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Faith Without Fear?

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Faith Without Fear - scottdelmastro.com

The Story of Fear & Faith

The script notes below outline a particular scene that many of us have faced before. As the story develops more is revealed about how fear challenges our faith, and how we must learn to use fear as a way to get closer to God.

Imagine this scene…

Back Story

  • Character believes in God
  • Concept of faith is firmly in place in their mind
  • Concept of trust and surrender is understood, but not realized
  • Character genuinely wants to be closer to God and is continuing to look for ways to do that

Setting

  • Scene is set in open water with tossing waves which illustrates life’s constant struggles
    Scene

  • Opens with character struggling to keep head above water on the verge of drowning, but there is still fight left as evidenced by the feverish thrashing for survival.
  • Character appears not to know how to swim…

Plot lines

  • Opportunity to be faithful
  • Strength of faith
  • Fear’s role in faith
  • Now – present moment training
  • Courage

Questions

  • What could be going through the mind of the person caught in this struggle for survival?

The story begins…

How many times in your life have you been the one in this scene, the one that is struggling to keep their head above the water either literally or more often than not, figuratively? For me it is almost every single day, and more recently almost every single moment. However, what I am realizing is that this is part of the process, this is part of the plan that I must endure and follow to get closer to God.

You might know easier ways to get closer to God, and I believe you, I just have not figured out for myself yet how to do that – to reach the depths of God that I have reached without having gone through the struggles that have defined me and my life. But hey, that’s how it has been working for me, I’m up for suggestions though, as it seems smarter to bypass the struggle if possible, so comment and give me some ideas, please?!?!

Anyway, like the character in the script above, I often find myself overwhelmed with life’s challenges, even though my faith is in tact, life’s constant face slaps, groin kicks, etc. keep challenging my decision to be faithful. Which begs the questions that actor Morgan Freeman stated in the movie Evan Almighty when playing the character of God. Take a look….

I don’t know how you interpreted this scene, but for me it is the crux of this post, struggle is opportunity, and how we interpret struggle or the challenges that we face determines how we will respond or not respond – swim or sink. To me, faith has much to do with how I interpret and respond to my challenges, and my own fears, doubts and worries seem to constantly lead me to question my faith or more specifically, to questions God’s promises. Just like Peter in Matthew 14:22-33 (NLT).

…for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!” But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here! ” Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”…

Jesus walks on water, by Ivan Aivazovsky (1888)
Jesus walks on water, by Ivan Aivazovsky (1888)

So I ask you, can there be faith without fear?

Above are two examples of situations that fear through worry, in the case of the woman speaking to God, or being afraid in the case of Peter, separate us from God, or at the very least distract us from being faithful, which illustrates how fear and faith seem to be intertwined. But God also states through John in 1 John 4:18 NLT.

“Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.”

So then, the key is to search for ways to experience his “perfect love”. Because the implication of this passage is that if we are in his perfect love fear will not be in our mind. I interpret this as a promise, a truth, such that fear can be conquered.

In another movie, After Earth, Will Smith delivers a line that says “…danger is real, fear is a choice”, which helps me to understand that I can choose God’s love and not be afraid – it is a choice that can be made. It is a promise, and all we have to do is decide to choose God’s love.

In the end, there may be simpler more direct ways to forgo the struggles that I constantly seem to go through in strengthening my faith, but I am still learning that struggle and challenge are part of the process, and I don’t need to be afraid of them, but rather, use them to remind me to lean on God’s promises and choose to love him wholeheartedly right now, in the moment that the fear sets in or the struggle begins. Those struggles force me to stay right there in that present moment, right there with God. All I have to do is choose God and I will not be afraid.

So, I leave you with this from Joshua 1:9 NLT:

“This is my command – be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

This is My Family

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Family4 - scottdelmastro.com

As the world gets smaller, I get older and technology advances I find myself questioning things that I simply took for granted when I was younger. I am a partner in a multi-sport athletic training academy for students that aspire to be the best in the world. They have come year after year for the past 25 years from around the world – literally from everywhere. And it has been such a blessing, because I have been privileged to have met so so many families

What is a family? For me, the idea of family cannot be removed from the idea of a “home. So, let’s start there, what is home? Is it a place or location? Is it tied to an specific address? Is it where the heart is? Can you have more than one?

Here I Am – My Life’s Purpose

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Can you see the possibilities?
Can you see the possibilities?

Some time ago during a Bible study a phrase was presented to the group that changed the way I thought about what my purpose for being here on this planet was. The phrase was “….doing the work that must be done….”. I don’t remember the context in which the phrase was brought up, but I knew as I heard it, that it was meaningful for me.

