People have many reasons to feel afraid these days—and if they can’t think of one, the media will surely help them find one! Or, I could mention some here, but my guess is you already know them, and none of us needs more fear-mongering!
Instead, I’d rather help you DEAL WITH your fear in the healthiest way possible!
First, let’s look at natural responses to fear–
Depending on our personalities, we do different things when we’re afraid:
~FLEE—as fast as we can—away from the cause of fear.
~HIDE—hoping whatever it/they is/are will pass by without noticing us.
~FIGHT—based on the instinct of “destroy or be destroyed”.
~REASON—try to talk ourselves out of it using good logic.
~PRETEND—deny the object of our fear and/or feeling about it.
~CRY FOR HELP—so we don’t have to face the “boogeyman” alone.
In various situations, any of these, except pretending, may be called for. But ultimately, the solution that works best is presented in Psalm 56:3-4a—
“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid…”
At the time David wrote this, he was being “hotly pursued” and attacked by his enemies, the Philistines (v.1-2). He wisely decided to take his troubles and fear to the Lord, knowing he could trust Him to come to his rescue and defeat the enemy.
That included well-reasoned faith, based on God’s sovereign goodness—the assurance that the Lord always wins and He always cares.
If God were not sovereign, we would have reasons to fear, since someone or something else could be more powerful than Him! It would be like going to someone for help or protection and having them respond, “Oh dear, I wish I could do that, but no guarantees—I’m not the one in charge, and besides, I may not be able…!” Uh oh.
Or, if God were not totally good, we would probably have even more reason to fear—could you imagine someone with total power that didn’t care about you, or worse yet, was willing to do you in on a whim?! (And we thought living in a dictatorship like N. Korea was bad!)
Sadly, many people have this mistaken concept of God—either too weak or too mean to keep them safe from harm—no wonder fear overcomes them in the wake of any concern, legitimate or even unfounded!
Here are two confirmations of His total sovereignty and total goodness:
- “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.” 1 Chron. 29:11
- “…God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.” 1 Jn. 1:5
For David, who understood Who God really is, fear faded in light of that truth— resulting in the implicit “therefore” of “…what can mortal man do to me?” (v. 4b)
Later, as David further contemplated the source of his fear– those enemies doing what they could to do him in (v.5-6), he REPEATED the SAME SOLUTION in v.10-11— calling on the Lord, praising Him, and trusting Him to defeat the enemy.
Sometimes we have to do that. We have to keep repeating and rehearsing the antidote to anxiety and being afraid—“I trust You, Lord… I praise You and Your Word… I TRUST YOU to HELP… no-one and/or nothing that comes against me can stand against you, so I’m safe!”
When we’re in a scary situation, when we experience fierce opposition, when storms come and darkness descends— including facing a global pandemic– remember Who is WITH us and FOR us— enabling us to replace terror with trust! Call on Him, and watch your fear fade in the light of that truth—not because some threats aren’t real, but because of Who is on our side!
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world!” Jn. 16:33
Here’s a song to encourage you when you are afraid: https://youtu.be/A8HOrnbElSQ
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