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.
This Scripture verse has been a very important part of my Christian walk. I have it framed and on display in our home, that I may read it often. You may think this is strange but fear has been my biggest enemy for many, many years and this is one way I can fight that enemy. I need to remind myself often that God's Word tells me that He does not want me to fear and that He is with me. One time I read a good way to remember what "fear" really is. The word fear stands for "False Evidence Appearing Real". How true that is. I always feel so foolish after a situation is over that I feared, knowing that there really wasn't anything to be afraid of. In these next few days I would like to share some other Scriptures and thoughts on this subject. If this is one of your problems, too, I hope they will help you.
Blessed assurance that God is ever near, I can be confident, even when I fear.
Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name. You are mine. Isaiah 43:1.
My problem with fear started long before I ever knew the Lord as my Savior, but I know even then He knew me and that I would be His someday. When I try to think of reasons that I should not be afraid this is the very biggest, I think. I am His! I belong to the God who created this whole universe and everything in it. I remember one night as we crossed the desert from California. I was ill and looking out at the vast expanses of darkness made me very fearful. I kept thinking how far we were from any help should I need it. At some point I looked up into the starry sky and there was the big bright moon. I believe the Lord reminded me that He had created that moon and He had kept it up in the sky and moving through space for a very long time, just as He planned. It was not an accident. He had done it. And then I remembered that I belonged to the One who had accomplished it all. This has brought me through many difficult times and I love the moon because God has chosen to use it many, many times to help me get over my fears.
Forever I am His, forever He is mine. Remembering all these things, makes everything fine.
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. Psalm 46:10.
I simply love these three descriptions of God. He is our REFUGE, our STRENGTH and EVER-PRESENT HELP. That is why we should not fear anything. Refuge means a place of safety from trouble or danger. Strength is the ability to do or bear and ever-present help is an always, in any degree state of being in attendance to support. These are my own observations after looking up all the words in a dictionary. But I guess it says what I need to know. You see, fear for me is always lurking in the background just waiting for me to give in to it. I have found the only solution for my fears is to turn to God's Word and find passages like this and not only believe that they are true but depend totally on that truth for myself, no matter what the fear is.
When fear comes, I go to my Lord. He is always with me, so says His Word.
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified...for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6.
The word Never in this passage is what gives me strength and courage, no matter what happens. This is one promise in God's Word that I turn to often. I remember when I was rushed to the Emergency Room 13 years ago, to find that I had experienced a heart attack. Knowing my past history of fear, I should have been very upset or terrified to say the least. I was not. I had this Scripture stored in my heart and I knew that He had promised that He would never leave me nor forsake me. I can tell you now that He never did. Though I had an angioplasty and experienced a second heart attack within a few days and underwent a second angioplasty with complications, my God never left me and I experienced His presence and peace the whole time. Now after these many years I still remember clearly how close He was. You might think that after surviving that kind of an ordeal and His grace in the midst of it, I would never fear again but I am sad to say that is not true. I still fear and still have to work through each time.
The Lord will never leave me. That is His choice. I turn to Him and hear His voice.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7.
It comforts me to know that the fearfulness is not something God has given me. He chooses to give us power to overcome, love to be secure and a sound mind to fight the fear. That is how that Scripture reads to me. I have the knowledge that I can control the fear and the power to overcome the fear and the reason to fight....I am loved. That is what I must do. There are times when it becomes a very real battle to rid myself of fearful thoughts. In Hebrews 4:12 it says, "For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than a double-edged sword....." This is my weapon....God's Word. It took me some time to learn how to do battle against the negative attitudes that came so easily when I was faced with an unpleasant situation. My mind seems to move constantly. Does yours? We have a choice. I choose to fill my thoughts with the Truth of Scripture. That is my only solution to my fear.
Fretfulness, worry, anxiety are all the same. It always does harm and we must take the blame.
He said to His disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" Mark 4:40.
This Scripture is from the story of Jesus calming the storm. Jesus and His disciples were in a boat and He was alseep. A "furious squall" came up and the waves broke over the boat and nearly swamped it. The frightened disciples woke Jesus. He got up, rebuked the wind and the waves and the wind died down and it was completely calm. Then He said to them....."Why are you so afraid?....." It is hard for me to digest the fact that they were afraid even though Jesus was with them, physically. They had seen Him do many miracles in their time with Him. How could they be afraid? But imagine with me how the wind must have whistled and the waves roared ever closer. I would have been afraid too. He says, " Do you still have no faith?" I guess that is what it is about. Faith is trust and we must know the One in Whom we trust and what we can expect from Him in any situation we must go through.
Knowing and trusting Jesus is the only way for me, it is the only path so clear skies I'll see.
There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. I John 4:18.
Perfect love is Jesus dying on a cross for me. He took the punishment that I deserve. He deserved none of it. He did nothing to earn any of the suffering He underwent....the ridicule that He endured....the weight of all the world's sin on His shoulders as He hung there on the cross. He was willing to suffer and die on our behalf if that was the only way we could be reconciled to the Father. It was the only way. There is not much more I can say. I know this is true and I have the assurance that He died for me. I depend on that sacrifice of the perfect Lamb in my place. It is why I bear the temptation to fear and fight it until it is gone. I know Who He is and who I am to Him.
Wonder of all wonders that Jesus died for me. Fear is gone and peaceful I will be.
