Fear

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

I am fighting a battle against fear lately. It has not interrupted my sleep, yet, but in my waking hours it is a gnawing, wretched thing in the back of my mind and the pit of my stomach. Would I stand for Christ under persecution? Would my husband’s life insurance policy cover enough debt for my daughter and I to make it if we needed to? Would Christ’s love cover my heart enough in that instance as well?

According the Blue Letter Bible, the word fear occurs in the NKJV of the Bible 367 times in 354 verses: the fear and dread of you, the fear of God, fear not, I fear him, do not fear or be discouraged. From Genesis to Revelation fear is talked about, but I don’t even make it out of the fourth book when God speaks to me, “You must not fear them, for the LORD your God Himself fights for you” (Deuteronomy 3:22). God is telling this to Moses, who in turn is telling it to Joshua as he prepares to enter into the Promised Land… and as I sit here with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat, I KNOW He is telling me the exact same thing.

The last mention of fear in the Old Testament is a prophetic word spoken in Malachi 4:2a: “But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings.” 4000+ years and six more “fear verses” later, we read in Matthew 28:8, “So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.” The Sun of Righteousness had indeed arisen! Glorious, isn’t it?

2 Timothy 1:7 is my “go to” verse when I am fearful—so much so, it is painted over the doorway of my (now) home office. The Lord has used that verse to help me get through numerous dark times. It grounds me and helps me focus on what I know to be true. It reminds me that the same power that resurrected Jesus from the dead lives in me (Romans 8:11), God loves me with a perfect love, and when I walk in that perfect love, fear is cast out (1 John 4:18), and I have been given a sound mind that is able to take captive the fearful thoughts that would hold me in bondage (2 Corinthians 10:5).

I don’t know if/when the things I am fearful of today will come to pass, but I do know this: God is with me, He will never leave or forsake me (Deuteronomy 31:6, 8), and He is bigger than all my fears.

God, thank You for Your beautiful Word; it truly is living and breathing (Hebrews 4:12) and gives us just what we need, when we need it. Amen.