2 Timothy 1:7 “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” [ESV]
Sometimes, even in a season of relative calm, fear sneaks into the edges of my mind like a Colombian drug cartel at the southern border. What if something bad is about to happen to my husband? To one of my kids? Maybe that racing pulse rate indicates I’m headed toward a heart attack. There. I said it. Just exposing fears to the light helps dissipate them to some extent.
How do we deal with fear?
It plagues our human existence. Scripture affirms its predominance—did you know there are 365 references in the Bible telling us not to fear or be afraid? That’s one a day! The Bible describes how even giants in the faith like Daniel experienced tremendous fear. When an angel appeared to explain the meaning of the apocalyptic vision Daniel had received, his whole body trembled (Daniel 10:11). The angel calmed his fears by telling him not to be afraid—twice! (v.12;19).
Whether our fears stem from dangers real or irrational, we must not entertain them because fear doesn’t come from God. Instead of fear, he provides us with power, love and self-control as weapons to fight against it.
He gives us power—more power than we will ever need. We have access to the strength of our Sovereign God, which is far greater than fear. He gives us love—sacrificial, death-defying love. Our situations fill him with compassion so deep it surpasses anything we’ve known. He gives us self-control—it takes the truth of what we know about God’s power and love and enables us to stand. It teaches us to kick fear out by the seat of its pants. Remember what’s available to you the next time fear tries to invade the margins of your thoughts.
Life is unpredictable; pain inevitable. Although we have no assurances bad things won’t happen, we don’t have to fear what lies ahead. Our God promises to use the difficulties we experience for something good, no matter what.
Friend, don’t let fear dominate even one day of your precious life. Strengthen the borders of your mind and don’t let fear slip in. Sing the powerful lyrics from Francesca Battistelli—“Fear, you will never be welcome here!”
Can I get an amen?