President and Mrs. Benjamin Harrison were so intimidated by the newfangled electricity
installed in the White House they didn’t dare touch the switches. If there were no servants
around to turn off the lights when the Harrisons went to bed, they slept with them on!
Besides that, Alfred Hitchcock had a fear of eggs, Oprah Winfrey has a fear of gum, Megan
Fox has a fear of dry paper, Nicole Kidman has a fear of butterflies and Khloé Kardashian has
a fear of belly buttons. As scary as those things may be (especially those ferocious
butterflies!), I think we would recognize those as irrational fears.
For us, we might feel that we’ve left all our irrational fears back in our childhood. 5-year
old Johnny was in the kitchen as his mother made supper. She asked him to go into the
pantry and get her a can of tomato soup, but he didn’t want to go in alone. “It’s dark in there
and I’m scared.” She asked again, and he persisted. Finally, she said, “It’s OK–Jesus will be in
there with you.” Johnny walked hesitantly to the door and slowly opened it. He peeked
inside, saw it was dark, and started to leave when all at once an idea came, and he said,
"Jesus, if you’re in there, would you hand me that can of tomato soup?”
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University reported that back in 1960, the greatest fears of
grade school children were, in fact, things like being in a dark room, animals, monsters
under the bed and strangers. It’s reported today that while many of those fears still exist,
kids’ apprehensions, oftentimes amplified by the media, have evolved into fears of world
concerns like climate change, injustice, political unrest, war or terrorism. Add to that, the
anxiousness that children may feel due to the financial problems, emotional stress and
relational instability they’re finding within their own homes. I suspect that many adults
share some of those same fears.
But let me encourage you to view even those more adult issues as irrational fears for the
believer. Now that’s not to say that those aren’t legitimate issues to be concerned about. In
our world, the harsh reality is that those things may, in fact, take place whether it’s on the
world scene or within our own four walls. But while the Psalmist wrote about the possibility
of ‘’the earth giving way and the mountains falling into the heart of the sea…” we can deal
with even that because “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
(Psalm 46:1) I think that’s why David- who experienced some pretty frightening situations-
could affirm his confidence writing “Even though I walk through the darkest valley (or the
valley of the shadow of death) I will fear no evil, for you are with me…” (Psalm 23:4) Yes,
even in that dark pantry!
Jesus Himself reminds us what our one truly rational fear should be. He taught “Do not be
afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. (Meaning anyone or anything in
this world) Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (God
Himself)” (Matthew 10:28) I think Oswald Chambers put it well: “The remarkable thing
about God is that when you fear Him, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God,
you fear everything else.” Amen!
In His Service, Jim
Scripture Spotlight “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)