In the Grip of Fear - Martin Wiles

So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:6-7 NLT

America had been invaded.

 

On the evening of October 30, 1938, a news flash interrupted the musical program, “Ramon Raquello”: “Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt our program of dance music to bring you a special bulletin from the Intercontinental Radio News.”

 

The announcer told listeners that scientists at the Mount Jennings Observatory in Chicago had observed mysterious explosions of incandescent gas on Mars.

 

A few minutes later, other bulletins told listeners that aerial vehicles had landed in various parts of the country and that strange creatures had been seen emerging from them. Soon, reports came in from New Jersey, New York, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere. It appeared Martians were taking over the planet.

 

Panic ensued. The New York Times received 875 calls in minutes. One woman—not wanting to be taken captive by Martians—attempted to take poison, but was prevented just in the nick of time.

 

One caller asked police in San Francisco, “My God, where can I volunteer my services? We’ve got to stop this awful thing.”

 

In Newark, New Jersey, families in one neighborhood ran into the streets with handkerchiefs covering their mouths. Electricity suddenly went out in one town in Washington, causing the residents to assume the Martians had blown up the power complex. Authorities called sailors back to their ships.

 

One teenager remembered, “I was really hysterical. My two girlfriends and I were crying and holding each other, and everything seemed so unimportant in the face of death. We felt it was terrible we should die so young.”

 

But no one died that night because the Martians hadn’t invaded America. Millions had simply heard a radio dramatization of H. G. Welles’s The War of the Worlds on the CBS drama series. Amazing what fear can do.

 

Our world gives us many reasons to fear, some imagined and others not. Danger lurks in many places and has many faces. God obviously knew this would be the case, so he created the fight or flight part of our nature. We put up our fists or high-tail it when dangerous situations arise.

 

Yet, God doesn’t plan for us to live in a constant state of fear—especially when we have nothing specific about which to be afraid. This fear doesn’t come from him but from the enemy of our souls—and the enemy of our peace. Living this way robs us of peace.

 

Humility helps us conquer fear. With humility, we recognize we can’t control everything—especially many things causing us to fear. COVID-19 taught us that. But God can … and does. Nothing lies beyond his reach, and he has promised to care for his children.

 

Rebuking unreasonable fears comes along with humility. Unreasonable worries come from the enemy and usually relate to promises God has made—but promises the enemy wants us to doubt, as Eve did in the garden.

 

Fear prompts us to act—appropriately and inappropriately. Fear makes us run or avoid certain areas or circumstances in certain situations. The flight reactions intermingle with our trust and faith in God because he gave us the good sense to act accordingly. In other situations, fear causes us to cringe and retreat for no good reason. The saying holds truth: most of what we fear never comes to pass.

 

The cure for living in the grip of fear simply involves giving our cares and worries to God. He cares for us and has promised to provide for us. When we do, fear will run from us, rather than us running from it. God will give us the good sense to avoid dangerous situations, the faith not to live with unreasonable fears, and the ability to trust him when we encounter circumstances beyond our control.

 

God is bigger than anything causing you to fear.

 

Father, help me to trust in you so that fear doesn’t overcome me. 

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