Problem is within us and not outside

-Bro. Nirmal Stephenson

Fear of the  future

Fear of hurts – either to ourselves or to others

Fear of becoming displeasing the boss and thus fear of losing the job.

Fear of uncertainty – whether it will work out fine or whether it will end up in a mess.

Fear of death

Fear of loss of property

We face all kinds of fear. As always we shall look into the Reference manual we have which God has provided us so we can handle this problem of ‘Fear’ with skill and not get perplexed and wonder that we do not have an answer. For every problem we face in our lives, we can find answer in God’s Word. Some answers are direct and some answers are in terms of principles. If we apply these principles then we can find answers to our problems. That God for He has not left us without guidance but we have a Compass for our life’s journey.

Another thing, when we face problems in our lives, let us face it, handle it and resolve it. Do not run away from the problem. We may not physically run away but we may be running away in our hearts. We try to suppress those thoughts by various means. Some people try to entertain themselves and by thus occupying themselves they think they can eliminate the problems. But, problems are real. you cannot eliminate them by just avoiding them. You got to face it, resolve it and put an end to it so you are not hindered by that kind of problem any more. If there is a problem and you just try to indulge in watching TV and seeing different useless programs, after all the programs are over, the problem will come and knock the door of your heart saying, “Hello! You have not paid my dues. I’m back.” You try to avoid it. But, it does not go away. Face it, wrestle with it, pray about it, apply the principles of God’s Word and demolish it once and for all.

Back to handling the ‘Fear’…

Narrate the story David’s encounter with Goliath from I Sam 17:24 - 51

The text I want to focus on for learning some of those principles today is

1 Sam 17:24

And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid.

1 Sam 17:34-37

But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep his father's sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God." 37 Moreover David said, "The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you!"

1 Sam 17:49-52

49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

David overcame the giant Goliath.

1.  The first principle we can focus on is “The problem was not the giant but the problem was within their own hearts.

Look at other Israelites. They were dreadfully afraid and they saw the giant differently. The way they saw was  He was so big. He cannot be overcome. He was a man of war from his youth etc.,

The way David saw was that 1 Sam 17:36

Isrealites – Too big to overcome

David – Too big to miss.

Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.

It is mainly the way we see our problems. It is our own perspective. Here are two groups… 1. the Isrealites who saw the giant to be too strong for them, the other 2. David, who saw the giant as something which he could easily overcome. It is the same giant in both their eyes but what a contrast in their perspective. Thus, we see that here the problem is Not without but it is Within meaning that the problem was in their own hearts and the problem was not the giant.

Israelites – dreadfully afraid and so could not see it in such a way to overcome the giant

David – absolutely no fear but bold, courageous and full of faith in his heart that the giant was something he can crush in no time.

Today, in our lives also when we face problems it is the same thing. We either look at it with the eyes of faith and destroy the problem or we look at the problem and get paralyzed and get discouraged and worried about the problem.

It is our own heart’s condition. So, the main thing is how do we see our problems differently as David saw and overcome those problems in our lives?

It is by growing in faith in God in our hearts. By developing that confidence in God. We see David drawing his confidence from God. How do we develop that confidence in Him? By walking with God closely, by charging ourselves with His Word, the principles in God’s Word and by applying them.

2. The next thing is David was faithful in small things. Our confidence in God does not grow overnight. It grows gradually. David, when he faced the lion and the bear, he did not wash of the responsibility given in his hands because it was a small thing for him. But, he was faithful in protecting those sheep from the lion and the bear. He was faithful in small things and later on his faith grow to such a level and he could take the giant down in no time. Had he been irresponsible in those small things, he would not developed the confidence later on in his life to take down the giant. How responsible are we in small things that are committed in our hands? When we encounter small problems in our lives, are we diligent to search God’s word, apply it and overcome those problems or do we ignore those problems not being diligent in finding answers. The victory that we establish in small things will lead us to victory in big battles.

3. Every problem has two things. One is, the real problem and the other is panic associated with the problem.

Problem is something we want to solve but many a time because of the attack by fear that is associated with the problem we tend to get paralyzed and we do not end up solving the problem.

Quite often, as soon as we hear of a problem, we react to it and get emotionally disturbed and we are not in a position to resolve the problem. It is better to calm down, pray and assure our hearts with the Word of His promises such as “I shall be above this problem only and not beneath etc., and after our hearts are quietened down, if we look at the problem not with a heart of fear but with a heart of confidence and faith in God, then we will look at the problem totally differently and we can find the solution to the problem easily.

4. Let us look at Rom 8:1

8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Gal 5:16-17

16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

We need to walk as the Spirit of God is leading us. Not trying to run after our instincts and desires but listen to God and walk according to what He says committing every one of our ways to Him.

I want to give the example of the electric train that we are used in India.

As long as the train runs on the track, it receives power and can go from one place to another. But, the moment the overhead lever gets disconnected from the power the train cannot move ahead even one inch. It comes to a grinding halt. In the same way, as long as we are connected to God in our heart, we will receive power and strength and run this life’s race and advance. But, the moment we get disconnected from God we will get derailed and cannot go forward and miss our direction. For this we need to remain in the track of God’s word. We cannot violate God’s word since it is the track for our lives. We need to abide in God’s word always being careful to observe what is written in His Word.

-10/4/2003