Freedom from Fear

“When I am afraid, I will trust in you”
 (Psalm 56:3).

Fall is here, and along with fall we see signs of Halloween.  In American culture Halloween  is commonly associated with being scared, but regardless of what season it is or where, fear is something most people struggle with at some point.

Fear seems to be a hot topic lately.  This world is a scary place.  Natural disasters, government problems, financial instability, terrorism, and other issues are all contributing to world chaos, to say nothing of the increasingly anti-Christian world views.

Those of us with health problems are no strangers to fear.  Unexplained pain, worsening symptoms, side effects of medications,  loss of abilities, and fear of future illnesses can all cause us to panic.

In David Jeremiahs’ new book, What Are You Afraid Of?, he mentions Biblical ways to handle our fears, including committing our fears to God and memorizing Scriptures relevant to them.  We can be honest in confessing our fears to the Lord.  He understands our humanness.  But we also need to remember that fear is a lack of faith and confess that as sin.  Although the Bible may not include the specific names of our illnesses, there are many verses which can apply to our struggles.  Dr. Jeremiah says, “The command to not fear occurs nearly 60 times in Scripture, and some form of the word fear is mentioned more than 425 times”.  God understands fear.

In Edward Welch’s book, Running Scared Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest, he mentions  God’s future grace - a huge comfort to me.  Future grace means that when the time comes, whatever we are called to endure, God will give us the grace we need.  How He will do that and what it will look like we don’t know, but we will receive what we need.  We do not need to fear. 

This world is a scary place.  Our pains and problems can be frightening.  But we can be free from fear.  God is in control of it all.  His grace is more than sufficient, and His Word confirms it.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, You are in control of this world and my life.  Please help me trust You for my future and speak Your words of truth into each one of my fears.  Amen.