Fear can be our security blanket. We drag it behind us wherever we go, much like Linus in the Peanut cartoon. Linus once lamented, “Only one yard of outing flannel stands between me and a nervous breakdown!”

Many of us cannot put our fear down because it has become “safe” to us. We cannot imagine living without our fears!

Most times when we come face to face with fear, it is because of uncertain circumstances.

In Matthew 14:22-24 Peter faces an uncertain circumstance – his boat was caught in a sudden storm. Peter struggles with the two root problems of fear - focus and self-reliance. Peter’s boat was being knocked about by wind. He was in the middle of the water with either shore’s safety out off sight. Peter must have thought, “The waves are tossing about me and my Captain doesn’t seem to even be on board!”

We start to panic when faced with uncertain circumstances just like Peter. We no longer see Jesus working in the middle of our storms. We are blinded by our security blanket of fear. We have thrown it over our head and are cowering under its false safety. We feel angry - “Where is God when I need Him?” Peter was asking himself the same question. Then, being the impulsive man he was, Peter jumped out of the boat!

We can do what Peter did. We can step out off the boat in faith. Then, like Peter, we take our eyes of Jesus. Our focus is wrong. The fear starts to look much worse than it did when we were back in the boat!

Fear and Faith cannot exist in the same heart.

There is one or the other. Peter got out of the boat in faith, but then his focus changed to his circumstances and his faith was replaced by fear. Peter began to sink into the depths of the sea.

How many times has my faith been drowned by fear? How many times have I felt my head slip beneath the cold, chilly waters of my circumstances - the death of a loved one, the unfaithfulness of a spouse, the rebellion of a child, the loss of a job?

Peter cried out, “Lord! Save me!”

Immediately the storm around Peter was calm!

I cry, “Lord! Save me!” Without one second’s hesitation, Jesus reaches out to me and says gently, “Oh, you of little faith…why do you doubt?”

Peter reached out and took faith by the hand, throwing down his security blanket of fear.

He accepted the hand of perfect love because Peter knew it was the only way to cast out his fears. Peter experienced both faith and fear at the same time. Faith was the victor for Peter. Is it the victor with you and me? We make this decision many times a day! We choose between fear and faith never realizing the last effecting it has when we refuse to let go of our fear.

When we are faced with fear, the question we should ask ourselves is - will I choose the path of self-reliance or the path of God reliance? I can either resolve my fear in a destructive God-denying way or a constructive God-honoring way - the choice is mine.

If we choose to hang on to our fear, we will choose one of four responses:

1. Denial - We deny we have a problem, person or a painful past that we have to deal with. We deny that we even feel fear!
    
2. Defeat - This is our favorite response to fear. We believe we have no power to change our feelings or situation. We decide to give up and choose to remain a victim.
    
3. Bitterness - If we choose this response then we look for someone else to blame- our parents, our siblings, our spouse and even God. Pointing a finger at someone else keeps us from resolving our fear in a God honoring way. It keeps the focus off me!
    
4. Escape - We choose to run away from reality rather than resolve our fears.

These four responses are the “no win” path. Peter could have taken the “no win” path of fear. He was at that pivotal point where we have all been: choosing between faith and fear. Peter was scared and uncertain but his circumstance brought him to his knees and into a more honest, fulfilling relationship with his God! The same will happen with us if we choose to live by faith and not fear.

The path of faith will lead us through a process:

1. Sorrow - We need to grieve over our self-reliance.
    
2. Brokenness - We realize that we are powerless and can do nothing with out God!
   
   “Lord, I can’t pick myself up this time. I am in some choppy waters here. I need you, Lord. I cannot do it without you. I need you, Lord.”
   “Lord, I can’t teach this Sunday school class today….I need you.”
   “Lord, I can’t face this illness alone… I need you”
   
   A broken heart is a humble heart. There is no self-reliance in a broken heart. Brokenness leads to the next phase.
    
3. Surrender - It knows that you cannot get your boat safely to the other side without Jesus as your captain. It means admitting that, after years of walking with the Lord, I still struggle with understanding the perfect love that casts out fear. We stop blaming others and we become less weighed down - more honest!
    
4. The final stage is a decision for faith - I have finally let go of the situation, the person, the deep emotions of fear and I have reached out and grabbed the hand of God. I have dropped my security blanket for I have decided to trust the God who can calm the storm. I can push my boat out into the water, set my sails, knowing that there will be storms before I reach the other side. There will be winds of fear that will rock my boat from time to time. I know that there are sharp rocks of uncertainty beneath the surface, BUT something is different this time. My faith may be the size of a dust speck sometimes, but underneath it is the knowledge and the peace that NOTHING can happen to me that has not already been filtered through the perfect love of God. Everything I experience has the potential for transforming me into His likeness and bringing glory to Him. No shame! No hurt! No loss! NO FEAR needs to be wasted. God and God alone will turn it into something good!

To live by faith or walk in fear. It is a choice. Which will I choose today?