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Fear: Cut it out
I must have sounded pathetic on the phone because a few days later I got a letter stuffed with hand-written Bible verses:
- “Fear not, for I am with you . . .” (Genesis 26:24).
- “Do not be afraid . . .” (Exodus 14:13).
- “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
- “. . . do not fear or be discouraged” (Deuteronomy 1:21).
- “Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is he who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you” (Deuteronomy 20:3-4).
You get the drift. My friend also wrote out Isaiah 41:10,13; 43:1; 44:6,8; 54:4; John 14:27; Romans 8:15; Revelation 1:17-18—all along the same lines: DO NOT FEAR.
The interesting thing about the command “Do not fear” is that no one ever takes it as a command. No matter how many times God belabors the point, we read it like a Hallmark sentiment: “Aw, now ain’t that sweet.”
Funny, we don’t take other commands like that: “Do not turn in that term paper late or you will be marked down a grade.” “Do not show your face here again until you have the money.” “Do not turn right on a red light.”
Sometimes I wonder if the grace-works pendulum has swung too far. We have taken the truth that we can do nothing apart from grace—and we have forgotten that because we have grace we must do something. And we can. Let’s just try it and see, shall we?
My friend hasn’t forgotten how to read a command the way they taught us in third grade. If God says, “Do not fear,” and you are fearing, then CUT THAT OUT!
To hear commentaries by Andrée Seu, click here.
back to top27 Comments to “Fear: Cut it out”
A good reminder. But like any of the commandments, they reveal sin and should drive us not to attempt to stop fearing as an a priori goal, but to seek Christ’s mercy and petition Him to enable us to do His will.
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But Old Hickory, because Christ gives us strength, shouldn’t we now be able to keep from fearing?
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The thing about the bible verses is that they should drive us to our heavenly father in prayer and to use those verses to take every thought captive to Christ. As the untruthful thoughts come we can replace them with those that are truthful, that is the scriptural truths.
My brother-in-law has a mental illness and will sometimes call us to test whether or not his thoughts are true. Often they are not and we can get him to understand that by running him through some logic or with scriptural truth. He kept bible verses in his pocket to replace bad thoughts with good. We all need to do that, whether we do it through memorization or have them written out and refer to them. Replacing bad thoughts with truth goes a long way in helping us renew our minds.
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The only thing we have to fear is not fear itself, but God Himself.
However, putting that into practice (both fearing God for the right reasons and in the right way and not fearing other things for the wrong reasons in the wrong way)is very difficult.
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I think of the commands “Do not fear” in the Bible as similar to when I tell my son, “Trust me” when he is worried about something that I know is not the big problem he is afraid it might be. (I can’t think of a good example now, but he worries about things so unlikely that I’d be tempted to laugh if I didn’t know that to him it really is a serious fear.)
Yes, I am telling him to do something, and I want him to do it. But if he doesn’t trust in a given situation, I don’t see it as him having disobeyed a command. Rather it’s evidence that his relationship with me is not at a point that he can simply trust me. The answer is not to tell him, “You should have done what I told you and trusted me,” but to continue to develop our relationship, trying to help him gain some of the wisdom I have gained over the course of a lot more years than he has had to live so far.
There are times when “Do not fear” or “Trust me” is actually a command to do something in particular, that one is tempted not to do due to fear. In those cases one does need to act, and failing to act is choosing to fear instead of trust. But continuing to feel fear while trying to do what you believe God wants you to do – I don’t see that as a choice not to obey His command so much as evidence of needing to grow more in a relationship of trust with Him.
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Ki, what a novel idea! Fighting mental illness with God’s word? Who knew?
(/sarcasm)
Seriously, I wish more Christians were like your brother-in-law, instead of using Oprah, Dr. Phil, and meds to solve their problems.
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Good comments, Pauline, #5.
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Opinionated Teen (2), You write: “…shouldn’t we now be able to keep from fearing?” I doubt it. From birth we fear falling and loud noises. Fears are part of our nature to keep us from harm. Do you fear a sparking open electrical box because it might harm you? Of course you do. Do you fear that big dog coming straight at you, by yourself, with its teeth bared and snarling? I would. Suppose there’s an ax murderer loose in the neighborhood. You come home late at night and the door is open and shows signs of forced entry. On top of that none of the electrical switches work. I hope you would not proceed into the house under those conditions.
We fear the unknown, often the future. We should not fear death, but I very much want to avoid severe pain, even if I know it will not last long. Jesus knew the future; he was prepared for it; it was his “assignment,” if you will. But did he relish the experience? Absolutely not. He asked the Father if there weren’t some other way to accomplish his will. But I am convinced he did not fear the crucifixion. We are not that strong nor are we called to be. Exception: Christian martyrs who sang while being burned, drowned for their faith, otherwise humiliated and tortured.
Love casts out fear, I’m sure you know that one, but could I love my executioner while awaiting the firing squad? I doubt it. Follow Jesus’ example, not mine.
