Isn’t it interesting how many of us resist confessing that we are fearful?
It feels almost like an indictment on our personal strength or wisdom.
Yet, men fear just as much as women do. Seniors, like myself, fear just like children fear and just like our grandchildren’s parents fear. Certainly, we are not less fearful in our scientifically and psychologically progressive times than we were during the Black Plague. Fear knows no geographical, economical, political, or racial boundaries. Fear is not liberal or conservative.
Fear is also not something reserved for atheists or agnostics to the Judeo-Christian faith. Jews and Christians fear, too. Fear is human.
So, if fear is a universal malady, why resist the confession of it?
Maybe it is because we think it is okay to fear some things and not others. We can fear snakes or bears in the wild–fear of death–and that is responsible fear. But to fear the present? the future? What about fearing the evaluation of others?
If you’re interested in this phenomenon, please check out this significantly revised post: What do you fear? ( 18 Sept 2024).
Fearful Times
We live in fearful times. People speak of biblical prophecies being fulfilled and this is true. Whether these fulfilled prophecies mean the world is about to experience the apocalypse or not is not ours to know. We are to be ready at a moment’s notice for Messiah’s return.
But it is correct to say that we are drawing nearer to that time, for our Lord gave us enough information in scripture to help us be alert and to help others to wake up and be ready, too. God has designed us to fear that which could destroy us; fear is a warning system to help us stay awake and prepared and to move out of danger and into the safety He has planned for us. It is a positive thing, not a negative thing to reject.
Fear should drive us TOWARD God, not from Him.
We can stop running from the truth that we do fear and that sometimes it controls us. Though many of us make it our life goal to trust in the Lord, we are still human and frail. We can embrace that. God does (Psalm 103:11-18 NIV).1
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
15 The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—
18 with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.
Isn’t it comforting to you right now that God understands your fear?
God moves toward you to comfort you, to remove the imperfections in your thinking and behavior that inhibit perfect love, for God’s perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18).
Do you fear God’s condemnation or the condemnation of others?
Listen to what God is saying to you right now:
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus, the law of the spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. — Romans 8:1-2 NIV.
Getting Personal Here . . .
“But I’m worried about my finances. How does belief in Jesus help me there? I need a job. “
“I’m anxious over my loved ones who are in trouble. How can the knowledge that I’m going to heaven as a Christian make a difference for me? “
“Moreover, what does it matter if I don’t identify as a Christian? Does God not care about me? “
I hear deeply painful statements like these. Some scoff that “religion” can make a difference “in the real world.” I hear them. Prayer, we think, doesn’t get you hired. Training and skill and networking does. I get it. Loved ones suffer. I get that, too. The non-Christian (or the doubting Christian) feels on the outside of God’s promises; but it doesn’t have to remain that way.
So here’s the personal part. What follows is just an example from my own life, that may at least explain how a living Christ makes a difference for one weak and often confused Christian.
I have many things in this world that deeply trouble me on both an intimate and a grand scale. There are some things that hover over my days like a giant dark cloud. Despite the evidence of almost daily, miraculously-answered prayers, some other life-long prayers go seemingly unanswered and I begin the excrutiating process of self-doubt.
I’m a wife, mother, grandmother, and friend. I love some very important people. Enough said.
Retirement nears and signals a time of dependence, both financially and physically—and as a good spoiled American, I treasure my independence while I still have it!
I’m about to hike a longer distance in a darker wood and I’m nervous about encountering yellow jackets which seem to be prolific in the mountains this hot season. Will I be swarmed or approached by a bear?
Will I be able to complete my master’s thesis and contribute to my chosen field? Will my health and mind hold up long enough for me to do the things I feel I am to do (or would like to do) in this world?
I fear that I have disappointed God so many times. Memories scattered about like shattered glass cut and bleed with every replay of my sin. Am I fooling myself that God’s okay with me?
So, yes. Devout Christians face fear every day—if not old fears, there are plenty of new ones.
So how does the Good News of Jesus make a difference?
- First, because of what God has done for me in saving me from the eternal consequences of sin in Christ, as He has given me in His Word to understand and has confirmed to me by inner peace, I know I can turn to him for help when the storms assail anew. God drew near to me once and for all to forgive my sin in Christ’s sacrifice. He doesn’t have to do it again. I believe.
- Second, because God is Sovereign over His amazing Creation, I trust that His plans for me are for good and not for evil. My salvation and reconciled relationship with God is eternal, not sporadic. God’s character and justice is stable. He will never turn me away when I go to him for help.
- Third, I know the outcome of whatever answer He gives is spelled L-O-V-E. All that He has ever done, does or will do, is out of love for His people (1 John 4:2-7 ESV). I have been told “no” or “wait” so many times only to find out that had I gotten what I’d asked for right at the time I asked, it would have destroyed me or someone else. God is just and faithful. He knows far better than I do what is best for my “now.” Further, God loves my loved ones far more than I ever could love them. He must direct my prayers, not my emotions, which bounce about depending on too many factors to be stable (even things like the weather!). In a word, I can rest in this knowledge and love and find the peace I seek.
So what does faith vs. fear look like as it’s happening?
I can only answer what I do when I myself am fearful. I base this on scriptural teaching that guides me:
What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee. – Psalm 56:3 KJV
That means that I intentionally “head into the wind” and seek God out rather than run from Him. How do I seek God out? I read His Word that He has given to all of us for just such times as fear and doubt. I talk with Him about my fear as I would confess to a kind and approachable earthly Father (an ideal one — some may have to imagine it).
For instance, I had a real panic even this morning thinking about a deeply frightening concern.
- First, I grabbed God’s Word. I fed myself on what He has already said to me. Why? Because in terms of modern psychology, I can become obsessive, ruminating over my own scattered thoughts which often may or may not be right or based in reality. Speculation is the enemy of faith! I need words I can hang on and trust, for “the word of God endures forever” (Isaiah 40:6-8 NKJV).
I read until I found the Lord’s comfort. This is one reason why I love the Psalms, and especially Psalm 119! This morning, I used this website to read through the octrains of Psalm 119 and found KOPH (vv. 145-152). The psalmist’s prayer matched my own heart’s needs! He gave me the words I needed. I read the paraphrased prayer that I had written years ago for just such a time as this. I found the paraphrase helpful because it personalized and explored the depth of the passage’s meaning. It tethered my emotions to that stable discipline of God’s message to me. God’s Word told me that He knows and understands me. He has heard me and given me permission to address Him intimately.
- Second, I laid my hands over words of that prayer and prayed the words to God. Within that praying, I am relinquishing my own effort to control my circumstances and thoughts and feelings. I am intentionally acknowledging His greater wisdom, more perfect timing, deeper love, and far more able action.
This does not come easy, nor should it. C.S. Lewis illustrated it very well with Eustace’s being stripped of his dragon’s skin (“Reflections“). I hope you’ll read that article, because it describes very well what it feels like to remove one’s “fear clothes” and begin to trust in Christ instead.
We really are afraid to NOT worry. If we don’t worry, then we’ll forget; and we can’t forget or something bad will happen. I know this because I have talked with so many who have been brave enough to discuss their fears, but also because God’s word tells us why we argue—with Him and with others (James 4:1-3 Worldwide English, New Testament). We are afraid to give up control, because then we have to lean on faith. Quite!
So off the clothes come, if we’re serious about our concerns. If I stay in the process long enough, God assures me through an overwhelming peace that it’s okay. God’s got this. He’s ALWAYS had it. Now that I am convinced of it, I can let go of the steering wheel and rest. This morning was just another evidence this truth.
- Third, I voice my thanks to God that I don’t have to shoulder that burden.
