DEALING WITH FEAR


Characters:

Mrs. Jones (teacher), Bobby (student),
Written in a school room setting


MRS. JONES: Well, hi, Bobby!
How are you this morning?


BOBBY: (Hangs his head low)
O.K., I guess. . .


MRS. JONES: Is something bothering you?


BOBBY: Yah, but I don't know if I want
to tell you and the kids,
you will probably think I'm a baby!


MRS. JONES: (Looks at the children)
We won't think he's a baby,
will we? What is it, Bobby?


BOBBY: (Still looking down,
speaks in soft voice):
I'm afraid of the dark. . .


MRS. JONES: We understand.
I think we all have gone through
that sometime in our lives.


BOBBY: When I'm laying in my bed at night,
I feel like there's something under there.
You know: a SCARY MONSTER OR SOMETHING!
I just don't know what to do about it!


MRS. JONES. I've been studying about
fear in the Bible this week.


BOBBY: REALLY? The Bible talks about being afraid?


MRS. JONES: It sure does!
There are many verses about fear.
Did you know there are two kinds of
fear and one of them is good.


BOBBY: (Cocks his head, acts surprised):
Two kinds? The only kind I know is the SCARY kind!


MRS. JONES: The Bible tells us there
is only one thing we are to fear!
Can you guess what it is?


BOBBY: WILD ANIMALS?


MRS. JONES: No, we are told to "fear" the Lord!
Psalm ll2 says "blessed is the man who fears the
Lord, who delights in His commandments."


BOBBY: I'm not afraid of God, I know He loves me!


MRS. JONES: The word "fear" really means to respect,
to listen to, to trust. As we fear the Lord and
rely on Him, the other fears seen to melt away.


BOBBY: Are you trying to say that if I fear the Lord,
I won't fear SCARY MONSTERS anymore?


MRS. JONES: Something like that.
II Timothy l says that GOD hasn't
given us a spirit of fear but of
power and love and a sound mind.
YOUR FEARS DON'T COME FROM GOD!


BOBBY: Do you mean it's the
DEVIL who's trying to scare me?


MRS. JONES: That's right.
He likes to put those thoughts into your head.
But God tells us what we can do!


BOBBY: Boy, I sure would like to know
(Looks at the children):
I bet you kids would like to know, too,
wouldn't you?...So. . . what is it?


Submit yourselves to God,
resist the Devil and he will
flee from you! James 4:7)


BOBBY: That sounds easy.
Think about God, tell the Devil to leave
and then he just goes! He's afraid of me?


MRS. JONES: He's not afraid of YOU, Bobby,
it's JESUS IN YOU. The name of Jesus is the most
powerful name in heaven and in the earth.


BOBBY: WOW! So if I say,
"Devil, in the name of Jesus, quit scaring me"
then he'll just leave me alone?


MRS. JONES: When you're laying in bed tonight
and those thoughts try to make you afraid,
just start praying!


BOBBY: Thanks, Mrs. Jones,
tonight I'm not going to give in to that old devil!
See you later! Bye, kids!


MRS. JONES: We are all afraid of things at times
but as we TRUST in God more and more,
we will find we are less and less afraid of things.
Let's look up some of the verses on fear.
Fearing the Lord: Psalm 34:9 Psalm lll:l0 Psalm ll2:l


Not being afraid:
Psalm 27:l-2 Luke l2: 4 I John 4:l8 II Timothy l:7


Resisting the Devil: James 4:7 69



This story written by Barb Marshall
Used with permission


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