Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:11] Welcome back to another edition of the Weekday podcast. We're getting ready for Christmas and we'd love for you to be part of all the things around here. In fact, we've got seven Christmas Eve gatherings to choose from. Go to Christmasand SugarHill.com to find out all those details. Would love to see you in person if possible. If not, online at Live Sugarhill Church. And please invite a friend. Well, one of the things I find so crazy during this season is that fear. It doesn't wait for permission to show up. Instead what it does is it barges in usually at 3am when you're trying to sleep, or right before that big conversation, or often in the middle of the holiday season when you're actually supposed to be feeling all the joy. And one of the things that I found about fear is it's really loud. It's really dramatic. Fear is convinced that everything is an emergency. Sort of like when you go to the store and you're at that self checkout machine and it screams at you, unexpected item in the bagging area. And you're standing there thinking it's a bag of spinach. It's in the bagging area. It's exactly where it belongs. Why are you yelling at me? And that's what fear does. Fear misreads the situation. It overreacts. It makes everything feel like a crisis.
[00:01:20] But here's what I love about this little passage in Luke one that's all about Mary's story. When the angel Gabriel shows up with this life changing news, the very first thing that he does is he actually speaks to her. Fear. Do you remember the line is in Luke 1, verse 30 where he says, do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God.
[00:01:43] And what I love about that is Gabriel's not being dismissive. He's announcing that the God who rules heaven is stepping into her very real, very vulnerable moment. Her situation was terrifying. She's maybe 13, 14, 15 years old, living in this tiny village where everybody knows everybody's business.
[00:02:03] An unexpected pregnancy could mean being stoned. It could mean her family disowning her. It could mean spending the rest of her life as a social outcast. She had every reason to panic. And yet God does not erase the uncertainty. He removes fear's authority. Her situation hasn't changed, but the spiritual atmosphere has. And that's a great reminder. Fear is loud, but it is not Lord.
[00:02:29] And what changes everything is that God's voice is louder than fear's voice and God's voice is steadier than Fear's voice. Fear interrupts, but God reassures. Fear panics, but God anchors. Fear dramatizes, but God dignifies. And into the chaos, God says the same words that he spoke to Mary. He speaks them to you. He says, do not be afraid, for you have found favor with God.
[00:02:56] Now, you don't have to have it all figured out. You don't have to silence every anxious thought. You just have to let God's voice become louder than the voice of fear. And so here's a simple practice for you today. Name your fear out loud. Now, that could sound awkward, like introducing yourself at a support group. Like, hi, I'm scared of falling. But here's the thing. Naming your fear takes away its power.
[00:03:22] Fear, it hates to be seen. And when you expose fear, it is the first step to actually dethroning it. So try it before you spiral. Today, whisper a simple prayer. Lord, would you meet me here now, you don't need a full plan. You just need to have an open hand and open heart. Because joy begins to rise the moment that fear loses its authority again. Fear is loud, but it's not Lord. Let's remember that today. Have a great day. We'll see you back here soon, Sam.
