Fear of Overwhelming Challenges

Today our focus is going to shift from fears that come when we think about our relationship with God to fears that come from the situations and challenges we experience in life. There are times when we all find ourselves in situations that seem to be beyond our control and whether our problems come from issues related to our health, finances, marriages, families, jobs or a combination of them all, these problems bring real fear because there are times when these problems seem overwhelming. As we turn to God to help us figure out how to face our fear and overcome these challenges, we once again look to the disciples to see how Jesus helped them overcome fears and challenges in their own lives.


We started this fearless series by looking at how Jesus helped the disciples during a storm at sea, and today we are back out on the same sea, probably in the same boat, but the disciples face a different storm and different fears. While the last storm sprang up quickly, this storm seems more steady and constant. As the disciples are making their way across the sea the wind just constantly pushes against them and the waves steadily batter the boat. The disciples aren’t afraid for their lives, but they are working awfully hard and not getting anywhere. Does that sound at all familiar? Sometimes the challenges we face aren’t sudden attacks but the constant pressures of life. We feel the constant resistance of the wind, the constant battering of the waves; we work twice as hard but don’t find ourselves getting ahead. We take one step forward in getting ourselves out debt but then find ourselves 2 steps behind when the next bank statement arrives and we work harder on our marriages but still drift farther apart. The challenge the disciples face here didn’t come up suddenly, it was the constant ongoing battering of the wind and the waves that got them frustrated and discouraged, but then just like in life, the problems go from bad to worse, look at Matthew 14:24-26.

The disciples struggle to move their boat forward when one of them looks out and sees someone or something walking toward them on the water. No longer are the wind and the waves their only problem, or their greatest problem, it’s now the ghost who is coming to get them and they helpless to do anything about it. They can’t row any faster, they can’t run away from the ghost and they are too far from the shore to swim, so they are helpless. They are trapped - trapped in the middle of the sea, trapped in the middle of all their problems, and sometimes this is exactly how we feel as well. Trapped in our financial situations with no way out, trapped in a job we don’t like but we can’t quit because we feel like there is nothing else we can do and no other jobs to be found. We feel trapped in a marriage that isn’t meeting our needs or expectations, trapped with a diagnosis where we are told there is nothing that can be done. I’ve talked to so many people recently who have been feeling trapped in some way and overwhelmed by the obstacles they face, and just like the disciples, we are terrified.

What we need to do in these situations is look a little closer at what is going on, because just like the disciples we are not alone in the midst of the storm. When the disciples look a little closer at this ghost they realize it is not a ghost at all, but Jesus walking toward them. In fact what I love about this story is that as soon as the disciples cry out in fear it says Jesus immediately spoke to them, he reached out to them – he cared. The last time they were in a storm at sea Jesus slept through part of it and the disciples questioned whether or not Jesus cared about them, but here there is no question, Jesus immediately responds to their fear and offers them words of encouragement, but then notice what Jesus does and what he doesn’t do.

What Jesus doesn’t do is instantly calm the storm. Did you notice that? Jesus doesn’t immediately tell the wind and the waves to be calm and the truth is that when we turn to God in the midst of our own storms, when we ask for help as we face overwhelming challenges, God doesn’t always take our problems away and there is a reason for that. God’s desire for us as his children is not to live carefree life, it is to grow in strength and faith and trust so that we can be mature and handle the challenges we face in life and sometime the only way to grow is to face our problems head on. If we never work through our problems – we will never grow. If God took away all our challenges and stilled every storm we would never grow in faith and trust. So while God doesn’t bring the storms into our lives, there are those times he allows the wind to blow so we can learn how to be strong and walk in faith.

I learned this lesson first hand my first year of college. My first couple weeks at MSU were a disaster. I didn’t know anyone at Michigan State, in fact I didn’t know anyone in the state of Michigan and my first few weeks at school did not go well. Not only was I incredibly homesick, but through a series of events I ended up without a roommate and so I had no natural way to begin to meet people and make friends It’s kind of sad when I think back on it now, but when move in day arrived I sat in my dorm room and waited for my roommate to show up and he never did. I’m not sure what happened to him, but no one ever came so while everyone else was getting to know their new friends, and parents were taking their children and roommates to the store to buy last minute supplies and then go off to eat, I sat there alone.

When things didn’t seem to get any better, I called home late one night in tears just begging my parents to let me come home. My Mom answered the phone and as I told her about all my problems and the challenges and the fears I faced, she didn’t take them away by saying, ok we will come and get you. She made me face the storm, she helped me work through the challenges and figure out what I needed to do to overcome the fears and the problems and there are times when God works the same way. God is more interested in helping us become strong and learn how to face the challenges in life so he doesn’t just take our problems away, he didn’t immediately tell the wind and waves to stop, but notice what he does do, he offers words of encouragement to help the disciples overcome their fear and then he gives Peter the strength to walk through the storm, in fact he gives Peter the strength to overcome the storm and walk on the water.

Look at 14:28, what’s interesting to note here is that it is Peter’s idea to walk on the water with Jesus. Even though the storm continues to blow all around him, Peter wants to face his fears and the challenges in life so asks Jesus to help him walk on the water and Jesus says, come. I wonder in the midst of the overwhelming challenges we face in life if God is just waiting for us to ask him for help. I wonder God is just waiting for us to face down our fears and take that first step of faith to overcome our problems. Too often I think we ask God to take the problems away instead of asking him for help in overcoming them and what God really wants from us, what Jesus is waiting for is for us to ask him to help us get out of the boat and walk on the water. As we face overwhelming challenges in life are we asking Jesus to not just walk with us but are we asking for God’s strength and power to help us overcome?

