CONQUERING OUR FEARS
There are more references to fear in the Bible than there are to love, more than 400 plus another couple hundred references to being afraid.
Some phobias are more common than others, such as: Acrophobia: Fear of heights, Claustrophobia: Fear of enclosed spaces, or Arachnophobia: Fear of spiders. One of my favorites is Luposlipaphobia: Fear of being pursued by timber wolves around a kitchen table while wearing socks on a freshly waxed floor.
Fear takes a tremendous toll psychologically, economically, domestically, and physically. It destroys relationships, hinders growth in business, and breaks up families. Fear is often the cause of strife, worry, bitterness, resentment, jealousy, and even hatred. However, with the Lord’s help, we can conquer our fears.
Overcoming our fears begins with admitting them and facing them. For example, Nehemiah, who was in captivity in Persia, was elevated to the second most important position in the kingdom, the wine taster. Not only did Nehemiah check the king’s food and drink before giving it to the king, but he was also the king’s confidant. When God prompted him to go and ask permission from king Artaxerxes to leave his position to travel 800 miles and rebuild the city walls around Jerusalem. Nehemiah said, “Then I was very much afraid.” (Nehemiah 2:2) If you made a request of the king and he didn’t like it, he could end your life. Nehemiah admitted his fear then committed it to God in prayer and walked by faith into the king’s office whereupon, the king honored his request and even picked up the tab.
Conquering our fears involves choosing to not look at our weaknesses and failures, which we all have, but instead to rely on God’s strength. David was a young shepherd lad when God called on him to face Goliath. You remember him as that 9 foot, 500 pound giant of the Philistine army. When King Saul and his armies saw Goliath and heard his verbal challenge, I Samual 17:11 records, “They were dismayed and greatly afraid.” For 40 days, Goliath taunted the armies of Israel, including King Saul, with no response but fear from Israel.
In contrast, David had faith in the God who delivered him from the paw of the lion and the bear, and he was convinced that God would deliver him from the hand of this Philistine (I Samuel 17:37). Enjoy David’s courageous, faith statement as he faced Goliath. Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD’S and He will give you into our hands.” (I Samuel 17:45-47)
God is on our side. He provided the resources for David, the stones and the sling, and He can provide the resources for us. Let’s face our fears and rely on God’s strength and He will give us the victory!
