The Death Grip of Fear



California hker holding on to the face of a cliff.

You may have seen in the news over the last couple of weeks the remarkable rescue of a young lady who was holding on to the side of a cliff for dear life - not figuratively, but literally. She and her companion had gone hiking in a mountainous state park in California and decided to hike down a cliff. However, when they had gotten several yards down, they realized the cliff was not made for hiking! They were looking at a 500 foot drop straight down and decided the only way out of this very dangerous situation was to go back up the way they came.

Her companion went first and got back to the top of the cliff, but the 24 year old woman was frozen solid to the wall of the cliff - in fear! She had only a make-shift tether tied to her friend, so she was literally holding on to the cliff for her life. Two hours later when a helicopter let a rescue paramedic down to her and he had wrapped a safety harness around her waste, she would not or could not let go of the cliff. The paramedic said he had to pry her hands away from the crag she was holding on to with what he called a "death grip." Oh WOW! It all ended good as she and her friend were rescued and suffered only minor injuries.

That young lady was so full of fear that she was actually crippled to the point of not being able to help herself when the rescuer came. She was so afraid that she was not able to let go, even knowing the rescuer had hold of her.

As I was watching the video of that rescue on TV and then thinking about it later, I realized that it is a perfect illustration of how believers and receivers of Jesus Christ sometimes let fear cripple their faith!

Fear can cripple faith in so many ways - from being afraid to share Jesus with someone, to being afraid that He might not answer prayers or heal a seriously ill loved one or heal a marriage that looks like it cannot be saved or heal the hurt from abuse, and the list can go on and on. Fear is dangerous!

Fear is crippling because it changes one's focus. Coaches and motivational speakers are notorious for statements like, "Keep your eye on the prize..." And that's not a bad motivational tool. If we don't see the goal we are reaching for and keep it in our crosshairs, then we are more likely than not going to miss the goal or at least take longer to achieve it. The same is true in our spiritual walk. To allow the Lord to fulfill his purposes for us, we must stay focused on Him. It's when we take our eyes off of Jesus, that fear can cripple us. I'm so thankful for Peter because he gave us so many examples of what our humanness apart from God can do. Remember when he wanted to walk on water like Jesus?

• Matt. 14:22-33 is an account of that story. After feeding the 5,000, Jesus had the disciples go on ahead of Him to the other side of the sea. While He went up on the mountain to have some alone time with the Father, the guys were in the middle of the sea when a great wind stirred the waves. The account in Mark 6 says Jesus saw them straining at the oars. They were in physical danger of being swamped by the waves. Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. They thought Him a ghost and cried out in fear. But when He spoke to them, they realized Who it was.
• Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately, Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him... (vv.28-31)
• As long as Peter's eyes were fixed on Jesus, he was fine - in fact, more than fine - he was walking on the water toward Jesus! But when he let himself get distracted by the wind - his gaze drifted away from Jesus - he began to sink. Fear took over and crippled his faith! And Jesus was within arms' reach! Just like the paramedic trying to resuce the hiker. He was right there with a harness around her waist, but she couldn't let go of the cliff. She - and Peter - were paralyzed by their fear.

Fear is also crippling because it feeds our doubt. Since our faith rests in a God whom we cannot physically see or touch, doubt is a powerful weapon Satan uses to diminish our faith. A believer who doubts God's truths and faithfulness is not likely to speak out for Him or to stand strong when troubles come. Many times when fear is feeding a believer's doubt, she will take matters into her own hands. The outcome is usually not a good one!

• Genesis 15-21 gives the account of Abraham and Sarah and the birth of their son, Isaac. God had chosen Abraham to be the "father of many nations." He had promised him a son through whom He would fulfill that promise. After many years, Sarah had born no children - she was barren. They began to doubt God's promise, and just as many believers do, they took matters into their own hands. Sarah suggested that Abraham bare a child by her maid servant, Hagar. Since God had not given Sarah a child, this must be the way He intended it to happen. Back in that day, children born to the maid servants were considered children of the master. So the son born to Hagar by Abraham could be the son God had promised. That son was named Ishmael. He was not the son God purposed to fulfill His promise through. Much dysfunction and discord was instigated because of Abraham and Sarah's doubt.
• God reminded Abraham about His promise and specifically told him that the mother would be Sarah and they would name the child Isaac. He even sent an angel to reveal the same to Sarah. - And she laughed. Her doubt continued because of her age. She forgot that the One dealing with them was the One who spoke the earth into existence! Even Abraham doubted and reminded God that he was a hundred years old and Sarah was ninety. However, a year from that day, Sarah gave birth to a son whom they named Isaac.
• When God didn't work on their time-table, Abraham and Sarah began to doubt what they knew about God and what they had heard from God. That fear led them to take matters into their own hands and "help" God out. They were afraid God had left them, or they were afraid that they heard the wrong thing, or they were afraid that time was running out on them and God.
• Their doubt led to the birth of two sons who were in conflict with each other from the beginning and the creation of two nations of people who continue to be in conflict with each other to this day. However, even in the midst of their doubt and disobedience, God was faithful, He never left them, and He fufilled His promise to Abraham. But the whole world lives with the consequences of their doubt.

Fear is one of the most powerful emotions that a person will ever encounter. And just like what happened with that hiker, fear can overtake every other emotion and rational thought. When we allow fear to change our focus and give rise to doubt, it becomes crippling. Spiritually, fear will cripple our faith. So, for that NOT to happen, we must keep our eyes focused on Jesus and let Him work in our lives in His time, trusting that He will do what He says He will do.

And we must remember that whenever we find ourselves hanging on to a cliff with a death grip, He is right there with us, urging us to reach out to Him for our rescue. He is our safety harness, and He will never let go.

Do not fear for I am with you; Do not look anxiously about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Is. 41:10