The summer I worked in Yellowstone National Park I was never satisfied with my job. You all know that saying the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence, well – every other job looked better to me then the one I had, so every time a job opening came up I always asked about it. In the middle of the summer a new position opened up and I took it because I was sure it was going to be much more fun then the job I had, but after about a week I was miserable. While I really didn’t like where I was, I was too afraid to go back to my supervisor and say, look I made a mistake and I want to go back to my old job. For a week I was depressed, frustrated and unhappy and I started asking God to just get me out of that situation. What I wanted God to do was take me out of the storm. Just calm the wind and waves Jesus and take me to the safety and the comfort of the shore, but what I consistently heard God say was, you got yourself into this situation, Andy, and with my help you can get yourself out. What God wanted for me was to learn and grow and face my fears and draw upon his strength to overcome the challenges.

So after lots of prayers where God consistently said to me, you can get yourself out of this situation – my grace is sufficient for you, I finally did face my fears and my supervisor. I owned up to my mistake in thinking this was a better job for me and I asked if I could move back to my old job, and they said yes. God didn’t take the storm away and God didn’t pick me up and place me on the shore, but he did walk with me through the storm and even give me the wisdom and the strength to overcome the challenges and fears I faced to improve my own situation.

When Jesus doesn’t immediately calm the storm on the Sea of Galilee he is saying to us that there will be storms we will face in life. There will be obstacles that will look overwhelming and even impossible and while storms are not an option, fear is. Storms are not an option, but fear is, and fear comes because we fail to see the one who walks with us. If we will walk with God during the storms, and if we will be willing to face our problems head on and ask God for strength and power, we will overcome the challenges we face. From jobs to finances to relationship – we can overcome obstacles and fear by trusting God’s word and following God’s lead.

As we trust God more and draw upon his strength to overcome, Peter shows us one more important lesson to learn, look at 14:30. As long as Peter is looking at Jesus, he has the power to walk on water, but when he shifts his focus away from Jesus and starts looking at the wind and the waves around him, he begins to sink. If we focus on our problems instead of the one who walks with us through the problems, we will fail, the key to overcoming the obstacles and challenges we face is to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, but just what does that mean? How do we not focus on the problems but on the source of strength and power to overcome the problems? I think there are three basic ways to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and the first way is through prayer.

Each and every moment of the day we have the ability to ask God for help and strength. Prayer not only keeps our hearts and minds centered on God, but it also opens the door for God to give us the knowledge and strength to do the right thing. It was through prayer that God spoke to my heart and said, Andy you got yourself into this situation and with my help you can get yourself out. It is through prayer that I still hear God say to me during difficult times, my grace is sufficient for you. Even this past week when my schedule got busy and things seemed overwhelming it was in a moment of prayer when God said again, my grace is sufficient for you, so do not be afraid. We need to remember that prayer is not just our talking to God; it is also taking the time to listen to God. In the midst of the noise created by the wind and the waves and the cries of the disciples it says Jesus spoke to them. Look at 14:27, it doesn’t say that Jesus shouted at them, he simply spoke and they heard it. That’s prayer and that’s what is needed to help us keep our eyes on Jesus.


Another way to keep our eyes on Jesus is by reading and reflecting on God’s word. The more we read God’s word, the more God’s word lives in us and stays with us. The Bible says God’s word is living an active and as we read it, it finds a place with in us so when we need it for wisdom or strength, it is there. The word of assurance that came to me in prayer this week, my grace is sufficient of you, comes from God’s word. In 1 Corinthians 12:9 Paul is asking God to take away some burden or struggled he faced in life, it was his own overwhelming challenge and God’s reply to Paul was, My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness. The more we read God’s word, the more it will help us keep focused on Jesus in times of need and it is that focus that helps us overcome.

The third way we can keep our eyes fixed on Jesus is to stay connected to the people of God. The disciples physically had Jesus to look to for help. When Peter got out of the boat as long as he looked at Jesus he found strength and power to overcome, but we don’t have Jesus standing in front of us, but we do have his people that we can look to in times of need. It is important for us to stay connected to one another because as we face problems in life we need the support and encouragement and at times the physical and practical help that others can provided. While staying connected is important, we also have to be willing to ask for help when we need it. When Peter got into trouble and started to sink he cried out for help and then he allowed Jesus to pull him up. Will we ask for help when we need it? Will we accept the help that people offer? This can be one of the blessings of the church if we will accept it – through the church God can strength us and help us overcome life’s challenges but only if we will accept the help that God’s people offer.

So Peter shows us that we need to focus on Jesus and not our problems and in Hebrews 12:2 it says that to overcome the challenges of life we need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and we do this through prayer, reading God’s word and accepting the help of God’s people. The truth is that we will face challenges in life, even overwhelming challenges that God will not take away and it’s not because God doesn’t love us, it’s that God wants us to grow in strength and faith and trust, so the next time life seems overwhelming, or if does today, then walk with Jesus and learn how to trust more and fear less.