Facing Fear

Fear. We all have to face it at some time, and just "brushing it under the carpet" is no answer. We cannot afford either to deny our fears or, worse, submit to them – in faith we must face our fears and overcome them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, unless we acknowledge and face fear, it will end up controlling our decisions by default.

The Bible provides us with many examples of those who faced their fears in the strength of the Lord. Many of the heroes of faith – those the Bible gives us as models to emulate – had to face up to their fears. Paul, for example, faced many fears. In 2 Corinthians 7:5, he wrote:

"For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn - conflicts on the outside, fears within."

David too had fears, many of which surfaced during times of intense suffering, but in Psalm 34:4-6 (NLT), he wrote:

"I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me, freeing me from all my fears. Those who look to [God] for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. I cried to the LORD in my suffering, and he heard me. He set me free from all my fears."

The antidote to fear is, I believe, three-fold - faith, hope and love (1 Corinthians 13:13). Each complements the others, and it is only when all three are operating that fear is dispelled. So let's take a quick look at each of these "antidotes" and then I'll share with you some of the fears I have personally had to face and overcome in the power of the Lord.

Faith

Psalm 56:3-4 says:

"When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?"

Trust in the Lord is the most basic antidote to fear. Isaiah 12:2 says:

"Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation."

In the same vein, Hebrews 13:6 says:

"So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid...'"

When we face fear, God's response is to reveal himself as the one who is greater than our fear (once again, overcoming fear is based on the revelation-response principle - see "The Resurrection and the Life"). For example, in Revelation 1:17-18, Jesus said:

"...Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades."

This revelation of the Lord as "the One greater than our fear" is summed up in 1 John 4:4:

"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."

It sometimes helps to take a verse and personalise it by substituting certain words. For example, in my case, I could re-phrase 1 John 4:4 in this way:

"I, David, am from God and have overcome my fear of cancer, because the one who is in me is greater than cancer."

Try it for yourself. Just substitute your name, together with a word which describes your fear, in the blank spaces in the following paraphrase of 1 John 4:4:

"I, ______________, am from God and have overcome the fear of _______________, because the one who is in me is greater than _______________."

Faith is simply taking God at his word, no questions asked. It is saying, "I believe what God says rather than what my fear says." For this reason, faith is the most basic antidote to fear.

Hope

Hope, simply defined, is the sure expectation of God's promised deliverance. Hope means a certainty that, despite apparent circumstances, God's purpose will prevail. For this reason, Isaiah 35:3-4 says:

"Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, 'Be strong, do not fear; your God will come...he will come to save you."

But even though hope has to do with the future (see Proverbs 23:18; Jeremiah 29:11; Romans 8:24-25) it has a very immediate effect in the present. For the product of hope is peace! When we have hope, we also experience peace, and peace is the opposite of fear. This was why Jesus said in John 14:27: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

Love

Zephaniah 3:16-17, which the Lord gave me earlier today in my personal time of devotions with him, says:

"...Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

It is the presence of God which calms fear. When my children were young, and became afraid, they would run to me and I would embrace them. That embrace was the immediate antidote to their fear. They felt protected against that which was outside of their control.

This is how it is with you and God. When you are fearful, run to his embrace. As the New Living Translation renders Zephaniah 3:17:

"With his love, he will calm your fears."

Many scriptures echo the simple fact that fear disappears in the presence of the God of our salvation. For example, in Isaiah 43:5, the Lord says: "Do not be afraid, for I am with you..." (see also Jeremiah 1:8).

In 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV), Paul makes an important statement:

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

It is the "spirit of love" that is found in Jesus Christ which overcomes the "spirit of fear." One replaces the other.

1 John 4:18 gives us a deeper understanding of the inverse connection between love and fear:

"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."

Thus the answer to fear is God's love. It is by experiencing the "perfect love" of God, and being "made perfect" in that love, that fear is driven out.

During this time of suffering, the Lord has helped me to face up to my own fears. I can honestly say I have zero fear of dying. Like Paul, my attitude is: "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). So dying itself holds no terror for me. But that doesn't mean I don't have fears to face. My fears are as follows:

1. Fear of pain - I've experienced intense, sustained pain in the past, and I must say that although it's not a major fear for me, the fear of pain is still a factor I've had to face. But once again, faith, hope and love have been the antidotes to this fear. I have faith that God will be there for me when I experience pain and that he can heal me. I have hope that even if I have to face pain, God will eventually bring me through to complete victory. And I have love - a sure knowledge that God's presence will be with me, even during times of suffering.

2. Fear of incapacity - This has been a long-time fear for me. Long ago, I had to talk with the Lord about this fear. I was particularly terrified of suffering a stroke, where I might experience paralysis and, in particular, loss of speech. So you can understand how, when facing the issue of cancer, I could easily allow myself to become fearful of the last stage, which often involves incapacitation. But the Lord has helped me to overcome this fear. If ever I need to face this (and, by the way, I'm not in any way expecting to), I know that I will have the Lord with me and special grace will be experienced - grace specific for the occasion.

3. Fear of shame - This is quite a basic fear at this time. I have less of a fear of dying than a fear of being ashamed. After all, I've "put myself out on a limb" by stating that I'm fully convinced that God will heal me. What if I'm not healed? What if I do die? (You'll notice that fears thrive on playing with "what if" scenarios). But I stand firm on the promise of Isaiah 54:4: "Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated." And like Paul, in Philippians 1:20, I can say: "I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death."

Your list of fears will likely be very different from mine, but the answer to those fears remains the same: faith in the Lord, hope in his promises, and an abiding knowledge of his love for you. Take on board for yourself the promise found in Psalm 27:1,3:

"The LORD is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?...Though an army beseige me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident."