What do you think when you hear the word “fear”?
What are you afraid of?
People are afraid of many different things: spiders, confined spaces, other people, the future, losing your job, … Some fears are irrational. Some are even life-saving – it is advisable to be afraid of an approaching lion. Everyone deals with fears differently: Some confront their fears, some flee from them. Some people are afraid of hardly anything, some of many things. Uncertainties create fear.
But one thing is certain: everyone knows fear. Fear is a deep feeling that makes us no longer breathe; that paralyzes us. Fear can rob us of hope. Fear can make us do things that we normally would never have done. Fear can make us give up. Fear creates blockages in our minds.
Some people deliberately use the fear of their fellow human beings to manipulate them. To force them to do things they don’t really want to do.
At the moment I have the feeling that the corona situation triggers many fears in us humans: fear of the disease itself, fear of being alone, fear of losing one’s job, fear of punishment, fear of the corona test, fear of other people who might test positive, fear of quarantine, and so on.
That is why I am writing this article today for you: I want to encourage you!
The counterprogram
The Bible is a book that knows man. No wonder, it is the word of God. That is why it also speaks of fear.
Even David, a strong warrior and the king of Israel, was afraid:
When I was afraid, I called on the LORD and cried out to my God. Then he heard my voice from his temple, and my cry came before him to his ears.
Psalm 18:7
He knows this feeling. For a long time he was pursued by Saul. But David knows exactly who he can go to. Desperately he cries out to God, who hears him. I cannot take away your fears by writing something here. But I can encourage you to turn to God with everything that troubles you and frightens you. You don’t have to wait until Sunday service or any minister is near you. You can speak to God here and now and tell Him what is bothering you. He will take care of it – I am sure of it!
Jesus once said:
This I have spoken to you that you may have peace in me. In the world you are afraid; but be confident, I have overcome the world.
John 16:33
This is good news: we don’t need to be afraid because Jesus is stronger than all! He has everything under control. We are allowed to believe in Him and live with Him and He will lead us the right way. I believe that He also knows fear because He was also human: in the Garden of Gethsemane, just before the capture, He asks His Father: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me”.
Probably your fears have not disappeared overnight. But they can no longer have power over you. They no longer have to take you captive. Jesus frees you from them! You may turn to God again and again and learn to trust Him. And if you internalize that He wants YOUR best, then you can also look confidently into the future despite your fears.
In our vacation apartment in Ramsau I read a fitting saying about this:
God has not promised us a calm crossing, but a safe arrival.
Hudson Taylor (1823 – 1905), missionary in China
I wish you God’s blessing and that you experience that you can bring to God everything that burdens you!
