Say ‘No’ to Fear

“When you have holy fear, you will fear nothing but God.  When you have unholy fear, you will fear everything but God.”  Michael Youssef

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.”  Corrie Ten Boom

Fear.  It’s an emotion common to all of us, and it can wreak havoc on our physical and spiritual health when left unchecked.  There are over some 500 phobias, some of them quite humorous (unless of course you suffer from that particular phobia!).  From alliumphobia (the fear of garlic) to xanthophobia (the fear of the color yellow), the human mind has figured out a way to fear just about everything.

There was a time in my life when I was crippled by fear.  I felt like I was literally being swallowed up by it.   The “what if” questions resounded continually in my head:

What if the boys get sick?

What if we don’t have enough money?

What if she doesn’t like me?

What if I fail?

It was the automatic question that would come to mind in just about every situation.  And guess what?  It sucked the joy right out of my life.  I couldn’t be fearful and joyful at the same time, because I couldn’t think fearful thoughts and joyful thoughts simultaneously.  I was feeding the fear monster in my mind, and I wasn’t fearing God.  He says, “Do not fear.”  Many times.  In fact, He so knows our propensity to fear that some form of the “Do not fear” command appears over 300 times in the Scriptures.  God wants us to fear Him alone – to reverence Him, stand in awe of Him, glory in Him, and love Him.   Fear nothing else.  Trust Him.  Leave it in His ever-capable, all-knowing, all-loving hands.

I’m so thankful that the Lord has been helping me conquer my fears!  By His grace, I’m filling my mind with His Word, and joy is taking the place of fear as a result.  My “I can’t” thoughts are turning into “I can!” thoughts.  My “what-if” thoughts are turning into “I can trust Him” thoughts.  And peace is ruling in my heart as I learn to fear God alone.

How about you?  How would your life be different if you feared God alone and nothing else?  What would your future look like if you faced it with complete confidence in God?  What would today look like?

Join me in our next post as we look at the treasure trove of God’s Word and create a personal arsenal of power verses to combat fearful thinking!