Fear of Heights

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)

Last week I talked about flying, and mentioned that I had taken off in an airplane “hundreds of times”. That is not an exaggeration. For a couple of years I flew weekly on my job (when I had a real job before I became a pastor). Fifty weeks with two flights (many of which had connections) for two years puts me well over 200. Add all the other business trips, vacations, and missions trips, and “hundreds” is quite accurate. Back when the “frequent flyer” programs were getting started, I racked up quite a few “freebies”. In fact, my first trip to Hawaii almost 30 years ago was paid for by American Airlines, and cost me less than $200 out of pocket.

That said, those who know me know that I am deathly afraid of heights. I am only about 5’10”, but I don’t even like being this tall. I cannot do anything that involves a ladder. Standing on a step-stool makes me nervous. Watching someone else climb a ladder or do something on a roof gives me the “willies”. Things that need to be done around the house involving heights are done by my wife or son, and it is better if I am not home to even know about it. I cannot describe what goes on in my mind and body when I get into positions like that. Typing these words makes me a little nauseous. But I can fly anywhere – in a window seat, or even in a little four-seater “puddle jumper” – and I have no fear of flying. You might think that is a huge “contradiction”. But I am not flying the plane. When I am on a ladder, it is up to me whether I fall. So I get queasy about it because I don’t trust myself. Yes, you are right. I am a strange and complex person. So are you.

There is another “height” that I am afraid of in the verse above. We face an enemy who is “more subtil than any beast of the field” (Genesis 3:1). He is a “…roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (I Peter 5:8). Satan is the embodiment of “spiritual wickedness in high places”. He loves to cavort with the “high and mighty” of this world; the religious and political leaders, the rich and famous, and the “movers and shakers” in high society. Through his subtilty, he deceives men and women into believing they have the power to shape their own destiny and “change the world”. As a roaring lion, he tramples the masses under foot, and uses any means possible to get them to kill each other off as fast as possible before the gospel can make inroads into their hearts. It is proper to have a healthy fear of Satan.

Job was faced with this issue, being tested and persecuted by the devil. At the end of the book, God finally revealed the nature of his trial, and who his enemy was. God told Job, “Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more. Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him? None is so fierce that dare stir him up.” (Job 41:8-10). It is a wise man who “lets the sleeping dog lie” and does not think he can take on our enemy.

But the fear we have for our enemy is handled the same way I “fear” flying. I know that a plane I am on could fall out of the sky at any time. But 6 feet up on a ladder freaks me out far more than 35,000 feet in an airplane because I am not flying the plane. It is not up to me if I fall. In life, God has promised to keep us and preserve us unto his purposes and his kingdom. If “God is your co-pilot”, it’s no wonder you are in trouble. In my plane, God is the pilot, and I am the passenger (in first class!). “For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” (II Timothy 1:12) Go ahead and have a healthy respect and fear of your enemy. A man who claims to have no fear of Satan is on drugs or crazy or both. But God has sealed us unto the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30). He lives in us as believers, and “…greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (I John 4:4)