The Wrong Fear

A Quick Look: Luke 8: 37 – 39

Really Read It: Luke 8: 22 – 39, Mark 4: 35 – 5: 20

Memorize: Acts 1 :8 You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. NLT

Rufus had never been in the water. He knew nothing about floating, kicking his feet, moving his hands. He could not swim. But when foolish Rufus saw the pretty, blue water, he could not resist. He ran full speed for the pool and jumped in. The lifeguard pulled him out of the pool.

“You need to learn to swim before you jump in the water. This is not safe for you,” the guard scolded.

“But I like it. I want to go back in there.”

As Rufus struggled with the lifeguard to get back to the water, it started to rain. Gentle drops splashed into the pool and sprinkled the people on the patio.

“AAAHHHHHH! Help me, help me, save me! Get me out of here!” Rufus was screaming and thrashing his body in terror.

“What is wrong with you?” questioned the lifeguard.

“Water is falling from the sky! It is hitting me on the head! Ahhh, a drop just got me on the arm!”

Boris wanted to visit his brother in Boston, so he went to the train station and bought a ticket. But Boris never got on the train. When his train arrived, Boris did not like the looks of it. He walked slowly to the door and leaned in.

“No, no, no,” shrieked Boris. “I am not getting into that metal box. I could get trapped in there forever. I will walk to Boston.”

So Boris walked to the front of the train and onto the tracks. He strolled calmly down the train tracks without a care in the world as the train behind him started to move.

Luke 8:22 begins a story of Jesus and his disciples crossing a lake at night and continues with what happened the next day. The disciples and the people across the lake all make the same mistake. It is the same mistake as Rufus and Boris. They are afraid of the wrong things. Fear is a big problem for kids, and the Bible has a lot to say about fear. The main message from the Bible is: fear God and don’t fear anything else. But if you think about it and really study fear in the Bible, there are some things to fear. If you can’t swim and you see a pool, do you fear the water? I hope you don’t scream and run away, but the right fear keeps you from jumping into the water. You shouldn’t panic when you see train tracks, but you shouldn’t stroll down the tracks when a train is coming either.

The disciples made all kinds of fear mistakes on their nighttime boat ride across the lake. Jesus slept while the disciples guided the boat, but a bad storm came up. It was bad enough to sink the boat, and these guys feared death. If they had no fear they might have done nothing. Does no fear means that they just sat and watched the huge waves fill the boat with water? The right fear of that huge storm would cause them to stand in faith to stop it. That is what Jesus did. And when Jesus stopped the storm with his words of faith, the disciples made an even bigger fear mistake. They should have been thrilled that God was with them with such power, but Mark 4:41 says, “They were terrified.”

When Jesus and the disciples got to the other side of the lake, they met a messed-up guy. This guy lived without clothes in a graveyard, because he wouldn’t stay in a house and no one could keep him in a prison. He cried out night and day and cut himself with rocks. This was a scary guy. There are some safety steps to remember for naked, super-strong, crazy guys, but you don’t have to study them now. Instead look for foolish people with the wrong fear. They showed up after Jesus God met the demon-filled crazy man.

God’s power won, and the people from the nearby town saw the guy with clothes on, sitting quietly, and listening to Jesus. Then “a great wave of fear swept over them” and they forced Jesus to leave. Maybe they were, maybe they weren’t afraid of this guy before. But now there is NOTHING to fear. It was easy to see that good came from Jesus. It was easy to see that good came from the power of God. This guy would not wear clothes. It is good that he put some on. This guy was screaming, yelling, and cutting himself with rocks. It is good that he stopped. But these foolish, blind people didn’t see good. They saw a reason to be afraid. They were afraid of Jesus, because he brought the power of God to do good to their town. These people would rather have their crazy graveyard guy than Jesus.

Think about the wrong fear. Rufus and Boris used the wrong fear. The disciples and the people across the lake were afraid of the power of God. And that is the wrong fear that will cause the most harm in your life. Never fear our amazing, loving, powerful God. God does only good. Never be afraid of good happening in front of you. If sick people get better, that is good. If fighting families find peace, that is good. If storms stop, that’s good. If a boy who doesn’t care about anything starts to care about God, that’s good. If a girl who never feels anything feels God, that’s good.