Fear Not
“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
These two words “fear not” are found throughout Scripture - just take five minutes and see how many you can locate using a Bible App or concordance. Fear is a common feature of our lives every day; some of these are justified and some are not. From the moment you were born until the day you die, there will be fears that you face; however, the Bible teaches us what to truly fear and what not to fear. To begin, the Bible admonishes us to fear God more than we fear anything else, but of course, in our flesh we do not pursue this naturally and some reasons for this are below. 1.) We fear by our nature. Adam and Eve had no fear as they walked with God until they disobeyed. Then fear entered their lives and they ran and hid from God. Since the fall, it is in our nature to do the same and because of our sinful disobedience, we run and hide from God. 2.) We fear because of a lack of experience. Experience is learning what to fear and what not to fear. The more experience we have, the less we fear some things in life, but the opposite is also true as we learn to fear other things to a greater degree. Experience teaches and fortifies us - Positively or negatively. 3.) We fear because of a lack of knowledge. What we don’t know leaves an empty room for fear to live in. As a teen, study and learning is essential for courage to grow. Courage comes from knowledge and experience and facing our fears as we grow in those areas. 4.) We fear because we lack faith. Weak faith or lacking faith as we face life’s challenges invites fear to dominate our heart. Hebrews chapter 11 gives us examples of men and women who obeyed by faith. From Abel to Rahab, each of the accomplishments listed were solely based on their response of faith. We can learn to fight fear with a shield of faith.
There are also some things the Bible teaches us not to fear as we go through life. 1.) The Bible tells us in the verse above not to fear men. God is greater than men and it is He that we should fear. Do what is right and obey God and learn not to fear as you face the opposition of men. 2.) The Bible tells us not to fear circumstances. What are you facing in your life right now that is dominating your heart with fear? Trust God to handle the circumstances of your life. 3.) Do not fear the unknown or the future. We find in Scripture that Abraham obeyed God and went to a place “he did not know”, and it was in that place God was able to make him into a great nation for His glory. As you face the future you may not be able to see what God desires to do in your life. Be surrendered and let God help you face the unknown without fear because He is already there. 4.) Do not fear death. Christ was not afraid of the cross and conquered death for us. The Bible warns us that we are all going to die and so we are admonished to be prepared for death. For the Christian, death is simply a step forward and upward (as a dear Christian friend of mine reminded me recently). Let’s boldly face what God has prepared for us and live by faith and not in fear.