This is the part that comes far more simply! Once my I realized that my faith was being “proofed” in the battle, I stopped fighting God and redirected my protective armor (my shield of faith) against the true enemy instead. When I let go of having to know how everything would turn out and trusted Him that He will guide me by faith, a settled joy came back into my heart and mind and I physically relaxed. I rolled over and went back to sleep and my dreams and sleep were restful. The thing is, that is not an isolated incident. It is a regular pattern with God and I. I may delay the process by my own sinful resistence to begin it, but once I’m in, God is always faithful to see me through.
Faith over Fear is a Process, Not a Product
Now, the problem for most of us is this: getting into this process and staying in the proces until we have wrestled it through with God.
We need to MAKE time to meditate on God’s Word. We can’t just reach for a Bible and start reading. We need to search Him out and that means creating quiet, undisturbed time—as much as is possible, at least.
And then it means putting the Bible down and praying and struggling through our tendency to “take it all back” into our own control. A million thoughts disturb the process:
- anger at some memories or “targets” I think are responsible for the mess,
- anger at myself for being so helpless to “do” anything about it,
- heart-wrenching sympathy beyond my emotional ability to bear up under it,
- questions that lie unanswered (and I want to stop praying and get up and research the answer),
- a baby or child’s cry (or husband’s),
- the need to get up and tend to hunger or visit the bathroom or answer the phone or door,
- the encroachment of time and schedule and duties of the day—just a million different things.
But if I’ve personally kept through with God, sometimes even praying out loud to keep my thoughts focused, He never fails me. He may not give me an immediately tangible answer, and indeed that is the case most of the time; but He will always send me some sure sign to let me know that He has heard.
A lighter heart is one of those signs. The ability to move on with the day unburdened and the ability to smile are two more, but God’s ways of speaking to us in a day to let us know He has heard us and is with us are endlessly creative!
Often, there comes a unique clarity of thought and understanding that I couldn’t have reached before I prayed. And sometimes, there is an unmistakable change of events that either drives me back to my knees in more prayer or hands me a “yes” on a silver platter. I am familiar with both.
But always, even with being driven back to my knees, I am aware that I am in process with God. He is with me, hearing me, and working with me as I struggle through His Sovereign will for me and for those I love. I am growing to trust Him more and as I trust Him more, I love Him more and vice versa. Healthy relationships are like that.
In short, these are the hinge-points of Christ’s atonement in helping overcome fear:
- Because of Christ’s finished work on the Cross for my sins and His Resurrection power in me to help me overcome my sin, I can approach my Sovereign Creator unafraid.
- Because His character is love, I can trust that He has my back and will not let me fail in the long run.
- Because I know He has heard my petition and has promised to act, is able to act, and has acted in the past and even in my present (i.e., today), I know I can trust my very life into his hands.
He is worth all my praise! I pray He becomes the cause of your own!
Prayer:
Sovereign Father, thank you so much for your wondrous, amazing love for us in this: that you loved us even while we were yet in our sin. You understand all things from the foundation of the world to its new creation where all our confusion and darkness will end in the brilliance of Your Light. But Lord, right now, we yet walk in the darkness of the here and now. I suffer, Lord, and those whom I love and whom you so dearly love even more, are suffering, too. You already know me and you know them, Lord, but even now I pause to name our concerns before you: _____________. Lord, see us and hear our prayer as You have promised. Be our Light and our Guide. Stay very near, my God, and bring us home safely. Correct us, draw us together in unity of purpose, strengthen our faith and preserve us: body, mind, and spirit. Give us the victory to overcome all fear in the power of Your love. .
© 2025. ReadPsalm119.com. PHOTO: Paddy Mountain Park, NC by ReadPsalm119.com, 30 Jun 2025.
FOOTNOTES:
WORK CITED:
“Reflections: The Cleansing and Transforming Power of Aslan.” C.S. Institute, 1 Sept. 2012, https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/resources/reflections-september-2012/.
