Fear Not!
I command you - Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. ~Joshua 1:9
Dictionary.com defines fear as a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc. whether the threat is real or imagined.
The most repeated phrase in the Bible is "fear not" or a similar wording that instructs us not to be afraid. In reading Job 2 and 3 this week, I was struck by a verse that caused me to really pause and ponder. Job 3:25 says, "For the thing which I greatly feared is come (cause to come in) upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.
As I studied and looked up the bold letter words above in the Blue Letter Bible, I learned that the meaning of "is come" in the original language of this passage can mean, cause to come in. This puts a different light on this verse. I am lead to believe that the act of fear can open us up to the very thing that we fear! When we let our heart dwell in fearful places like the fear of the future, or the fear of lack, illness, etc. are we unknowingly opening a door of entry for the enemy to come in and bring the very thing we are fearing? Is this why God commands us over and over to fear not? I am compelled to think so. His command to fear not is for our protection. This perspective causes me to look at fear differently. I want to pound it on the head and crush it. Fear is a lie that taunts and flaunts at us and demands that we bow down to it. We must resist!
Fear and anxiety bring physical symptoms to our body. Here is a list of some the immediate physical manifestation of fear...
gastrointestinal issues
sweating
dizziness
dry mouth
rapid breathing
Lingering fear left unchecked can lead to …
heartburn
exhaustion
skin rashes
cold hands and feet
disrupted sleep
self medicating (drugs and alcohol)
When my daughters were little, I read them a cute little story about resisting fear. One of my daughters particularly struggled with fear more than the others did and she loved to hear this story over and over. (Clearly, my struggle with fear was passed down to her.) I loved to read the story just as much as she liked to hear it. After all, it was teaching me just as much as it did my children.
The story is about a little squirrel who is afraid of everything! The morale of it is that there are some things we should fear, but most things we should not. The sentence most repeated in this story is …"Fear can be a friend or fear can be a foe, it is something everyone needs to know." Throughout the story the little squirrel is taught that is good to have fear of some things like, storms or dangerous animals, because that fear causes us to take shelter or avoid such things. In a sense, fear protects us in those situations. However, there are many things that that we should not fear. These kinds of fear are our enemy and cause us harm.
King David was fearless and he tells us how he became that way. He wrote it down in Psalm 34:4.
I sought the LORD, and he heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
Do you see that? David did not muster up courage by himself. He did not boast about his bravery. He sought the LORD and it was the LORD who delivered him from all his fears. The LORD did not deliver David from facing difficult situations. After all, he had to fight lions, stand up to fight a giant, and he had to flee for his very life at times. The LORD delivered him from fear during these difficult situations so that he had the wherewithal to deal with them without crumbling.
We know that fear is not of God. "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7
When fear rises up and anxiety comes knocking at your door, do what David did, seek the LORD. Seek Him with all your heart. Hide yourself in His mighty Word and He will deliver you.
In a world saturated with fear, refuse to let it grow inside you. Run from it and do not let it entangle you. Embrace that God's thoughts for you are good and not for evil, to give you a future with hope and peace.
Pray with me...
Heavenly Father,
You are absolutely good! We thank You and we praise You for that. We want to know more about You, Your Word, and Your infinite wisdom. We need discernment like never before and we cry out to You for it. Keep us from evil and keep evil from us. We put on Your armor and stand strong together to resist the enemies taunts of fear. We cling to You and hide in Your shadow as these calamities pass by. We seek You like David did and trust that You will deliver us from all of our fears. In Jesus Name. Amen
