Fear
With a single image – a Ford Crown Victoria Police Pursuit Vehicle in your rearview mirror – fear is invoked in the hearts of a generation of drivers. Crown Victorias were the vehicle of choice for police agencies across the nation, especially for the final (Panther-platform) Crown Vics. With no competition in the archaic body-on-frame, full-size sedan segment, they dominated police fleets.
Today, retired P71 Crown Vics make excellent project cars. They’re cheap, plentiful, sturdy, and they all came with a plucky 2-valve V8 that responds really well to boost. You may see one on the road, swelling in your rearview mirror like a monster in a horror film that just won’t die. It shouldn’t be alive – they’ve been out of production for 11 years!
Fear works this way. The more irrational, illogical, and implausible a fear may be, the more visceral it feels. Fear of punishment is normally one of the strongest fears. It reminds you of the punishable behaviors you’d like to forget, and strikes at the heart of your self-preservation instinct.
Encouragement in the face of fear dominates the book of Isaiah, including some of the most famous Biblical passages that address fear: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
During Isaiah’s time, the people of Israel had a lot to be afraid of. The neighboring Assyrian empire was growing. So was Israel’s wild sinning streak, and a fear that perhaps those two would be combined; God would punish and correct Israel through occupation by Assyria. God spoke through Isaiah and foretold these things, along with a promise to save his people and even use them as instruments for establishing the reign of a coming Messiah.
Yes, even within the promise of necessary punishment, God included hope. God works that way, and has since the very beginning.
When your rearview mirror explodes with flashing lights and you know you deserve whatever punishment is coming, God says, “Do not fear, for I am with you.”
When you wonder how you’ll explain the traffic violation to your parents/spouse/impressionable children, God says, “Do not be dismayed, for I am your God.”
When this reminder of your faults makes you question your role in God’s work, or tells you that you’re a bad person after all and can’t possibly make a positive difference in the world, God says, “I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous hand.”
The God who delivers punishment also delivers you from the fear of punishment. No one else can do one or the other, and nothing else can do both. But God doesn’t operate like a police officer stiffly letting you off with a warning. No, he is overjoyed to rescue you from fear, because of the overwhelming essence of his love, and the work he’s done to deliver you from ultimate punishment. His relationship with you reorients your understanding of fear and punishment: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.” (1 John 4:18) With God’s love, you have nothing to fear – even some punishment, which can keep you alive, safe, and on the road.
Crown Victorias with the P71 package were upgraded for police duty. Civilian models with the Sport package got the same powertrain. Yet even these, the most powerful Crown Victorias out there, carried around 18 pounds per horsepower (compared to 15 lbs/hp in a new Civic Si, 13 in a new Miata, or 8 in a new Mustang GT). Pretty much anything out there is faster. If your right foot gets you in trouble with the law, maybe this ex-police car is the right car for you. But it won’t entirely purge you of fear. Only God does that.
