Faith Factor

 

"They were now on the way to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them.  The disciples were filled with dread and the people following behind were overwhelmed with fear.  Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus once more began to describe everything that was about to happen to him in Jerusalem.  'When we get to Jerusalem,' he told them, 'The Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law.  They will sentence him to die and hand him over to the Romans. They will mock him, spit on him, beat him with their whips, and kill him, but after three days he will rise again.'" Mark 10:32-34 (NLT).

 

Recently I watched "The Fear Factor" for the first time.  During this segment, two women and two men had to eat ten live slugs and drink cow bile to move to the finals and continue competing for $50,000.     When some of the contestants starting putting those fat, squirmy slugs into their mouths I had to change the channel - it was that disgusting.  I confess, though, that I kept changing it back to see who would actually do it.  I told my son that there is no amount of money that could get me to put live, slimy slugs in my mouth, and then chew and swallow them.  I guess my fear factor includes eating slimy slugs.

 

We all have a fear factor; that is, there are things in this life that inspire fear in us and cause us to dread the very notion of this thing happening.  Losing our job; the death of a loved one; moving to a new place; meeting new people; hiring the wrong person; taking the wrong job; changing careers; speaking to a group of people; being found out; failing at something; being rejected; talking to the boss; becoming homeless, repeating a bad experience - on and on the list goes of the things we may fear or dread.

 

It is very human to have fears.  Even the apostles experienced fear and dread.  In fact, our text says that after Jesus told them what was going to happen to him in Jerusalem they were "filled with dread" and "overwhelmed with fear."  Jesus was trying to help them by preparing them for what was to come, but instead of being prepared, they were terrified - and for good reason.  The things that happened to Jesus were terrifying.  They were brutal, bloody, and shocking.  His torture and crucifixion at the hands of the Romans would be enough to petrify anyone.

 

Nevertheless, it had to happen so that the world could be healed and saved from sin.  So the disciples of Jesus had to face their fears and experience all they dreaded so that God's purpose could be carried out.  In the end, wonderful good came to pass on the other side of the dark tunnel of fear.

 

Sometimes we must face our fears too.  At times God will call us to do something that inspires dread in our hearts.  As we read his Word and pray, he directs us to do or say or get involved with something that brings all our worst fears to the surface.  Still, he prods us to move forward and face our fears.  We will have to face and endure heartache and trial just as his followers had to face and endure the torture and execution of their Lord.  Still, he urges us on knowing the wonderful good that he has planned that lies on the other side of the dark tunnel.

 

Remember that along with telling his disciples about his pending torture and death, Jesus also told them about his resurrection that would follow three days later.  Isn't it funny how the disciples tuned this part of Jesus' words out and honed in on the negative part?  If they had paid attention to ALL Jesus said, including the part about his resurrection, they would have endured the difficulty and been sitting outside Jesus' tomb looking at their watches waiting for him to emerge and get on with establishing his Kingdom!  The fear factor would have been overwhelmed by the faith factor.

 

What about you?  Do you live your life by the fear factor or faith factor?  Do you hone in on the negatives and things that might go wrong, or do you claim the promises of God and move forward?

 

Do you remember when Israel was trapped at the Red Sea?  The entire Egyptian army was bearing down on them from behind, and the Red Sea was in front.  There was nowhere to go.  If they went forward they would drown in the sea - or so they thought.  Their fear factor sure told them this.  But I'll never forget what God said when Moses cried out to him for help: "Why are you crying out to me?  Tell the people to get moving!" Exodus 14:15 (NLT).

 

You know the rest of the story.  Israel stepped into the faith factor, and walked into the water.  The waters parted.  Pharaoh followed and was destroyed.  God will do the same for you, so stop crying out to him and get moving!  You know what he wants you to do, so get to it.  He'll come through for you.  So stop whining and move out!

 

The faith factor destroys the fear factor every time.