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Petrified from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

Today I want to talk about becoming petrified. So scared, so bound up, so terrified inside, that you are unable to think or move. Frozen in place. Unable to make decisions. An example is the guards at Jesus’ tomb on Sunday morning. At the request of the Jewish leaders, Pilate sent a group of Roman soldiers to stand guard over the tomb of Jesus. A typical Roman guard had four soldiers. Two watched while the others rested. This guard may have had more because it was a high priority case. They secured the tomb of Jesus by placing a rope across the stone, and held it in place with globs of wax on either side. Then they stamped the wax with the seal of the Roman empire. This seal represented the authority of the emperor, and the soldiers guarded it with their lives, for if the seal was broken, they would be put to death. They had a job to do: guard the tomb.

(Matthew 28:1–4 NKJV) Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

Now Jesus had already left, so the soldiers were guarding an empty tomb that Sunday morning, when a single angel of the Lord descended from the sky, broke their precious Roman seal, rolled back the huge stone, and sat on it. The battle hardened soldiers who would nail a man to cross and then gamble for His clothing, began shaking in fear. Their knees knocked together, and they fainted on the spot. The angel wasn’t interested in the soldiers, for they were nothing more than an ant on the ground, and He began speaking to the women there.

Meanwhile the guards were petrified. They could no longer do their job. They had become useless.

Petrified: pet·ri·fied /ˈpetrəˌfīd/ adjective:

1. so frightened that one is unable to move; terrified.

"the petrified child clung to her mother"

Here I want to take a moment to remind you: Live your life ready to die. When the angel came, the soldiers didn’t have time to go and pray, for they immediately fell to the ground. This will also happen at the return of Jesus. People will be living their lives as they do every day, and bam, they will suddenly be face to face with their Maker, and men’s hearts will fail them because of fear.

The fear that I want to talk about today, is that same type of paralyzing fear, but living inside of us. It will make you do stupid things that you will regret later, like when Peter denied knowing Jesus three times (Mark 14:72). It will destroy your happiness in life and consume it with worry. It will wreck your destiny, for no one can stop God’s plan for you, except you.

All good things are behind a fear check. For example: Everyone that ever asked someone to marry them had to first gather the courage to do so. If they could not, then someone else married the one they wanted. Sad isn’t it?

The Lord can open doors for you, but if you become petrified, then you are of no use to Him. One giant man named Goliath made Saul’s entire army cower in fear.

(1 Samuel 17:10–11 NKJV)  And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

Because of their fear, an army watched one huge man taunt them every morning and evening for forty days. God just needed one man He could use, but Saul the king of Israel, was filled with fear. That is why David replaced Saul as king. Saul became afraid, and God could no longer use him:

(1 Samuel 15:24 NKJV)  Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.

(1 Samuel 18:12 NKJV)  Now Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, but had departed from Saul.

(1 Samuel 18:29 NKJV)  and Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul became David’s enemy continually.

(1 Samuel 28:5 NKJV)  When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.

(1 Samuel 28:20 NASB)  Then Saul immediately fell full length upon the ground and was very afraid because of the words of Samuel

Fear caused Saul to disobey God’s commands. Because of his fear, Saul could no longer be trusted. You may have many weaknesses, lusts, passions, and dark hidden sins, but fear is worse than all of them, for it is telling God that don’t trust Him, and He can’t trust you. Fear is the opposite of faith and it is an insult to God. When God had enough of Saul, He found a David:

(1 Samuel 13:13–14 NASB)  Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, for now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. “But now your kingdom shall not endure. The LORD has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”

What a shame. Saul’s kingdom would have been established over Israel forever, but he couldn’t overcome his inner fear. He feared man more than God, so God removed him and brought in teenager, David the giant slayer. All God needed was one who would step out in faith to get the job done.

(2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV)  For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

(1 John 4:18 NASB)  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.

John Wayne once said “Courage is being scared to death, and saddling up anyway.” That’s the ticket. It’s not that you will never be scared, but you will never let fear hold you back from trying. Give God something to work with, for He cannot use an immovable rock. Well, He could, but then He wouldn’t need you.

If He puts a pen in your hand, will you have the courage to write what He tells you? If He gives you a chance to pray for someone in the grocery store, will you have the courage to pray in public? If He gives you a word of encouragement for someone, will you have the courage to share it? If He gives you inspiration, will you be able to use it? If He puts a giant in your path, will you have the courage to face it?

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please help me be courageous and to never let fear stop me from  following Your path. I choose You and I trust You to take care of me today, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.

Note: For those who are following our online Bible Study, we have begun studying the Gospel of John! We invite you to take a look at Chapter One, and take the quiz!