Book notes: Fearless, by Max Lucado

Fearless, by Max Lucado

And it turns us into control freaks. “Do something about the storm!” is the implicit demand of the question. “Fix it or . . . or . . . or else!” Fear, at its center, is a perceived loss of control.

Fear, at its center, is a perceived loss of control.

I wonder if the disciples ever reflected on the most-often-repeated phrases of Christ. If so, they would have noted, “He was always calling us to courage.”

I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough. (Matt. 6:25 NLT)

Don’t be afraid. Just believe, and your daughter will be well. (Luke 8:50 NCV) T

ake courage. I am here! (Matt. 14:27 NLT)

Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. (Matt. 10:28)

Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32)

Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. . . . I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. ( John 14:1, 3 NLT)

Don’t be troubled or afraid. ( John 14:27 NLT)

“Why are you frightened?” he asked. “Why are your hearts filled with doubt?” (Luke 24:38 NLT)

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. (Matt. 24:6 NIV)

Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” (Matt. 17:7)

They are affirming our deepest trepidation: no one cares, because we aren’t worth caring about. For that reason we crave the attention of our spouse or the affirmation of our boss, drop names of important people in conversations, wear college rings on our fingers, and put silicone in our breasts, flashy hubcaps on our cars, grids on our teeth, and silk ties around our necks.

Maybe we can outsource our insignificance. By coupling our identity with someone’s Gulliver-sized achievement, we give our Lilliputian lives meaning. How else can you explain our fascination with sports franchises and athletes?

Fear of insignificance creates the result it dreads, arrives at the destination it tries to avoid, facilitates the scenario it disdains.

You are his idea. And God has only good ideas.

“You matter already,” he explained to the town. “Trust me on this one. Keep your feet on the ground.”

It had been fifty years since the game, but he wept as he spoke.1 Memories of dropped passes fade slowly. They stir a lonely fear, a fear that we have disappointed people, that we have let down the team, that we’ve come up short.

“Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven” (Matt. 9:2 NASB). Note how Jesus places courage and forgiven sins in the same sentence. Might bravery begin when the problem of sin is solved?

Before Jesus healed the body (which he did), he treated the soul. “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”

Since we’ve all sinned, we all hide, not in bushes, but in eighty-hour workweeks, temper tantrums, and religious busyness. We avoid contact with God.

When you feel unforgiven, evict the feelings. Emotions don’t get a vote. Go back to Scripture. God’s Word holds rank over self-criticism and self-doubt.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. (Luke 11:9 NIV) If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. ( John 15:7 NIV) Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:24 NIV)

What about you? Are you counting to seven, or to eight?

Pray, first.

“Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him . .

“When they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, ‘They have no wine’ ” ( John 2:3). See how quickly you can do the same. Assess the problem. Take it to Jesus and state it clearly.

God meets daily needs daily. Not weekly or annually. He will give you what you need when it is needed. “Let

Let God be enough. P-E-A-C-E-F-U-L.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!” —MATTHEW 14: 27 NLT

Didn’t take me long to figure out where to stare. No more looking down or out. My eyes were on the pilot. If T-Mac was okay, I was okay. I know where to stare in turbulence.

it is in storms that he does his finest work, for it is in storms that he has our keenest attention.

We cannot go where God is not. Look over your shoulder; that’s God following you. Look into the storm; that’s Christ coming toward you.

Anyone can drive a car from the lap of a father. And anyone can pray from the same perspective.

There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them.

We know everything is going to turn out all right. Christ hasn’t budged from his throne, and Romans 8:28 hasn’t evaporated from the Bible.

when the minister ordered him back to work, when the soldiers came for him, and when they told him to sit on the street, Thomas always refused before complying. The killers were accustomed to encountering fear, and Thomas had always acted as if there must be some misunderstanding for anyone to feel the need to threaten him.

“Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety” (Prov. 29:25

“The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Ps. 118:6).

So don’t be impressed with those who get rich and pile up fame and fortune. They can’t take it with them; fame and fortune all get left behind. Just when they think they’ve arrived and folks praise them because they’ve made good, they enter the family burial plot where they’ll never see sunshine again. We aren’t immortal. We don’t last long. Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die. (Ps. 49:16–20 MSG)

God owns everything

And, most of all, replace fear of the coming winter with faith in the living God. After all, it’s just Monopoly money. It all goes back in the box when the game is over.