Have you seen Fear Factor? Six people try to accomplish high-fear-element tasks to win a large cash amount. They drive cars off parking garages into cardboard boxes. They walk across plastic disks hanging five stories above a shopping mall. They jump from one speeding big rig to another at 60 miles per hour! They eat the usually-inedible parts of animals (stuff reserved for the Alpo can) or are covered in snakes, cockroaches, and rats.

Fear vs. Reward

Not my idea of excitement. But some people are willing to confront their fears if the reward is big enough.

I guess the active word here is reward. Would anybody do any of those crazy things if there were no reward?

Fears to Face

You face fearful (but not necessarily gross or risky) things in life. You face your own fears when you try out for a sport or a role in the school play, or when you take a test or go out on your first date. You brave the unknown for the reward: making the team, landing the role, getting an A+ on the exam, or surviving your first date without spilling soda down your shirt.

Some fears are not so visible. We have fears of not being accepted or loved, fears of failing. We don't usually share these fears with friends or family, but keep them bottled up. Still, they hurt us from the inside. We hide, avoid people, mentally beat ourselves up.

Overcome Your Fear

That isn't a good way to handle fears. I know a better way.

When you have fears, turn to your heavenly Father and tell him. When Isaiah was afraid, God told him, "Don't fear! I am with you! Don't be afraid for I am your God!" How cool is that? God tells us to take his hand and let go of our fears. He's not going to let anything happen to us that he can't handle.

Proof It Works

We can also learn a lesson from Jesus. As he faced the cross, he was facing his fears too. He had to face the fears of his friends abandoning him, physical pain, and even death. Did he hold it in, form resentments, and beat up on his family and friends? No! Did he become sour and withdraw from society? No! He went to his heavenly Father in prayer and told him about his fears. He held out his hand and God took it (in fact, he was holding it all along). God didn't take away the fearful situations, but he did give his Son the strength to get through them.

And to what end? For just the greatest reward of all time.… Jesus died so that we might live! Let's see television come up with anything better than that.

Ron Cuilla (Ronnie Llama) is a youth leader at Apostles Lutheran Church in San Jose, California.