Wrapped Up In Fear

We are all scared of something, and sometimes we are even petrified by that fear. I’m personally terrified of cockroaches and anything that looks remotely like one. If I spot one I’ll stare it down until I can work up the courage to smash it into oblivion. But I don’t let the fear of the bug stop me from dealing with the situation or handling the problem. Many times the presence of the fear drives me to put more effort into dispelling it.

This same thing happens in our spiritual lives. We can allow irrational fears to hold us back in our walk with God. When I was younger I let the fear of eternity and what would happen to us after we died keep me from pursuing a deeper worship relationship with God. I know that probably sounds odd to you, why would any Christian be afraid of spending eternity in Heaven? But to me when I was younger the simplest thought of eternity terrified me. Somehow I’d gotten it into my head that when we went to Heaven we would spend eternity worshiping God like robots. I didn’t want to be a robot with no free will and I was not looking forward to having to be that way. I let this fear tear at me secretly for years. It got so bad that I would walk out of the room if anyone even mentioned the end times or eternity.

But finally one day my youth pastor at the time began to speak on eternity and tell us how we were being prepared on Earth for our Heavenly jobs and the purpose that God had for us in eternity. He told us that he believed that Heaven wasn’t simply going to be a big party but that we would have assignments from God to do even there. After hearing this message I felt a sense of peace wash over me that I’d never experienced before. This was an explanation of eternity that made sense to me and my fears were relieved. From then on I found myself able to worship with a newfound joy and my walk with God has blossomed because of it. Now there are few things I like better than locking myself away for a few hours and just spending time worshiping and praying to God.

Do you have fears that eat away at you like mine did? Is it something that you’ve let hold you back from getting closer to the Lord? Don’t let those fears control you any longer. Get in prayer with God and ask Him for revelation about them you could also go to a seasoned believer who you trust and tell them the fear and ask for advice. Psalms 56:3-4 tells us, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?” Fear can be a crushing device of the enemy and it will hold you back from the purpose God has for your life.

Your fear may be of a different kind. Recently I’ve been growing much closer to God at an amazing rate. But I began to become afraid of my future in God, just where was He taking me? What was He going to ask me to give up that I wasn’t ready to? And was I really ready to devote the kind of time to God that He needed to take me to the place He wanted me to be? This fear caused me to briefly throw myself into a form of escapism, devoting far too much time to videogames, tv, books, and the internet while giving God very limited time. After only a day (thank the Lord) of this I grew sick of it. I felt terrible and weighted down by exhaustion. Trying to run away from God was far more exhausting than anything I’d ever done. The very next day I threw myself back into God and found myself immediately refreshed. I realized that my desire to grow closer to the Lord and fall more in love with Him was stronger than my fear of the future. 1 John 4:18 tells us that, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” Once we’ve experienced God’s perfect love all fear should be cast out of us. Fear is a tool of Satan to try and keep you from moving forward in your walk with Christ.

Whatever your fears may be remember not to let them control you. Have faith in the Lord and take them to Him. God will always take care of you. Psalm 139:2-3 says, “You know when I sit down and when I get up. You know my thoughts before I think them…You know thoroughly everything I do.” He knows everything about you and will be with you always. He wants you to grow closer to Him and fear can hold you back from that. Give your fears to God, seek advice, and push through those fears that strive to hold you back. An excellent quote on fear I found is from A. B. Simpson who said, “Fear is born of Satan, and if we would only take time to think a moment we would see that everything Satan says is founded upon a falsehood.” This is so true the bible says in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” How better to accomplish this than to put fear into your heart? With fear the devil can steal your joy, kill your dreams, and destroy your future. Don’t let him fool you into fear, let it make you strive to grow even closer to God. I dare you.

More Verses to Consider:

Romans 8:15

Deuteronomy 31:6                

Psalms 27:1

Matthew 21:21-22

2 Timothy 1:6

Psalm 34:5

Luke 1:37