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That’s not the kind of fear I mean, Mr. Wrench. There are two kinds. There’s the, “AAAAAAAAAAAAUGH! I’M GONNA BE EATEN BY A WOLVERINE!!!!!” kind, and then there’s the, “What if I lose my job? What if I can’t pay the bills? What if my house burns down? What if a tornado blows me away in my sleep?” kind. The former is a natural reaction. The latter is worry, which is useless. But God gives us the strength to overcome our fear with that good old ‘peace that transcends understanding’, so we don’t have to worry.
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OT, worry is indeed useless, but I think you might want to come back in a few years with these questions: “What if I lose my job? What if I can’t pay the bills? What if my house burns down?” Not to be obsessed over, but adults DO worry about paying the bills and losing their job and rightfully so. Wait until you are the one supporting a family before you become so cocky with your advice.
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OT, I agree that worry is a sin, but fear is not; I do think it’s a legitimate distinction.
NJ Lawyer, OT may be speaking without adult experience, but I’d say that Paul’s advice to Timothy applies here: “Let no man despise your youth, but be an example to the believers . . .” The issue isn’t whether a person has experienced something, but whether it is true. I myself have never, for example, been pregnant out of wedlock, but I can still speak biblical truth to one who is. Compassionately, ideally. Yes, as an adult with responsibilities in a bad economy that has affected me personally, I am tempted to worry about those things–but it doesn’t mean I have a right to do so, because God is still my Father, feeding the sparrows and me.
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This might be splitting hairs, but I think that OT is using “worry” in a slightly different context than you are, NJL. If I am correctly interpreting the point OT is trying to make, it seems to me that she uses worry in a context that has an aspect of anxiety to it. That isn’t to say that you shouldn’t be concerned about such items as food or clothing or keeping your job, but you shouldn’t be anxious about it. The point of verses such as Matthew 6:31 and James 4:13-14 is not to never think practically about the future, but to remind us that the future is in God’s hands, and that He works for our good, so anxiety is useless and counterproductive.
I found this article provides a balanced perspective of this issue, in a bit more detail.
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Cheryl, how can you say that worry is a sin and fear is not when the verses that Andree cited specifically command us not to fear?
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Opinionated Teen:
There are a great many things we “ought” to do. Exodus 20 gives us a glimpse of at least ten.
I wholeheartedly agree with you. When Christ gives us that power to overcome fear, in whatever category or prospective future scenario, we do.
It is only by His strength, His grace, His mercy and His power. When “we” act and have a bit of victory over a debilitating fear, it is something which demonstrates to us “not I, but Christ who worketh in me” as Paul says.
We have our weak and frail flesh with which to contend so that we may know that the excellency and the power at work in us is Christ Jesus the Lord, and not ourselves.
And as I mentioned above, to focus on “how” to stop being afraid isn’t the issue. We, like Peter, “ought” (there’s that word again) fix our gaze on Jesus Christ. In seeking the kingdom first (which is only by grace), then we get the stuff we need added to us.
But most of us, myself included, seek first the stuff, thinking then the kingdom will be added to me.
In the end, an overcoming of fear should result ultimately in the glorification of God and not ourselves.
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“Yay ! Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death, I shall fear no wolverines.”
“What if I lose my job?” -If it be God’s will then no worries.
What if I can’t pay the bills? Considering Jesus paid the tribute(because Peter said he would) with a coin from the mouth of a fish….. What me worry?
What if my house burns down? …. I might worry that I don’t have enough Marshmallows.”
What if a tornado blows me away in my sleep? .. And my little dog Toto , too? ”
Faith and trust are gifts that you ask for and pray about. Greater is He that is within us , than he which is in the world.
His will be done, not ours. If it is God’s will then so be it. No matter what happens.
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When you trust in God you can stand outside in your bare feet in a hurricane. I know that is true. It is personal experience.
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# 15 “Faith and trust are gifts that you ask for and pray about. Greater is He that is within us , than he which is in the world. His will be done, not ours. If it is God’s will then so be it. No matter what happens.”
total agreement with the whole post, but especially with the conclusion.
when we can look beyond what is happening in this moment and be confident that a good, loving, wise Father is powerful enough to stop this, but chose this as His best for everyone involved, our strength is renewed and our souls are restored.
and while i’ve never stood barefoot in a hurricane, i’ve stood bare-hearted in a storm of false accusations, and experienced complete peace and grace.
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Yes, and the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
Check out The UltraMind Solution by Mark Hyman, Md., for discerning your nutritional needs.
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Are we interested enough in Jesus to study His creation?
And part of His being with us always and fighting for us is His creation of nutrients that build our strength. We need to know the difference between dead foods and those good substances which build our abilities to be steadfast.
It is knowing Jesus’ creation.
