Fear of What's Next

A few weeks ago we heard this famous quote from Benjamin Franklin: there are only two things certain in life, death and taxes, but that is not exactly true because there is one other certainty in life and that is change. No matter how much we may dislike it, the reality is that things change and the pace of change today is greater than at any other point in history. My mom sent me an email this week that contained the following pictures. She said she was amazed because these pictures were taken during her lifetime and she couldn’t believe how much things have changed, from cars to clothes to just the way we live – things have changed. Those pictures were taken 70 years ago, but you don’t have to go back that far to think about how much things have changed. When I was growing up we had 4 TV channels, now my cable has over 400 (and I still can’t find anything good to watch). I remember when we got our first microwave oven, I think I was in high school and it was half the size of our regular oven. The first thing I bought when I went to college was an electric typewriter and it is hard for me to believe that I didn’t even own a computer until my first year of seminary which was in 1990. And I don’t know if you heard the sad news this week, but they are no longer making the Sony walkman. For those of you under 25, a walkman (show picture) was like an ipod only it played AM and FM radio and cassette tapes, and again for those of you under 25, this is a cassette tape.


If there is one thing that is certain in life for all of us it is change, but for most us change is unsettling and change brings fear. There is change and fear that comes when we start school and then when we graduate. There is change and fear that comes with our first job, or when we start a new job, or when we lose a job. There is change and a little bit of fear when we get married and then more change and fear when the first child arrives. I remember when my sister was about 8 months pregnant I was visiting with her and my brother in law and I was thinking to myself how much their lives were going to change when the baby came. It suddenly dawned on me that everything in their life was going to have to change so I said to them, “do you realize that everything in your lives will change when the baby arrives?”

I wish I could describe the look of fear on their faces. They went a little pale, looked a little terrified and they said, Andy we have been thinking about nothing else for 8 months. Everything changes with that first child and then everything changes again when the second child comes – and then again with the third, and thing really change and fear really sets in when the second and third child come at the same time. Things change when children arrive and things change when those same children head off to school, and then things change when those children leave home and we experience that empty nest. Change comes when we retire; change comes when we lose someone we love. Change comes in so many different ways and in every season of our lives and with all this change comes fear. There is fear when we look to the future because the future is uncertain, we don’t always know what is coming next.

For all of us today, the future is uncertain, no matter how careful we have planned, none of us know what tomorrow brings and the same was true for the disciples. For three years the disciples traveled and ministered with Jesus and I’m sure they had been making plans about what their future was going to look like. Jesus had been talking about a kingdom and so the disciples were planning which positions of power and leadership they would have, but then Jesus starts talking about going away, he tells his disciples that things are going to change and this news brings anxiety and fear. What would the disciples do without Jesus? They had left everything to follow him, they had bought into his vision and dream about the kingdom of God coming in this world and they had seen it and experienced it for themselves and now Jesus is going to leave them? Where would they go? How would they survive? And most important of all, what where they supposed to do? This coming change and the uncertain it brings caused the disciples to be afraid which is why Jesus had to say to them, Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. Trust in God, trust also in me. What Jesus tells his disciples here is to Trust more and fear less. When the future is uncertain we need to trust more and fear less.

But how could they fear less when their future now was so unclear? How can we fear less when we don’t know what’s coming next? Jesus tells them and us today that the reason we can fear less is because while he is going to go away, while things do change and the future can be uncertain, Jesus will never leave us. John 14:18. So while Jesus was physically going to go away, he tells his disciples that he will not leave them alone. In fact Jesus goes on to say that God will come to be with them in a new way, John 14:25-27. So Jesus shows us that the reason we don’t need to fear the future and the change that the future brings is because we don’t face the future alone - the Holy Spirit will be with us.

