Fear Not
Fear is something each one of us has had to confront at some time in our life; maybe even more than once. In fact, I believe it is almost a daily struggle for most of us. It can come in the area of panic, which paralyzes, or just as insecurity when facing a new challenge. Fear has to do with an expectation of evil. It is the anxiety caused by believing that something bad is about to happen. Because it is a negative feeling and precedes most challenges, it serves as a hindrance to progress and change.
Fear does not come from God. It must be resisted and when it manifests as an evil spirit, it must be cast out. Fear brings torment and God has given us His love to combat this enemy of our soul. 365 times in the Scriptures, God says: “Fear not!” There is one for every day of the year. The devil uses fear to keep us from experiencing God’s best. Fear keeps us in unbelief and maintains us uninvolved in God’s purposes.
Hope, on the other hand, is the expectation of good and is the substance of faith. It is the opposite of fear. Hope is seeing God working all things to our good. It is knowing that the Lord is in control and that He loves us. We overcome fear because we trust in God. Even though we walk through the valley of death, we fear no evil. Why? It is because the Lord is with us. Jesus embraced the cross, because of the hope that was set before Him. Does this mean that we never feel fear? No, it just means that we do it anyway. You may feel fear before an exam, or a job interview, or before going to the doctor or dentist, but you just do it anyway.
Years ago we had a member in our church that was claustrophobic, (fear of being in small places). She would not ride in elevators and would avoid crowded places. One day we organized a trip to Paris, France. She wanted so much to go with us, but it meant a 2000 kilometer road trip in a crowded van. As we began the journey, she was on the verge of a panic attack. Her head was out the window, trying frantically to deal with her fear. The more she thought about her fear the worse it became. We stopped the van and prayed for our sister. Instead of giving into the fear, she had to resist it. That day she got victory. Her focus and trust was placed in God and she enjoyed a wonderful trip.
Instead of avoiding the challenges of that accompany the doing of God’s will, because of a fear. Just do it, anyway. You will find that God is with you. Look up! Look to where you want to go, not to where you don’t want to go and FEAR NOT!
Scriptures to meditate on:
Isaiah 41:10; Psalms 23:4; 34:4; 46:10; II Timothy 1:7; I John 4:18; Hebrews 12:2.