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Tammie, I think that the verses that say things like “Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God” are talking about what we would call “worry” and not “fear” if we are making such a distinction. Here’s the distinction to me: If a bear is racing at me, my adrenaline is going to start flowing–that’s fear, and it’s God-given. If I’m worried about the bears and bulls on the stock market, that’s worry, and it’s a different issue. When I speak of “fear,” I mean a reaction to an immediate and real danger. Now, fear can turn into worry, but when I speak of fear, I mean the immediate, and I don’t see biblical evidence that it’s a sin to feel afraid if I fall out of an airplane without a parachute, any more than it’s a sin to feel the “negative” emotion of sadness when someone dies. Perhaps fear might sometimes be a temptation to worry, and thus fear turned to God immediately is in fact more a temptation than an actual sin. Either way, I don’t think it’s a sin to have one’s heart fall into one’s toes when faced with immediate physical danger; I think it’s rather unusual not to. Jesus Himself was afraid at the prospect of the cross, or His sweating drops of blood at the thought don’t make sense. That alone should be enough to prove that fear isn’t a sin.
One time when I was about 21 I was driving home from church, and we had had some rain. I braked at a stop light, and one side of the car’s brakes “grabbed” and one side didn’t do anything, so immediately my car spun 180 degrees. Now, I’m going to assume that the spin took place very, very quickly–just a second or two. But mentally I literally saw it one frame at a time. That is in fact how I even know one side grabbed and the other didn’t; I had time to feel everything. Time literally slowed down for me, and I didn’t feel the car spinning, I felt it moving in tiny little increments, like a movie in slow motion. I didn’t even have enough time to be afraid, but in that moment I experienced the fact that God has literally given our minds the ability, in potential life-or-death situations, to have the brain or the body work in a different than normal way. I didn’t need to DO anything to get myself out of that situation, but potentially I could have needed to do something, and the slowing down could have made a life-or-death difference (if a semi was racing at me, for example, and I needed to swerve, having an extra second or two could save my life). In other cases, people have had increased physical capacity, for instance the ability to lift half a car to get it off someone pinned underneath. I think that such “fear” responses are a gift from God, and not sin. (There’s a bear–what do I do?)
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Reg, a lot of churches are currently being split over this over-emphasis on nutrients, and I literally know someone who is dying because she listened to this sort of thing rather than to her doctors. (The cancer is winning the battle with her wonderful diet.) Eat what you want, but don’t equate it with holiness unless it comes as an absolute from God’s Word.
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cheryl, i had never thought of what Jesus felt in the garden as fear, but more as anguish. and you are right, the command is against any kind of anxiety, ranging from terror to worry. the kind of fear moves you to positive action would be different.
thank you for taking the time to explain.
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O Teen (9): I appreciate and am more than a bit surprised by the use of the honorific. I chose the pseudonym merely to indicate my gender and my surname “Wrench” as a joke. Men are probably a bit more likely to recognize an allen wrench as a useful tool, but that’s all it is. Allen, not my real name either, is perfectly fine for common use here.
NJLAWYER’s response (10) offers sound advice, but I would not have called your thread “cocky.” There are fears immediate and fears imagined or delayed; you recognize them both, and each prompts a different response. Fear immediate, as I have mentioned, is not a sin, it is an involuntary protective response, and although we have no recorded instance of Jesus’ reaction to it, I have no doubt that he knew what it was (he was human, you remember, and acquainted with all our foibles). Fears imagined are a different story. Since we are not (usually) privileged to see into the future we always tend to imagine the worst. I’m not sure why, but it probably has to do with our experience together with lack of faith or trust.
NJLAWYER’s rebuke was directed, I think, at your lack of experience. Just as a child is not an experienced driver he can have no concept of highway hazards and is unlikely to appreciate incipient dangers of which his parents are aware. His mother may say, “I don’t think we have enough gas to make it home,” and worry about it; he is unable to share his mother’s concern, which will come later as an experienced driver. I suppose this level of worry is a sin, but a minor one which could have been prevented by more careful attention. Worry about things over which we have no control — impending financial collapse, nuclear attack, a poisoned water supply — are the ones for which we ask our Lord to increase our faith.
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Wow, I just love being the center of a debate. It makes me feel so special!
Ms. Lawyer, maybe I didn’t use good examples, but I’ve experienced hard times when worry is to be expected. My dad has been layed off a number of times. My church/pastor almost went bankrupt as recently as two weeks ago. Not to say that I’ve had a hard life, but even children have reasons to worry from time to time. I was just trying to say that God helps us to overcome.
Yes, Ol’ Hickory, you’re right. We haven’t the power to do everything we ought. It’s just that some Christians use that as an excuse not to try. But I doubt you’re one of them, right?
Mr. FisherWoof: lol.
Yeah, Allen (since you asked), I figured it wasn’t your real name, but I try to be polite. Thank you for the encouragement.
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O Teen (24), You write (in part): “It makes me feel so special!”
You are special, you are a child of the King. You’d be special even if you were not the center of this discussion.
But please do not let this be an opening for pride. Everything we have and everything we are comes to us as a gift, a gift for which one day we will be called to give an account.
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I’m just being silly. Usually that’s what a smiley face indicates, right? And if I’m the center of a debate, then it means I brought up a point that makes people think, and I certainly shouldn’t be ashamed of that. However, you’re right, less pride would serve me well.
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21-
It would be more beneficial for all involved if you were to ask questions, as a learner, rather than make assumptions, as a judger, when you respond someone’s posts.
Then again, maybe you should stick with editing..
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