At the moment I first heard it, it stuck in my mind as something that helped to tie together the pieces of my drifting purpose. It confirmed what I somehow already knew, that there was important work to be done, and I was the one that had to do it.

By drifting purpose I mean being caught in indecision. Knowing that something should be done, but not knowing exactly what and/or how to do it. It was like I was stuck in neutral just idling. There was no motion to the thoughts, ideas, voices, and other calls that I had quietly placed away in my brain. All of these things were just floating, unattached, in my mind. Then all of a sudden this phrase, doing the work that must be done, took all of those things and connected them. It made them real and validated them all in one shot. As I mentioned above, it tied them all together and motivated me to take action. Hence, this website, and the blogs within.

Pieces Into Parts

For me, the phrase was a call to action and as I began to look more closely at it I realized why it impacted me so profoundly.

The verb “doing” jumped out and called me to start moving, to start doing something.

The word “the” specified to me that this was the exact and correct work to be done. It also implied to me that there is a body of work out there that must be done to make the world a better place. It told me that it was not the wrong work, but the right work, and that gave me confidence and inspiration that I was on the right track. And because of that feeling I was totally motivated to get started. I guess it made me feel that the confusion was gone, this was real and it was okay to go for it.

The word “work” described to me that I was going to have to roll-up my sleeves and get my hands dirty. But because it was work that I felt I was supposed to be doing, it seemed more like fun than something that I was not going to enjoy. In fact, enjoyment or pain did not even cross my mind. The more powerful and liberating feeling was the knowing part. Knowing what my purpose was, gave me a feeling of direction and inspired power – the good kind of power. The I am being called by God kind of power.

The helping or auxiliary verb “must” mandated what had to be done. It told me that it was not really a choice but rather something that I had to do. And because the whole phrase tied everything together, the must part really helped me to kick start the process. It was a command that I accepted and was excited to be told.

The phrase “be done” finalized everything for me. It brought or will bring closure to the process and purpose of the activity that was started. Even though I realize that the process is never ending while I am here on earth, the phrase helped and still helps me stay the course and endure the battles that I am and will be in.

God Speaks

I don’t know how you hear God, but for a long time God has been speaking to me through certain phrases, like the one described above, or through certain situations or exchanges with life that present themselves as I go through my day, and I am never quite sure when they will appear. I guess that is why I try my best to stay connected with God through my weekly Bible studies, my morning devotionals, daily prayers, and my alarm reminders so that I am ready to receive any calls that might come in.

Like a login and password that unlock or tie together uncompleted ideas and concepts and bring clarity to how I am supposed to spend my time to make the world a better place, the expression “….doing the work that must be done….” tied together the drifting ideas in my mind and called me to action! And helped me further discover my purpose – to help others. So, that is what I am attempting to “do” with this blog.

Am I Good at What I Do or Am I Just Stupid?

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Energy - scottdelmastro.com - Fjords NZ

So there I was in another situation where I was plugging holes (lending a hand) in the leaking dam. Doing what I could do, what I normally do, to manage another daily crisis at work. Interestingly, I have, by this point in my life, figured out how not to panic when things don’t go as planned and have learned to make the best out of the situation, and actually, even be thankful for the opportunity.

Today was no exception, the challenge presented itself and I snapped into action. Quickly assessed the situation, ruled out any irrelevant variables, focused on the factors that I felt would have the greatest impact on the improving the situation, and started making decisions. It should be noted that I secretly pride myself on my ability to think on my feet when variables pop up or things change quickly. One might say that I am resourceful.

However, from another perspective one might say I’m an idiot. What do I mean you ask? Well, many times I am having to react to crisis situations instead of planning for them. And on this day after all was said and done, I realized that much of my life has been running around plugging holes, and I have gotten pretty good at it. So good at it, in fact, that my preparational skills may have diminished. That is the point of this post. To determine if I am good at what I do or just stupid for not planning and preparing better.

The way I figure it is the difference between brilliance and stupidity at first glance can seem quite large, but upon closer review of my own life situations, they may be closer than we think. Take for instance the example I mentioned earlier. A problem came up and I took care of it – that’s it in it’s simplest version. So, that’s good right?

But in this case there were certain things I could have controlled and other things that I could not have controlled. So, I simply added then up and came to the conclusion that I am a genius that needs serious work. It should be mentioned that I just had to ask my wife how to spell genius. Or as spoke by my P90X trainer Tony Horton – just “do your best and forget the rest” and you’ll be fine:)

Her Blog is Under Construction

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Love - scottdelmastro.com

She is gathering information for her first blog post. I am sure it will be good. Check back soon to see what developments have happened, and share your comments with us.

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