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Antidote to Fear

I’ve been addressing the issue of fear in my past few posts, and I think there’s more to be said. Fear is something that I’ve wrestled with all my life. When it came to strange sounds in the night and climbing heights, I remember that my twin brother was much braver than I am. My vivid imagination and aversion to pain left me timid and afraid. I didn’t like it – but I couldn’t get past the sense that my fear was perfectly rational and my brother’s indifference was borderline crazy.

Of course, as a child, you assume that fearfulness will disappear with time. After all, grown-ups are never afraid, right? Welllll…..that would be incorrect. The fears just transform – from boogie men sneaking up the creaky farmhouse stairs to – well, a whole host of things that can devastate your life and the lives of those you love. In fact, it seems that my fears get worse as I age. I am vastly more aware and concerned about the potential dangers facing my grandkids than I ever was concerning my own children. I can’t believe what a careless parent I was! And I am continually surprised at how “careless” my grown children are with their precious little ones. Don’t they realize all the awful things that can happen to children who are not hovered over 24/7?? Of course, I chuckle at myself. As I remember, my parents felt the very same way about me. The fact is my children are sane and I can be a fearful fool.

So, I’ve been paying attention to all the times the Bible talks about fear. For instance, as part of my devotional, I read Psalm 112 this morning where it says this:

6 For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever.
7 He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
8 His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.


I’d like to be that guy - the one who is not afraid of bad news. The one whose heart is firm and steady. How do you get to be a person like that?? Well, it’s right there in the text – “his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord”. That’s it. That’s the gold. The biblical antidote to fear is “trusting in the Lord”. The way to have a “firm heart” in the midst of troubling times and even trembling mountains (Ps 46:3) is to lean on the rock of God’s faithfulness and stand on the unshakeable foundation of His promises. That person will not be afraid of bad news because:

  • Bad news is guided and ordained by a loving Heavenly Father who gave up His own Son for us.
  • Bad news can’t remove a hair from our head without our Father’s permission.
  • Every vestige of bad news will, in God’s good time, be overcome by the glorious, good news of all that Christ Jesus has accomplished and promised.


Bad news is just one more reminder of what we already knew: we live in a fallen world that is groaning for redemption (Romans 8:22) and will one day be made gloriously new (Rev 21:5).

The evidence of genuine trust will be a calm and steady heart in troubling times. May we be those who, by the grace, power, and promises of God, are “not afraid until we look in triumph on our adversaries”.

In Christ,

Pastor Dale

 

What Pastor Dale is reading . . .

The World Has Changed, God Hasn't.
by Samuel Sey

4 Comments

Amen!
Thanks for sharing Faith and Betty. Isn't it wonderful to know that Jesus is "the same, yesterday, TODAY, and forever". What a refuge for fearful saints! See you tomorrow, Lord willing!
All true…. I too feel afraid and then I must actively place my trust in our heavenly Father. Psalm 56:3 “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” He keeps track of our tossings and
tears… “This I know, that God is FOR me!” So when I fear (so often…) I
turn to God and praise His Word and faithfully do the next
thing, whatever it is He has placed in my day, with an

attitude of thankfulness, remembering we are passing
through. I fail at this, but Christ’s faithfulness to the Father
has me safe. He’a delivered our souls from death so that we can look beyond the fears to our ultimate deliverance. There
is so much we can do while afraid, and one of those things is
tell other pilgrims… we can bump elbows as we walk on together and sing on the road, walking before God in the
light of Life. See you all tomorrow?
What a comforting message! I frequently am consumed by fears about our broken family and what the future holds. Thank you for sharing .

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