People are afraid of many things in life: death, getting hurt, getting cancer, going broke, losing their jobs, etcetera. Fear is not wrong, in fact in the Bible it says to Fear the Lord, what actually makes fear “wrong”, is what it leads us to. Pretty much the only thing [person] you should fear, is God.
Fearing God
What is having the Fear of God?
Fearing God is an admiration of God, Hebrews 12:28-29 explains it perfectly: “Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a consuming fire.” But we do not have any reason to be afraid of God, he has promised us that he will never leave us or forsake us, and his love for us is never ending. Proverbs 1:7 states that “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” That means that if we do not develop a deferential fear of God, we will not have wisdom. Deuteronomy 10:12, 20-21 “And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.”
To sum all of that up “The Fear of God” is surrender to his authority, respecting him, and worshiping him in wonder of his holiness.
Fear = Failure
There is only one place fear comes from, and that is from the devil. Fear starts out with small thoughts of things that have happened previously in your life. If you went sledding, down a hill and went off a jump and broke your ankle; you might be extremely hesitant the next time. Or say your “afraid” of heights. The only reason you’re afraid of heights is because you have a “fear” that you are going to fall off. That fear is from the devil.
One of the biggest things, I’ve struggled with is “The Fear of Failure”, when I want to do something, I am always worried whether I will succeed in what I’m doing or will it not work, and fail.
Fear of getting sick, hurt, going bankrupt, failing, all end up making you fail even more. If we are afraid of all these things, how are we going to succeed in the things that God has called us to do?
Dealing with Fear
Here are some ways that I have found to “deal” with fear
1. God! God is always there, he never leaves you nor forsakes you, and he wants to help you. So instead of attempting to resolve your issues/fears yourself, wouldn’t it make sense to go with Him first?
Psalm 43:4 “I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.”
2. God is far bigger, stronger, and more powerful than anything in the universe, and bigger than all of your biggest fears.
1 John 4:4 “Little children, you are of God [you belong to Him] and have [already] defeated and overcome them [the agents of the Antichrist], because He Who lives in you is greater (mightier) than he who is in the world.”
3. The Bible says that the further we pursue in our relationship and love for God, the less fear we will have.
1 John 4:18 “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.”
If perfect love casts out fear, subsequently by loving God with all our being and placing our faith in Him, our fear is gone.