Fear has the tendency to grip us and not let go. I am the type of person that can be overcome by fear and worry. Thankfully, I recognize this about myself and I have learned how to fight it hard so that I do not stay in my house eating chocolate chip cookies and reading books alone for the rest of my life. The world is full of things that should bring us fear. However, as Christ-followers, we are given the tools, through the word of God, to fight off this fear and walk in the safety that is found in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Satan loves to use fear to hold us back. We fear what might happen if we take the leap, so we stay comfortable in the place we are in. We fear what is going on in the world and how it might affect us, so we just turn the news off and stay in our little bubble instead of going out and enjoying life. If Satan can keep us afraid, then we will not worry about doing big things in our lives and for the Kingdom of God. We stay hidden and small because that is what is easiest.
Not only does fear hold us in a stalemate pattern, but it can also cause anxiety and depression. Both, which have major effects on our mental and physical state. We can lose sleep, quit eating correctly and it can even lead to wanting to end it all to avoid fear. But, as believers, we have scripture that we can turn to that speaks against fear. We have the authority to command the fear to cease and we can walk in the boldness of Christ and declare that we are victorious in all things because Christ has already taken care of it on the cross.
Let’s spend the next few days looking at fear and what scripture has to say about it.
Day 1:
Read Psalm 46:1-11, Proverbs 18:10, Proverbs 3:25-26
Living in this world is hard. That fact has not changed from the time before King David penned the Psalms until now. There has always been an enemy of this world and he is out to make sure that people do not get along, sickness covers the earth and resources seem to dry up so that we are never fully stable and secure in our surroundings.
Psalm 46, teaches us several things when we read it. First, we must put our trust in God for in him we find refuge and strength and we can triumph over every situation. No matter what is going on around us, he is always there, willing to give us the strength and resources we need to make it through. As Proverbs 18:10 says, he is our strong tower. We run to him for safety and security. We must keep our eyes on him and tune our ears to his voice at all times.
Second, no matter what we are going through and what the world seems to look like, we can tap into God’s resources and not fear. He has command over the wind and the waves and though the world may seem to be wasting away, he is renewing us day by day and filling us with a holy spirit given boldness to step out in faith into his calling. God is living within us and we shall not be moved.
Third, he is always and forever with us. He will never leave us or forsake us. We must be still before him on a regular basis. God does not come down and physically grab hold of us to get our attention. He wants to speak but he does so in a still small voice. We must be still before him, declare his praise and who scripture says that he is, and then sit and listen for him to speak. When you take time to spend with him in this manner, he is faithful to show up and speak life over you.
In order to overcome fear, we must take time to let God’s praise be on our lips, spend time reading his word and declaring who he is and who we are in him. When we carve out time for this practice, we start telling the enemy of this world who is boss and we walk in the victory to know that Christ has already won. We will not be afraid when things come upon us suddenly because we find our confidence in Christ alone.
- What is holding you in fear today? How can you declare the promises of God over the situation and walk away less fearful?
- God wants to speak boldness into you. Take time to meditate more on Psalm 46 and then ask God to speak and sit and listen. Put away all distractions, such as your phone or computer, and sit in silence for 10 to 15 minutes and journal what you hear or how you feel God speaking.
Day 2:
Read Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 56:3-4, Deuteronomy 31:6
What or who do you turn to when you start feeling anxious and afraid? When fear tries to overtake you and cause you to shut down, what is the first thing you reach out for? Our worldly tendency is to turn to something or someone other than Jesus when we are feeling afraid. Many go to food, alcohol, pouring themselves into work, or their best friend or spouse. Those may fill the void for a little while but they will never take away the fear and may even make it worse. Man, and the things created by man, will always fail to give the correct answers or to fill a void caused by fear.
In these verses, we find where we need to turn. They all declare a promise that God will never leave us. In fact, he says that he goes before us. We do not need to fear the future because God is already living there and knows the outcome. He knows exactly what is coming around the bend and we do not need to fear because he will walk us through it step by step. When we put our trust fully in him and listen for his guiding voice, we do not need to fear. He is not a cunning and domineering God who makes our life difficult and full of things to fear for the fun of it.
God does not lie – he cannot lie. So when he says that we do not need to fear because he is always with us and will never leave us, we can hold tightly to that promise. When we feel fear coming, we need to remember who is in control and that he has promised to walk with us through it and then we need to hand the situation over to him and ask how he wants to guide and deliver us.
- Take some time to remember situations that made you afraid in the past. How were you able to see the hand of God guiding and sustaining you through the situation to make it through?
- Read the story of Joshua found in Deuteronomy 31. Notice all the ways that God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous and promises to walk with him.
Day 3
Read 2 Timothy 1:7, Romans 8:31-39, Romans 15:13
Each day the world throws things at us that we should probably fear. However, Christ has given us the tools to walk in victory. In 2 Timothy we read that he has given us power, love and a sound mind. The key to victory is taking captive our thoughts and telling those fears who is boss. When we are faced with fear, we must speak truth over the situation. We speak into what God promises us and we focus on what we can control. There may be a legitimate reason to be fearful but what can we do to minimize this fear? Make a list of the things that you can control in the situation and then the things you cannot control, ask God to take them and guide you through each step with his wisdom and grace.
Romans 8 needs to be our battle cry. If God is for us, who can be against us? We are on the winning team. If he loved us enough to give us his only son to die for us, how can we not walk with our heads held high knowing that he is our protector and source of incredible strength. He would not have sent Jesus only to say ‘nevermind, they are bad apples, they deserve this.’ Yes, we may deserve what is coming, however, God loves us enough to ignore what we deserve and gave us his son and the gift of the Holy Spirit to walk us through each and every day. So we declare that we are more than conquerors through Christ. We tell the thing that is causing us fear that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus and we walk forward knowing that victory is coming. God is mighty in us all. We must daily pray that the God of hope fills us with joy and peace in believing.
- Write down what is causing fear. Make a list of all the things in that situation that you can control. Make a list of what you cannot control and then spend time asking the Holy Spirit to take those things and give you a peace over them.
- Turn on worship music and spend time singing the praises of our God to reset your mind. Ask God in these moments to help you walk in victory over fear.
Image Credit: Lydia Supinger
Brittany is a wife, homeschool mama, worship leader and podcaster from Eastern North Carolina. She has a strong passion for talking to anyone and everyone about Jesus, but is particularly fond of college students and women who want to dive deeper into Scripture. When she finds herself with free time, she enjoys writing, painting and reading all the books while enjoying a good cup of coffee or hot tea.
