There was a man in my past whom I greatly admired. He recently received his eternal reward in heaven but left a lasting impact on my life. His name was Jerry Lerche (pronounced Lark). Jerry was a long-time volunteer sponsor in my church’s youth ministry when I was a teen. We had youth pastors who would come and go, but Jerry was the foundation who was always there. When we were between vocational youth pastors, he would give leadership to our group. When a new youth pastor would come, Jerry would humbly step back into a support role.
By day, Jerry was a high school science teacher. He was incredibly quiet and unassuming. In his later years, Jerry left teaching and became a pastor of a small church in Flint, Michigan, where he served for many years.
As interesting fact about this man, was his love of hunting. He hunted everywhere and for about anything. My favorite account that came from his hunting adventures is when he was hunting bear with a bow and arrow. Let me be straight up here. Nothing about that previous sentence sounds like a good idea to me. To purposefully choose to encounter a bear in the wild seems a bit fool hearty. But to do it armed with only a bow and arrow seems completely insane.
Jerry told us of a hunt where he shot a bear with an arrow from the ground; he wasn’t in a tree stand. The shot did not kill the bear, but, in Jerry’s words, “Made him extremely angry!” The bear charged him. Unlike a gun that may be able to fire several rounds rapidly, one doesn’t just reload and shoot multiple arrows.
As he told the story, I asked him, “How could you not have been terrified with a bear charging you?” He then told me an amazing truth. He said something like this, “I was terrified! But I never go into a hunting situation without first deciding that I will face the consequences of my choices. It doesn’t mean I don’t get afraid; it simply means I determine to face my fear and do what needs to be done.”
This truth is applicable to many situations we face where fear might be involved. The question for you and me, as men who wish to pursue godliness, is this, “Have we determine to face the challenges of our walk with Jesus with the same level of commitment to facing our fears?”
One might ask what we have to fear as men of faith. Let me throw out a few suggestions. Some fear a full commitment to following the will of God because it may mean we have to release control of our lives to another. What if God asked me to do something outside of my plans? What if he called me to be a missionary, or facilitate a class, or talk to a pre-believing friend about Jesus? What if God wanted me to give up my job security and financial stability so I could learn full dependence on him? What if, like Job, God allowed my full dedication to be tested by taking away things I hold dear? Full commitment to say yes to God may be your spiritual charging bear!
Another possibility is that one might be fearful of prayer. I don’t mean a blessing before a meal or a quick check-in with God on my way to work. But the intimacy that comes from getting on my face before God and pouring out my inner most struggles to him. Intimacy with God has been defined as asking God to “into me see”. Are we afraid to open up to God in a way that lays bare our deepest fears and hurts?
If we are going to truly be men who pursue God with our whole hearts, we must commit to never go into a spiritual challenge without first deciding that we will face the consequences of our choices. It doesn’t mean we don’t get afraid; it simply means we determine to face our fear and do what needs to be done.”