Do you fear the future? Failure? Loss? Thunder? Spiders? All the things. I’m guessing your list is as long my own and age only seems to add to it. I’ve been putting this topic off in my Bad Habits series since January, but I’ll leave that irony alone for now.
Fear’s a funny thing.
Not really “funny,” cuz ain’t nobody laughing at this one. But it’s weird to me that some things cause us to recoil while other, worse things, don’t even bring a shudder.
I’ve seen a tornado peel the roof of my childhood home off like a sardine can while my dad shielded my brother and me with his body—with my mom trapped down the hall. Am I especially afraid of tornadoes or even thunderstorms?
Nope.
That’d make sense. Right? But I’m no more afraid of storms or tornadoes than the average person.
Now wasps are a different story. The good-for-nothing Satan’s spawn just waiting for a passerby to zing.
The “funny” thing is wasps didn’t even cause my fear of them; something else did. One year at camp a rogue black bumblebee decided my bottom lip looked menacing.
Yeah, that hurt. My cheek and lip swoll up (swelled) as we Southerners like to say sometimes to really get the extent of something across.
And I didn’t do anything to it either. It was an innocent bystander kind of thing when it got curious of one of my friends, and several people smacked it.
Somehow my brain never caused a fear of the bumblebee—what actually stung me. Growing up in the country, I knew they weren’t usually hostile unless provoked, but wasps on the other hand … aggressive. And did I mention good for nothing?
To this day, the rare wasp in the house causes my heart to ’bout beat out of my chest and takes 30 minutes to kill. And that’s actually an improvement.
Do not fear.
Have you ever heard the saying that there’s a “fear not”—whether stated directly or in context—in the Bible for every day of the year?
Three hundred and sixty five.
As a Bible-believing Christian, I’m always leery of the positive messages masquerading as biblical truth, so, of course, I did my own research. And came up with 280 matches in the NASB version to the phrase “do not fear.”
That’s a lot.
Now a few of those matches referred to fear of God as in having a reverence of God—or lack of it— and a couple I found were part of an unrelated conversation between two people.
Most of the matches were exactly on point, though, and I didn’t even search for the verses that had the meaning without the direct quote for this research.
I saw enough to at least support the claim that God cares about our fear. He understands that the smallest things scare us sometimes. And that the big things overwhelm us to the point of inaction.
Did you know that fear is afraid of something, too?
Someone may be more like it.
The truth is fear’s already been beaten by Jesus’s perfect life, sinless death, and death-defying resurrection, and when we accept Him as Savior, we too have all we need to fight fear (If you haven’t accepted Jesus as your Savior, please visit this page).
Fear has already been beaten by Jesus's perfect life, sinless death, and death-defying resurrection, and when we accept Him as Savior, we too have all we need to fight fear. #HISsparrowBlog #fearless #fearnot #hope Click To TweetAs the Holy Spirit fills us and we lean into the Word of God, we too beat fear.
Even in the big things because let’s face it, my wasp fear is a microcosm of the big picture. Too many emergency phone calls have caused a fear of losing my husband too early. Too many car wrecks have caused a fear of driving practically anywhere. The list could go on and on.
But I put together nine verses that especially speak to my fear. I pray they do the same for you.
Fears, whether big or small and sensible or not, can place a powerful hold over us, but we don’t have to stay there. When we accept the gift of Jesus’s sacrifice for us and look to the truth of His Word, we beat fear.
What’s your go-to verse when fear shows up? I’d love to see it in the comments below.
Want a few more resources?
- 5 Bad Habits I Want to Break This Year from HISsparrowBlog
- Casting Off Fear from HISsparrowBlog
- How to Fight Fear and Win from Alyssa J. Howard
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I really enjoyed reading this post. There is so much truth in this message. Fear is from Satan. God is our refuge!
Well said! Thank you for your encouragement!
Love this post! The older I get, the fewer fears I have. I am afraid of spiders (regardless of their size). My husband thinks it’s ridiculous. I explain that irrational fears are rarely rational. But whatever. I love the reminder that God in us is greater than any fear.
That’s awesome you’re growing in Christ and allowing Him to cover your fears. And a fear of spiders can’t be ridiculous: has your husband seen the beastly things? Not to mention the whole flesh eating bites? 😉 Thanks so much for your encouragement today.
Such great reminders!
I love a post that makes me laugh, think and be encouraged by Biblical truth all at the same time and yours did just that! I share your fear of Satan’s spawn and I have never been stung! For me, they are the miniature, winged depiction of the enemy; just lurking around corners, preying on the unsuspecting, waiting to pounce and cause harm. Yep! 🙂
Love that description: “they are the miniature, winged depiction of the enemy.” I couldn’t agree more. So glad to know I’m not alone in that one. 😉 Thanks for stopping in!
I loved this post! I have two completely overwhelming and paralyzing fears: 1) snails (totally irrational but they are my version of wasps lol!) and 2) my kids’ health and safety (certainly more understandable but still an issue). The only thing that truly helps me fight fear #2 is trusting that they are in God’s hands and speaking these kinds of scriptures to myself. This is a great list- thank you!
It’s funny how we’re just like that. Our lists of fears usually include the “small” — like fears of insects or snakes — and the “big” —like losing those we love. But I’m so thankful we can know that God meets us for all of them — no matter how silly we may think they are. Thanks so much commenting!
This is truth!!! Fear is the number culprit the enemy uses to keep us from being who God created us to be and from doing His will. Thank you for putting the enemy on the run with the Word of God! Love this!!!
Thanks, Jo! I like how you put it: “putting the enemy on the run with the Word of God.” It puts a really fun picture in my mind. 😉 Thanks for stopping in!
Great verses and insight!
Thanks for stopping in, Heather!
For me, it’s always been, ophthalmologists. Give me a nice dentist any day. Anyway, it appears God has me working on that one now and it’s amazing the grace He is giving me.
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