At the Movies
Week two - Inside Out 2
Exodus 3 and 4, 2 Timothy 1:7
Bottom line: God gives us the ability to defeat fear and anxiety in our lives when we trust and surrender to Him.
Some of us are so conditioned to fear or worry that even when things are going well, we’re sure it can’t last, and we dread the inevitable crisis looming around the corner. And some take a look at all the things they worry about and follow some pretty intense rabbit trails of possible ‘worst case scenarios’.
The good news is that God did not give us fear.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. —2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)
Do not accept that which is not from God.
Some have said that fear is the opposite of faith. Author and Pastor Craig Groeschel says, “fear is really faith in the wrong things, the what-if’s.”
Inside Out 2: Summary of the Movie
This animated Disney/Pixar movie takes us inside Riley’s mind where we meet animated emotions trying to help Riley interpret and navigate all of her experiences. In the first movie, she was 11 and the emotions she dealt with were joy, sadness, disgust, fear, and anger.
Now she’s going into High School and life gets more complicated and more emotions enter her life. So in this movie, we’re introduced to Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment and Ennui. (A French word for Lazy Indifference)
A major point of the movie is how emotions shape and influence our sense of self and how we fit, or don’t fit, in our world.
This movie teaches that…
- Our feelings have a voice – a validity.
- Even though they are VALID, doesn’t mean they’re accurate.
OK, Fear/Worry/Anxiety. We all have some of that, right? Public speaking, Spiders, Snakes, Clowns, heights, and more. Those are more like phobias. But not all of those are irrational. Fear can be a natural response to help us avoid danger or reckless behaviors.
In the movie, as Riley is having a panic attack and Joy is trying to get Anxiety to let go, Anxiety says, “I’m sorry. I was just trying to protect her.”
God has wired us with emotions to protect us at times.
But the irrational fears and anxiety, the gripping prison fears, the fears of the unknown future anxieties, the what-if’s – those move from protection to destruction to isolation.
We see this very thing play out with a hero in the bible.
Moses is born a Hebrew, but is raised in the house of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. One day, he saw an Egyptian slave master kill one of his fellow Hebrews, and Moses lost it and killed the Egyptian, and ran for his life. After being out in the desert for many years, he had an encounter with the very presence of God.
The audible voice of God said to him, “I choose you to deliver my people from slavery and from the bondage of Pharaoh.” Moses protests. He’s in the very presence of God, and he’s gripped by thinking about worst case scenarios.
What you fear the most reveals what you value the most.
- Worried about your marriage? you value your marriage.
- Fear losing your job or not being able to pay your bills? you value security.
- Fear something will happen to your kids? you love your kiddos.
BUT… What you fear the
What you continue to worry about is the clearest indication of what you have yet to surrender to God. —Dallas Willard
“I am not trusting God with
We have a staff value that I love! You might hear one of us say, “NAME IT!” Give a voice to what you’re feeling, how you’re interpreting your circumstance.
Name it so the power of God can help us defeat it.
This is Paul writing to Timothy:
fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you.”
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. —2 Timothy 1:7
We have to want… and to choose… and to act… on what God is giving us. Don’t let that fire die out – fan the flames to keep it hot and passionate.
In the Psalms, David is being chased down and attacked. He has been chosen by God to be the next king and Saul, the current king, is not ready to give up power. So David is on the run…
I am constantly hounded by those who slander me, and many are boldly attacking me. But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me? —Psalm 56:2-4
(An intentional choice to trust instead of fear. He’s fanning into flames God’s gift by praising God, by reminding himself of God’s promises.)
In Romans, Paul takes some time talking about all that God has done to adopt us as his children and heirs and provide freedom and eternity to us and caps it all off with this…
What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? —Romans 8:31
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. —Romans 8:15
We have focused on what he has not given us – fear! But what has he given us instead?
- Power
- Love
- Self-control
In order to say no to something, you have to say yes to something else. You cannot get rid of fear or anxiety unless you replace it with something else.
I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and He delivered me from all of my fear. —Psalm 34:4
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. —Psalm 56:3
Fear and anxiety are replaced when we choose pursuing, seeking, surrendering, and placing trust in Jesus Christ…
…And then he gives us power, love, self-control.
A Prayer of Surrender, by Richard Foster
Today, O Lord, I yield myself to you.
May your will be my delight today.
May your way have perfect sway in me.
May your love be the pattern of my living.
I surrender to you my hopes, my dreams, my ambitions. Do with them what you will, when you will, as you will.
I place into your loving care my family, my friends, my future. Care for them with a care that I can never give.
I release into your hands
my need to control,
my craving for status,
my fear of obscurity.
Eradicate the evil, pacify the good, and establish your kingdom on earth.
For Jesus’ sake. Amen.