Lessons from Band of Brothers and the Bible on Overcoming Fear.

There is a battle scene in Band of Brothers where Private Albert Blithe cowers in his foxhole.  Bullets tear up everything above ground level. Blithe  screams and cries in utter panic.  Amidst the hail of bullets, Lieutenant Dick Winters appears, yelling, "Come on, Blithe!  Stand up!  Get up on your feet soldier!  Fire your weapon Blithe!"

Blithe warily rises and begins firing while Winters fires away next to him, fully exposed.  Somehow, both men survive the melee.

Later, Blithe confesses  to Lieutenant Speirs (who is far and away the most intimidating leader in Easy Company), that he hid in a ditch on D Day.  

With emotionless intensity, Speirs, responds,

"Do you know why you hid in that ditch, Blithe?"

Blithe "I was scared."

Speirs "We're all scared."

"You hid in that ditch because you think there's still hope. But, Blithe, the only hope you have is to accept the fact that you're already dead.  And the sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be able to function as a soldier is supposed to function."

Speirs' advice is cold. And dark.  But it's also crucial...and true in its own way.  

And it finds a surprising echo in the Bible.

…they loved not their lives even unto death.

Revelation 12:10-11.

[10] And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.  

And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

(ESV)

I remember one terrific  spiritual battle in our own lives. We had been hit over and over with bad news. Everything in our world felt at risk and we were fearfully dreading what might happen next.

I went for a prayer walk.  I can picture the exact spot where my mind changed and I stopped cowering.  

The change was both a decision and a supernatural gift from God.

Unlike Speirs, I didn’t abandon hope.

But, like Spiers, I was able to abandon  my fears.

I honestly have a hard time describing the change.  But, it was liberating.

Are you condemned by some inner accusation today?

Are you paralyzed with timidity?

Are you bound up with fear?

If you have surrendered your life to Jesus, you no longer have to be afraid.  The Bible says," you have already died and your life is hid with Christ in God" (Col 3:3). Everything that really matters has been taken care of.

Jesus’ blood answers the enemy’s accusations.

You conquer fear as you declare  that truth.

And when we realize we don’t need to be  afraid of anything, even dying, we are truly free to live.

Fear and the Accuser are conquered.

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