Beyond the Frights: Embracing Faith Amid Fear

By Dean Collins

I am sure you have noticed that during the month of October the streaming platforms and major television networks feature a wide variety of scary and spooky shows. There are lighter and friendlier shows for younger children and, based on the previews, some very horrific shows for those who have the appetite for such viewing. I am not a big fan of Halloween or the variety of shows associated with the season. 

All of us are sometimes afraid. Each of us have different things that stir fear. Fear can be a friend that keeps us from danger, but fear can also be negative for us when it turns into ongoing anxiety or limits our activities. Psychologists even say that it is quite normal to put oneself into situations where we might be exhilarated by some activity, like skydiving or rock climbing on one extreme, or maybe choosing to watch a show you know will likely make you close your eyes or jump when the frighting scene appears on the screen. The adrenaline rush can make one feel alive. 

Midway through the twelfth chapter of Hebrews, we read about a situation where Moses did exactly what God instructed him to do, and he was trembling in fear as he obeyed. The writer of Hebrews was drawing a contrast between an experience the Israelites had with God at Mount Sinai and the experience we have as citizens of God’s new kingdom that Christ initiated. 

In the first verse of chapter 12, we are reminded that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who are cheering us on from the grandstands of heaven as we run the race that God has given us in this life. The grandstands are filled with all the familiar heroes of faith from scripture, along with many of the saints we have known and loved who have gone on before us to heaven.

In verses 16 and 17, we are warned to not be like Esau, who is described in this text as being immoral because he traded his intangible birthright blessing for something as basic as a bowl of soup that he could see in the present moment. With this backdrop, we read that we also have to make a choice between what is described in Exodus to what awaits us in the heavenly city of Jerusalem.

If you reread Exodus 19:16-25, you will find the terrifying experience the Israelites had at the foot of the mountain: a blazing fire, trumpets blasting louder and louder, darkness all around, a cloud engulfing the mountain. The scene was so intense that Moses trembled in fear along with all who watched. Hebrews tells us that we have a different option. One that is far more inviting yet still not visible to us. It is a choice we must make by faith.

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”

Esau gave up his birthright, but according to Hebrews 12:23, our birthright is a part of what is described as “the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven.” We are not yet in heaven, but our faith in Jesus has granted us a birthright as clear and strong as one of an oldest child. All of God’s sons and daughters in faith are treated with this birthright.

The writer of Hebrews calls us to receive our birthright and kingdom blessing with gratitude because nothing and no one can take this blessing away. The kingdom that we are now a part of cannot be shaken or destroyed!

Whatever might happen today or tomorrow that stirs some anxiety, we can be assured that our loving Father in heaven will go through the challenges with us. And one day we will join our brothers and sisters along with all the saints in the New Jerusalem where there will be no fear or trembling because of the amazing love and grace of Jesus, who has paved the way to our eternal home.

Father, we admit to being fearful from time to time. Help us to remember that you are beside us, live in us, and have gone before us to prepare the place where we will live in community with you and all your children forever. Thank you for this marvelous gift! In Jesus’ name, amen.

Your Time with God’s Word
Hebrews 12:1, 12:16-17, 18-29; Exodus 19:16-25 ESV

Photo by Nathan Anderson on Unsplash
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