Overcoming Fear Series

Overcoming Fear

We read in Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Surely I will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” (TLV)

There are two phrases in the above mentioned verse that I wish to highlight in this sermon. The first is ‘fear not’ and the other is ‘I will strengthen you.’ There seems to be some connection between fear and weakness and the Lord guarantees such that He would not only strengthen them, but also help and uphold them.

During this season of pandemic, we have studied in depth from Psalm 91 that when the Lord is our dwelling place, no disease will come near us. When challenged with stressful situations, there are a myriad emotions that take over, thereby causing several health issues. It is however, the will of the Lord to take over and bring healing to our bodies and minds during these trying times.

Job’s fears overtake him

We read in Job 3:25-26, “What I fear most overtakes me. What I dread happens to me. I have no peace! I have no quiet! I have no rest! And trouble keeps coming!" (GW)

In the above mentioned verse Job explained how the very things he feared and dreaded overtook him, so that he lost his peace, quiet, rest and ended up with turmoil.

There is an interesting point to note from Job’s experience. Whenever, we keep on pondering on our circumstances and imagine the worst, oftentimes they become a reality. So many are stressed and hard-pressed on every side, simply because they have allowed themselves to be dominated by fear. I hope by the end of this message that God will grant you grace to overcome every one of these fears that may have gripped you.

Necessary and unnecessary fears

Fears can be categorized as those that are necessary and those that are not. For instance, when we are crossing a main road, we exercise caution before we do so and the reason is that we do not want to be run over by a speeding vehicle. This is an essential fear that helps us to be safe and being fearless or careless in such a situation, might be harmful to us. This is the same fear that alerts us to be careful when dealing with fire, warns us to not put our fingers into an electric socket or jump off a tall building. These fears are good as they keep us safe and prevent us from doing things that could be detrimental to us.

However, there are many other fears that grip our hearts that are totally baseless. Generally, these fears begin as worries, which constantly play on our mind. Many parents for instance constantly worry about their children’s future, their jobs, marriage and so many other things.

No Need for worry

These are the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:34, "So don't ever worry about tomorrow. After all, tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (GW)

Jesus is categorical that we are not to worry about tomorrow. He further emphasized that each day had enough trouble of its own and therefore we should let tomorrow worry about itself. Nevertheless, we as human beings are filled with so many worries. They say some people worry that they have nothing to worry about. Jesus knew that worry when left unchecked would certainly lead to fear and anxiety. When fear takes over, it creates negative thoughts of probable dangers which play on our emotions, which ultimately affects our physical and mental health.

Let me illustrate this with an example. A mother sat sullen, her hands on her chin as she watched her ten year old son at play. Her husband who watched her, inquired as to what was the reason for her being so somber and she replied, ‘Our son is so tall at age ten, so I am wondering how much taller would he be when he is a grown up. If he grows to be so tall, will we be able to find him a girl tall enough to be his wife?’ It may sound hilarious, but most of our fears are truly such baseless fears. These worries and fears that we often entertain, will not change a single situation.

There are two categories of people who worry. Those who are stuck in the past and worry about all the things that they did wrong and the wrong choices they made. There are others who are so worried about the future and concerned about the plausible issues that they could encounter. Someone rightly said, "The past is history and the future is a mystery". If people are struck in either our past or our future, they will most certainly lose out on the present and on the joys that could be theirs today.