. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (NKJV) Did you catch that? God didn’t give us the spirit of fear. Remember the FEAR acronym, False Events Appearing Real. This comes directly from Satan. In John 8:44, we are told the devil or Satan, is a liar and the father of lies.

For me with car stuff, it was always the lies of it’s going to cost all your savings or might as well scrap it and get another. And if I didn’t get a call from my mechanic when they said they’d call, the lies and whispers got larger and louder. Again, I’d always imagine the worst-case scenario instead of the possibility they were just busy and forgot.

We also need to remember the goodness of God and how He has always been faithful in the past. Sometimes I tend to get the “woe-is-me” and “this-isn’t-fair” mindset. But when I think back to all the struggles He’s brought me safely through and how He has never left me alone in them, I know that He will be with me in whatever current situation I’m dealing with. One of my favorite verses is Romans 8:28. We know that all things work to good, but it doesn’t say we are going to like all those things.

Cast

Next. we cast our cares and worries on Him. All our worrying and stressing isn’t going to do anything to solve the problem. It only makes us miserable and so do those weeklong pity parties. I admit I do love a good pity party, but I’ve learned they aren’t helpful. One of my mentors always said, “If you pray, why worry? If you worry, why pray?” There are so many great verses in the Bible about prayer that deserve to be mentioned, for example. Peter tells us to cast “all our cares upon Him” because He cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7) In Matthew, Jesus calls the weary and heavy-laden to Him and says He will give us rest. (Matt. 11:28)

God wants to hear from us, He wants to be involved in our lives. I once believed God was too busy and didn’t want to be bothered by the small things in my life. I’d go to Him for all the big stuff, serious illness, major decisions, that sort of thing. When it came to the small things I’d try to handle those on my own.

One morning though, while despairing over the number of grey hairs in my brush, I remembered He knows the number of my hairs, He sees a sparrow when it falls, and how we are more valuable than many sparrows. (Luke 12:6-7) I realized if He keeps up with the every-changing number of hairs on my head then He is concerned about my car problems and when I get the sniffles.

Scripture

The last one is probably my favorite. Scripture gives me comfort. It gives me peace and encouragement. For years I claimed scripture memorization wasn’t important since we could just look it up. I mean, how many of us have smart phones nearby practically 24/7. I’ve even said Google is your friend. But I was wrong. Having scripture memorized is important. When we have Bible verses memorized, the Holy Spirit can bring them to our attention immediately when needed. For example, when I get afraid, I’m reminded of Psalm 56:3, “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in you.” Not only does hiding God’s Word in our heart keep us from sinning, but it makes it easier to share our faith with others. We don’t have to fumble around looking for the right verses.

Another “S” is songs. There are so many good praise and worship songs out there. I have a whole playlist devoted to songs that remind me God is in control, He can be trusted, and how much He loves me. When in my car, I turn it up loud and sing along. Running errands and going places becomes a time of worship and communion.

God speaks if we listen.

Not long ago, my car was in the shop with one of those issues that would show up when I drove but not when the mechanic drove it. He’d had the car two weeks and had made no progress. I was driving my son’s car that day when I stopped by the shop for an update. He was frustrated, I was frustrated and neither of us was happy. When I returned to my son’s car, my playlist automatically connected, and God spoke. Not audibly but an old song I’d added a couple weeks before which had never come up in the shuffle. “In His Time.”  Yep, I can take a hint. The song comes up very seldom, once or twice a month but it always makes me smile. God saw my frustration and reminded me He is in control.

Remember the “garbage in, garbage out” thing with computer programing when they first came out? This is me. I have to be so careful of what I put in my head because it comes out in my life. I’m not sure about other people but I tend to have some sort of background dialogue going on in my head most of the time. By listening to spiritual music, that dialogue becomes those songs that speak to me where I am at that moment.

My pastor gave me another acronym for fear.  Our Father Eternal Almighty Reigns. God is my father and loves me so much He sent His Son to redeem me. He is eternal and almighty. He reigns over all things. Nothing is beyond Him or His control.  And as Paul reminds us in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”