There are times in our lives when we are not afraid of anything. Those are some pretty great times, though we may not always recognize them as such. It is a little bit like the way that we never appreciate being healthy until we get sick. All of a sudden, the idea of having a head that does not hurt, a stomach that feels fine, or clear sinuses seems like heaven. Sometimes, like people with chronic illness, we live with fear, and other times it hits us out of nowhere like a virus. While I am grateful not to live in fear, from time to time I get a “fear virus,” and its length has a lot to do with my spiritual/emotional immune system. Lately, it seems that everywhere I look, fear is going around like a bad flu season. So whether you are struggling now or just want a boost of spiritual vitamin C, here are a few things we should all remember.
First of all, God tells us over and over again not to fear--literally hundreds of times in Scripture. Granted, we are to fear the Lord, but we also know that “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love,” 1 John 4:18. We also know that not all fear is bad; appropriate and temporary fear can help protect us. Let us suffice to say that for children of God, we are not supposed to live in fear. God has overcome the world, and there is nothing in it that truly warrants fear. Thus all that is left to fear is God, Who has told us that perfect love does away with fear.
Who would want believers to be afraid? We do not want it, and God does not want it — only the enemy wants us to be afraid. What does fear from the enemy look like? It looks like any unhealthy and unwarranted fear — which encompasses most fears we deal with. A few I have dealt with have been unnecessary fear for my salvation (in various forms), and more recently, fear of sin and failure sparked by seeing sin in the lives of brothers and sisters. Of course in these situations there is a healthy fear — if we remember to take spiritual matters seriously and trust only in God, then good. Here is a litmus test — any time we are so afraid that we become hindered in our walk with God or bearing of spiritual fruit, it is unhealthy, and is likely enemy attack.
For the when, where, and why, let’s look at a chapter from Pilgrim’s Progress. Christian and Hopeful were walking along one day when they saw that it would be easier to walk beside the path then on it. Pretty soon they got lost, and a storm came out of nowhere. Often that is when we are hit with fear, when we have drifted a bit in our walk with God. Next, the Giant Despair found them and threw them in a dungeon in Doubting Castle, where he was very mean to them. The names should give us a hint — doubt and despair are unhealthy forms of fear, and can trap us like a prison if we let them. Also, never underestimate the cleverness of our enemy. If we really know God, it is harder to doubt Him, so we may be led to indirectly doubt him by “doubting ourselves,” which has usually been the case with me. Christian and Hopeful had given the enemy an inch, and he took a mile. It was a mistake coupled with a storm that led them to being trapped and terrified by the enemy. Why does the enemy want us afraid? It is because he wants us in chains — if he cannot stop us, he at least wants to torment and slow us down.
How then do we overcome fear? The good news is that we don’t. When all hope seemed lost and the pilgrims were near death, even contemplating suicide as the Giant had tempted them, they prayed and remembered that they had the key of promise. They then opened every door and ran for their lives back to the path. We combat fear with God’s promises, because false fears are just clever lies, and we know the truth.
One of my keys of promise is Galatians 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” We know that God will never leave us or forsake us, that nothing can separate us from His love, that we will always be sinners saved by grace whose only good is God in us. We know that even if we fail as badly as King David (and really, can anyone top that?), God will never despise a broken and contrite heart. In other words, God has got us, and even if we are faithless, He is faithful! If we fall, He will catch us. He is sovereign, He is in us, and He desperately loves us. We don’t have to trust ourselves, nor can we. We only have to trust Him, and let Him reign in us.
One last thing about fear viruses: just like any other viruses, once we get over them we are not likely to catch the same one again. We build up antibodies and immunity. Whenever that fear comes knocking again, we know just what truth to counter it with, and we can fight it off from the start. If we stay in the truth and on the path, we can keep our entire spiritual immune system in good shape. Do a search of places in scripture that God tells us not to fear. This journey is a tough one, but often fear itself really is the only thing to “fear.”
We worship an amazing God under a covenant of grace. Let us fix our eyes on Christ, and fear will fade back into the darkness where it belongs. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand,” Isaiah 41:10.
