Fear: According to Webster dictionary.
A distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc. whether the threat is real or imagined;
The feeling or condition of being afraid
Concern or anxiety
Something that causes fright or apprehension
To be afraid
To have reverential awe.
According to the Bible
Fear is lack of faith
(Heb. 11:6) Without faith it is impossible to please God.
Fear is not believing God can or will do what He said He will.
Fear is from Satan and not from God.
God is love and gives good gifts
Why is it important to overcome fear?
Fear can cripple us. (i.e. So afraid we can’t move. Snake, phobia of heights, etc.)
It can cause us to react in a wrong or dangerous way. (Maybe we catch on fire and instead of dropping and rolling we run. So instead of the fire going out it gets worse.
Fear can prevent us from doing things we want to do or need to do. (Some people have had a problem where they were afraid to go out of their house and became prisoner to their
own house because of fear.)
Fear can also prevent us from doing God’s will. (Maybe we thing we aren’t able, fear of not having enough money, fear of getting up in front of people)
Fear can cause sickness and even death. (Fear causes anxiety which can cause many sicknesses. Anxiety can cause cancer, heart problems, and much more.) Think of how the child
at the amusement park was on the roller coaster recently. When the family went to get off the
child was dead. I haven’t heard the cause but assume it was probably fear. There are many example of death being caused by fear.
How many blessings and opportunities have we or others missed out on because we didn’t trust God enough and didn’t do something because we were afraid. God wants to bless and prosper us but many times we miss it because of fear.
We see how Satan can use fear as a tool to put and keep people in bondage and also from receiving God’s best for our lives.
We see fear is not from God in (2nd Tim. 1:7) which says: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind.”
God tells us not to fear in many places in the Bible.
(Joshua 1:9) says: “Have not I commanded thee be strong and of a good courage, be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goeth.”
God also told Isaiah in Chapter 41 vs. 10: “Fear thou not for I am with thee, Be not dismayed for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee, yea I will help thee, yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
Also in 1 John we see that fear is not of God for it says perfect love (Which God is perfect Love) casteth out all fear. Chapter 4 vs. 18 states: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear has torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”
In Chap. 4 vs. 16 & 17 John explains how we can have perfect love or how love becomes perfect in us. He says: “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world.”
Because God is love and because God dwells in us and we dwell in Him in love God makes
our love perfect. We love with the love of God which dwells in us.
How do we overcome fear?
Since fear is from Satan we must overcome Satan. (Rev. 12:11) says: “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony: and they loved not their lives unto the death.”
We all recognize the blood of the Lamb and most of us know that we can apply His blood over circumstances and in situations to overcome Satan and for God to change things.
What is our testimony?
Mostly when we hear the word testimony we think of how we came to know Jesus and when we accepted Him as our Savior.
In this case it appears the testimony involved is how God showed up and showed off when
we were in a test. When we think of all the times God has pulled us through hard times we remember that GOD is ABLE. He has done it in the past and can do it again. If we can’t recognize a testimony in our own lives we can look at the Bible. Look at how God saved Moses from death and raised up Moses to deliver the Jewish people from bondage in Egypt. Ten plagues and the miracle of opening the Red Sea. (expound) There are so many. When I look at my own life I see where God stepped in, saved me, provided for me, overcame enemies and so much more. Saved me from death several times, healed me, never been without a home or food. Given me words, help, brought people and finances when needed. Touched Darcy, Jess, Linda, Dorothy, James, myself and others with His presence, and visions. The more testimonies we think of the more our faith should rise and fear should vanish. I love to read and hear other peoples testimonies also. It helps stir up our faith.
We see how David in Psalms would bring forth testimonies of what God had done for Him.
In Ps. 34:4 David says “I sought the Lord, and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears” What a testimony.
The WORD is so simple and clear on the subject when James writes to the Jewish believers and says in: (James 4:7) “Submit yourselves, therefore to God. Resist the devil and He will flee from you.”
What else can we do to overcome Fear? What is almost the opposite of fear? Fear is lack of Faith.
Faith is confidence and trust in a person or thing according to Webster. As Christians our Faith needs to be confidence and trust in GOD.
The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God in (Hebrews 11:6)
How do we increase our faith? Roman’s 10:17 says; So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. We need to hear the Word of God. We need to even speak the Word ourselves so we hear it because there is life in the Word especially when it is spoken. It is
Even a good idea to read the Word out loud.
We also see that Jesus is the Author and Finisher of Faith. In Matt.7:7 it says: “Ask and it shall be given you” That’s pretty plain isn’t it. It tells us that Jesus is the Author and Finisher of faith and then we see if we ask we shall receive it. If we believe we will receive and we can not be double minded but ask in faith knowing we will receive what we ask for.
Part of faith is trusting and believing in God that He is able and will do what He says:
David said in Ps. 56:3 that “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. And in verse 10 he says “In God have I put my trust. I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.”
Here is a Word that should encourage us and help us overcome any fear. “And the LORD, He it is that doth go before thee; He will be with thee, He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee; fear not, neither be dismayed. (Rom. 31:8)
He says He will never fail us. He also says He will never leave nor forsake us. He is always with us and goes before us. He makes our way straight and removes the stumbling blocks. He gives His angels charge over us to keep us in all our ways it says in Ps. 91:11. What should we fear?
We know God is able to do above and beyond what we can think or imagine. We know God is
Able to keep us safe and that He is the Rock, our Refuge and our Shield. He is our strength and is everything we need.
Lets look at (Is. 41:10) which says: Fear thou not: for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
Is anyone afraid of death?
God has overcome death also. “For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Heb. 2:14-15)
As we seen earlier in 1John 4:18 Perfect Love casteth out all fear. We need to love God with a perfect love and worship Him in truth and spirit then there shall be no fear.
(Romans 8:1) says “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
(John 5:24) says: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
If I did not know Jesus and had not given my life to Him as my Lord and Savior I would be afraid of death. There is a heaven and a hell whether we believe it or not. It is important to be ready for death of these physical bodies at all times. The Bible says God is faithful to forgive if we confess and turn from our wicked ways. When we slip we must repent and ask for forgiveness so when we leave these bodies we shall live in the glory of God for all eternity. What joy and freedom that will be to see God in all His splendor and Majesty.
We should not fear death but we should look forward to the time when we can enter into His throne room and see our God. It will be a day so wonderful when we are not constrained by our
physical bodies. It will be total freedom. When we were babies we were content in our mother’s
womb. We didn’t realize we were constrained and in darkness with such little freedom. We were warm and fed but in order to continue to grow we had to leave the confinement of the womb. We did not know what light was, what our mother looked like or that we words were and that we could taste different foods, touch things, crawl and walk, that we could go places and see things like mountains, the ocean, colors. How wonderful. The Bible says we pass from glory to glory and this is not particularly what it is referring to but I like to think of it that way because as we pass from the womb into the world we see more of God’s glory but when we pass from this world into heaven the glory will be so much greater.
If we are right with God and asked Jesus to be our Savior there is no reason to fear death but we
should rejoice in it. May Jesus come and receive us with angels by His side as He takes us home to live in new freedom and perfect love for evermore.
Here are 2 verses you can meditate on to keep you in peace:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 4:6-7) NIV
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have; for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. (Hebrews 13:5-6) NIV
What a GREAT and AWESOME GOD we serve.