Life Challenges

How to Deal with Fear?

"I am with you." Isn't that what we all want when we are afraid? The Bible answers our fear by telling us that God himself promises to be with those who love and trust him. In our fear, God offers us his hand to hold.

Short Content

How the Bible Speaks to Our Fears

Shh…. I’m right here. It’s okay.

Somehow those words usually make everything better, even when nothing is really better.

Maybe they were spoken by your mom at midnight, maybe by a best friend before a competition, maybe from a brother while hiding from danger, or by a relative while you laid in a hospital bed.

Perhaps childhood taught us best about fear. After night terrors, we want mom or dad there. Looking down the stairs into a spooky basement, we turned to whoever was nearby to say, “will you go with me?” Playing games outside in the dark was totally scary unless you were with a friend.

Fear wants company.

We know we feel better when someone stands by our side when facing any danger—whether imaginary or real. But why? Is it because they’re more powerful than the danger we face? Sometimes, but not often.

Maybe we want someone by our side in danger because we know they are safe. George MacDonald stated this nicely when he said, “Few delights can equal the presence of one we trust utterly.” There is something about trust—maybe love—that puts fear to rest.

When we open the Bible we find that it gives us the very answer to our fears that we have longed for since we were children—I’m right here. God’s most frequent answer to fear in the Bible is “Don’t be afraid, I’m right here.” The Bible usually puts it like this, “Fear not, for I am with you” (Isaiah 41:10).

This might not seem like the answer you want. We understand that, because perhaps God is one of the very things you fear. It’s going to be of no comfort to you to know that God wants to be with you in your fears, if God is not someone you feel safe with and loved by, if he is not someone you trust.

And that is the secret to sailing through fear—Him. The way to handle every fear in this life is not to never be afraid; it’s not to talk yourself out of it (that did not work with the monsters in the closet, and it often doesn’t work for grown ups either); it’s not to ignore it. It’s to know by faith that God’s Word says “Shh….I’m right here. It’s okay” and it is the truth we need to hear when we are afraid.  

But where do we find this in the Bible?

Psalm 34 has to be one of the best places to turn when you are afraid. King David wrote, “he delivers me from all my fears.”

But if you skim the Psalm you won’t find out much about the dangers, you’ll just hear about the One who was right there—the one who answered with his presence (Psalm 34:4), who was there to look to as danger closed in (Psalm 34:5), who heard (Psalm 34:6), who camped out with him (Psalm 34:7), who was a refuge (Psalm 34:8), who kept his eye out for (Psalm 34:15), who stayed close (Psalm 34:18), who protected (Psalm 34:20), and who ultimately rescued (Psalm 34:22).

Do you know God like this? Do you want to know God like this? You might be fascinated by the fact that in verse 9 of Psalm 34, the exhortation the psalmist gives us is, “Fear the Lord, you holy people…”

This is the great mystery we must come to understand: fear will lose its power in our lives when we know we are safe with the One most worthy of our fear.

It is through what God accomplished through his Son Jesus through his death and resurrection that we are able, as sinners, to approach a holy God without fear.

 “Fear not, for I am with you.” The power of those words, I’m right here, really depend on who it is right there with you. Fear will lose its grip the more we delight in the presence of the God who we can trust fully.

But what if….?! And the Bible has an answer for that too, if we are willing to accept its first answer.

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:37-39 NIV).

If we have found safety in God through Jesus, then his hand will always be there to hold. Nothing can separate us from him, so no matter what frightens us, that voice will never be silenced—not even by death.

by Bibles.net

VERSE PAGES

Theme Verse

I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.

PSALM 34:4 NLT

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God has spoken to the fearful and anxious and he says much, which is hopeful in itself. Here are a few themes that emerge from Scripture.

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Verse
Psalm 46:1 NIV

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Article: 11 Min

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The difficulties of life in this fallen world are the occasion of our worry, but not the cause. To understand the cause, you have to look deeper.

by Paul David Tripp at Ligonier Ministries

Verse
2 Timothy 1:7 NLT

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

Quote

How to Identify Sinful Fear

Natural fear is not wrong; in fact it is inherently human. It leads you to be prudent when confronted with danger (Proverbs 22:3).

However, you can identify sinful fear by the following characteristics: if it hinders you from doing the right thing, or if it motivates you to do the wrong thing, if it is self-seeking, or does not believe the promises of God, or if it values other’s opinions over God.

This is the fear of which Paul warns Timothy (2 Timothy 1:7), and this is the fear of which believers should repent.

by Wayne Mack | Source
Infographic

How to Identify Sinful Fear

How do we know if our fear is sinful? Here are four indicators that your fear may be sinful fear. Feel free to save or share this graphic!

Image

When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.

Psalm 56:3 NIV
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Contemporary

The Rock

by Michael Ketterer feat. Laura Hackett and J. May
Verse
Isaiah 35:4 ESV

Say to those who have an anxious heart,
“Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you.”

Verse
Romans 8:38-39 NLT

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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70’s | 80’s | 90’s

Sometimes He Calms the Storm

by Scott Krippayne
Image

Jesus told him,
“Don’t be afraid;
just believe.”

Mark 5:36 NIV
Messages: 35 Min

How to Overcome
Your Fears

by Colin Smith

Verse
Mark 4:37-41 NIV

A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

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Fear of man
will prove to be a snare,
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Proverbs 29:25 NIV
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Messages: 40 Min

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Verse
Jeremiah 32:39-41 ESV

I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

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Image

The angel
of the Lord
encamps around
those who fear him,
and delivers them.

Psalm 34:7 ESV
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