Now the greek word used here for Holy Spirit is the word paraklete which comes from the 2 words: para which means alongside and kletos which means assigned or appointed. So God has appointed his spirit to come along side of us, but the spirit doesn’t dwell outside of us, it dwells within us, look at John 14:19-20. So Jesus is in the Father and we are in Jesus and Jesus is in us, which means that God is in us which in turn means that God is with us always. At all times and in all places God is with us, even when we are looking into an uncertain future God is with us, and if God is with us and if God loves us then we have nothing to fear. In Romans 8:31, if God is for us who can be against us. Now when we say that God is for it’s not like he cheers for us from the sidelines, he is with us to give us the strength and power we need to be victorious in all things, that’s what we see in the rest of Romans 8:32-39.

What we see here is that God doesn’t hold anything back from us. God gives us everything we need to be victorious and then God promises to fight the battle with us and sometimes for us. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God and if the perfect love of God casts out fear then we know that in all things we can stand strong and fearless. So we overcome our fear of change and the fear of now knowing what is next is by trusting that God has come alongside of us and now dwells within us.

Can we hear that today? God is in us. God’s love and power are alive and at work within us so we can not only face all the uncertainties that the future holds, but we can face it all with confidence and courage. In Phil 4:13 it says I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. So as Jesus said, don’t let your hearts be troubled, do not be afraid, trust more and fear less.

Let’s take a moment to look a little deeper at how the Holy Spirit works in our lives to help us overcome our fear. John 14:26-27. Jesus says that one of the first things the Holy Spirit will do in our lives is teach us and remind us of everything that Jesus taught us. Through his teaching, the Holy Spirit helps guide us in the right direction. Just like the teaching of Jesus helps us see the way God wants us to live, so the Holy Spirit guides us into this way of life. But the spirit does more than teach and instruct, it also provides peace and the peace the spirit brings isn’t a peace that comes and goes, it’s not a peace that is conditional upon what is going on around us, it is a peace that passes our understanding because it sustains us no matter what is going. That’s why we can face the future with confidence and courage, because God gives us a lasting and sustaining peace.

But it’s not just knowledge and peace that the Holy Spirit brings, as we read through the book of Acts we see the Holy Spirit working in the followers of Jesus to do the work that Jesus did. By the power of the Holy Spirit Peter preached to thousands and helped them see the truth of God. By the power of the Holy Spirit Peter and John healed the sick and they stood up with faith and courage in the face of opposition and persecution. The Holy Spirit equipped the disciples to continue the work of Jesus by giving them gifts and then the courage to use those gifts. The Hoy Spirit challenged the disciples and called them to go to new places and do things they never thought possible and the truth is that the Holy Spirit does all of that in us today. The Holy Spirit continues the work of Jesus in us and through us as we allow it to.

When we surrender ourselves to God and ask God to come alongside of us, the power of the Holy Spirit enters our lives and teaches us all we need to know and then guides us in the way that leads to an abundant and eternal life. The Holy Spirit works to forgive us, and then the spirit challenge us to live a more faithful and obedient life following the real Jesus. We can’t be afraid of what comes next in life, we can’t be afraid of the new season we are in or the new calling of God that we hear. Change comes to all of us, new and uncertain paths in life open before all of us and we need to embrace these changes and the future with the strength and power and peace that God gives us through the Holy Spirit.

As we finish up this series on leading a fearless life we need to remember that it really does all come down to a matter of trust. Do we trust God to be with us? Do we trust God’s promise to never leave us? Do you trust that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord? Do we trust God to have our best interest at heart, to love us unconditionally so we can face the future not just without fear but also with hope and courage and strength? It really does come down to trust – trusting God to come alongside of us with his power and love.

If you are facing an uncertain future today, if you are asking God with some fear and anxiety, what’s next? If God is calling you to a new step of faith, to a deeper level of trust in your job, your marriage, your family or the life and ministry of the church then hear these words of Jesus, I will not leave you orphaned, my father will give you another advocate to be with you forever. So peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Do not be afraid. If you are uncertain about what’s next in life, if we are facing a new season, a new beginning, a new calling, a new opportunity, a new adventure then simply trust more and fear less.