What are you afraid of?
It’s a good question, isn’t it?
It is a question that we all must answer with the greatest amount of courage we are able to muster.
What is that one thing that brings absolute terror, unabated anxiety, and raging worry to your soul?
When I was a child, I was always afraid.
Everyone in my small town knew that I was the textbook definition of the descriptive phrase “scaredy cat.”
I was afraid of spiders, mean people, and the neighbor’s dog.
I was afraid of walking alone, the mice in our barn, and my sister’s horse.
I was terrified of spending the night at a friend’s house, riding my bike on a friendly country road, and what not eating vegetables might do to me.
But most significantly of all, I was afraid of the dark.
I was unable to fall asleep in my safe, pink bed unless someone was in the room with me.
My parents left a small light on in every room of the house so that if I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I wouldn’t be frightened.
The dark seemed evil and foreboding.
I just knew that I, as a small child, was no match for the dark.
Psychology defines fear in this way:
“Distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil or pain – whether the threat is real or imagined.”
Fear ushers a state of distress into our hearts.
Sometimes the fear is real … while other times it is only imagined.
The word “fear” is used over 400 times in the KJV of the Bible.
The Bible declares “Do not fear” at least 365 times, which is once for every day of the year.
Your gracious Father, to whom nothing is impossible, wants to remind you every single day of the calendar year that with Him in charge, there is nothing to be afraid of.
Absolutely nothing.
Every person in the Bible who did something significant for the Kingdom of God heard these exact words, “Do not fear”.
The Lord spoke that triumvirate of words, “Do not fear” to Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, Mary, Joseph, Zechariah, and many others.
If you are dealing with fear today, apparently, you are in good company with some of the giants of our faith.
And still the Lord will speak to you today, in the 21st. Century, “Do not fear”.
The Lord, the King of all Kings and the Lord of all Lords, is still sitting on the throne of heaven. He holds all authority.
He will never relinquish His power or His plan.
“Christ liveth in me. And how great the difference-instead of bondage, liberty; instead of failure, quiet victories within; instead of fear and weakness, a restful sense of sufficiency in Another.” – Hudson Taylor
When an event springs up in one’s life that instigates dry-mouthed fear, one might suppose that courage is the only choice in response to such an intimidating event; however, I have discovered a variety of options that belong to this life-changing “courageous” family.
“When I am afraid, I will trust in You, Oh God.” – Psalm 56:3
When you are afraid, your first response must be trust.
You can trust your heavenly Father, knowing that He is always good and that He is in control.
So, when fear springs up in your heart, immediately declare, “I trust in You, oh God! I trust in You!”
“… Perfect love casts out all fear.” – I John 4:18
One might assume that courage or bravery is the opposite of fear, but I have long believed that love has the power to squelch fear.
If you are dealing with fear today, resolve to love the Lord with your whole heart.
Choose to love the life you have been given.
And then find someone who needs a bit of loving care.
“Love casts out fear, for when we know we are loved, we are not afraid. Whoever has God’s perfect love, fear is gone out of the universe for him.” – A. W. Tozer
When love is the foremost choice in your heart, there will be no room for fear.
“The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom should I fear?
The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom should I dread?” – Psalm 27:1
When the Psalmist was dealing with incredible fear, he broke out into a song before the Lord, His light and salvation.
If you are afraid today, just start to sing out loud.
Sing of the goodness and God and of His faithfulness!
Sing hymns of faith and songs of joy!
Fear cowers in dread of a man or a woman who is brave enough to out-sing the lies of fear.
So what is courage?
Courage is trust … it is love … and it is worship.
The next time you feel the snowflakes of fear gathering in your heart … before fear becomes a full-fledged blizzard … choose to trust the Lord without reserve … decide to love with your whole heart … and break out into a song of praise.
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This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Carol McLeod Ministries
Featured Image by Liggraphy from Pixabay
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