Being Honest about the Maze of Fear

From Fear to Formation: 

Have you ever been in a corn maze, walking around in circles, seeing the same corner for what feels like the hundredth time? You know the exit is somewhere, but you just can't seem to find your way out. That's exactly where many of us find ourselves in life – not in a corn maze, but in a maze of fear that keeps us going in circles, making the same mistakes, facing the same struggles over and over again.

I want to challenge you over the next several weeks to go on a journey with me. Can you say this? "I'm going to go from fear to formation." Because here's what I've discovered: fear is much more than being scared of something. Fear is anything that captures our emotions, captures our attitudes, captures our actions and changes them based on what we think might happen.

God Is Aware of Your Maze

In Isaiah chapter 41, we find the prophet Isaiah speaking to the children of Israel, but they're not in Israel anymore. They've been captured and exiled to another land. Their whole reality has changed. Isaiah brings them an incredible message that starts with this truth: God is aware.

God says in Isaiah 41:1, "Listen to me in silence, oh coastlands. Let the people renew their strength. Let them approach. Then let them speak. Let us together draw near for judgment." God is calling the distant nations to pay attention because He's about to show them what He will do for His children.

When we first start out, when we talk about fear to formation, God is aware of you. He's aware of you. He's aware of your situation. He's aware of your moment. He's aware of what's going on around you. He's aware of what happened yesterday and what's going to happen tomorrow. God is aware.

You know what's amazing about a maze? You go in and you're not quite sure where you are, but someone looking from above can see exactly where you are and where you need to go. That's where the Israelites are at this moment. They're in the maze somewhere. They're not really sure where the exit is, what turns are going to happen. But God wanted them to know, hey, I'm aware of where you're at.

When God Is Aware, God Is Moving

And I don't know what you're facing this morning or what you're going to face this year. If we could just start with that one thought, God is aware. Because when God is aware, I know the next thing is that God is then moving.

In Isaiah 41:4, God declares, "I the Lord the first and with the last. I am he." Think about that. God is telling the nation of Israel, 'Hey, I know you're in exile, but I already knew that. But by the way, I knew that a long time ago, like before I even created you. I knew this day would come and I was already working. I was already doing. I was already moving.'

The Real Problem: We Fear Man More Than God

But here's where it gets challenging. In Isaiah 41:8-10, God speaks directly to His people: "But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend, you whom I took from the ends of the earth and called from his farthest corners, saying to you, you are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off. Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Here's the problem. We have much more fear of man than we have of God. Because we are so worried about man and their reaction and less of worrying about God and his reaction because God's a loving God. God will forgive me. People won't forgive me.

We like to pretty up the word fear. I'm not afraid, but I, you know, I'm thinking logically about this situation, and I might just offend somebody. And I'm being cautious about this and I want to make sure I do the right thing. See, we've relabeled fear and we put in this saying, 'Okay, I'm just being cautious. I'm really thinking about the other person. I want to make sure that I just do the right things.'

God's Promises for Your Future

God doesn't just acknowledge our present situation. He makes incredible promises for our future. He says, 'I will strengthen you.' That's future. When you're in the battle, when you're in the maze, when you're fighting that fight, when you're going through it over and over again, and you think you can't go on, guess what? I will strengthen you.

When you're at the end of your rope, guess what? I will strengthen you. When you don't have anything left in you, I will strengthen you. When you just feel like you just can't get up any longer. He goes, I will strengthen you.

And then He says something that gives me goosebumps every time: "I will help you." In those moments when you feel like you keep turning different directions and end up in the same spot, God says, 'I will help you. I will strengthen you. I'll give you that ability to stand up one more time and to go and this time, just this time, you're going to make it because I'm going to help you.'

 Putting It Into Practice

We've got to get to the point, church, where we stop looking at our life as the end goal. Eternity is the end goal. From fear to formation means I start looking at my life completely different. I look at the circumstances. I look at the situations. I look at the stuff in my life. And I go, God, what is it that you are doing in this?

Maybe, just maybe the best thing for me is to not get out of the maze until God wants me out of the maze.

Maybe that dead end you're facing right now is exactly where you need to be because it's in that moment of loneliness, in that moment of being away from everybody else, where you can actually finally hear God for the first time saying to you, "Hey, I got you. I will help you. I will hold you. I will be there for you. I am your strength."

So can we today walk out of this place and say, 'God, this is what I desire. God, help me to be more aware that you are aware of me. Help me to be more aware that when I'm in the situation, when I'm in the struggle, when I fight whatever I'm going to fight out there, when I'm in that moment, that God, you know me, that you're moving, that you're aware of my situation. And God, would you help me stop making decisions based off of fear?'

It's time to stop disguising our fear with prettier words. It's time to call it what it is because truth will set you free. Are you ready to go from fear to formation?