In the summer of 1989, I said, very positively, “I’m not afraid; I’m trusting God.” I had taught many times on not being afraid, had counseled countless people about trusting God and not being afraid. And now it was my turn to face fear.

It’s actually very easy to simply say, “I’m not afraid.” It’s easy to just say the words and act “positive.” But just saying, “I’m not afraid,” doesn’t mean you’re not allowing fear to direct your life.

It’s also easy to trust God when everything is going well. But when a storm in life hits you right in the face, it can bring doubts, uncertainty, worry, and fear. This wasn’t the first time or the last time I had to decide I was either going to allow fear to direct my life, or trust God for His help.

Driving south down I-35 leaving Minnesota, after being terminated from a job I loved for eight years, I had plenty of time to think. It would be a five-day trip to Oceanside, California with my wife, two small children, a U-Haul truck and a Chevy Citation.

I don’t believe the Bible teaches to not get afraid, but rather, don’t stay afraid; believe the promises of God instead. Whether it’s worry, doubt, anxiety, panic, or stress, all of that interferes with accepting God’s promises. The Bible says many times, in many places, in many ways, to not be afraid. That tells us two very important things.

First, since God doesn’t tell us to do something we can’t do, it must be possible to replace our fear with trust in Him. Secondly, since God does not want us to live with fear, it must be something that interrupts and prevents us from living a happy and blessed life.

There are of course a number of popular opinions about fear, like, “learn to live with your fears,” or “embrace your fears,” or, “it’s normal to live with fear.” But the Scriptures say, “I sought the Lord and He delivered me from all my fears.” ALL my fears! Why? Fear is not beneficial for your life, and it certainly wasn’t beneficial for me back in ‘89 on my way to California.

I had a limited amount of cash and no real job waiting for me, just the promise from a friend that there would be some work. My friend graciously put my family up for three days while we found a place to rent. After we got settled in, I had about 800 dollars left. And, my friend was right; there was “some” work, but not nearly enough to support my family.  But, on the other hand,  I had promises of God from the Bible I could choose to believe!

Some Misconceptions About Fear

• A Magic Switch?
There’s no magic switch you can just flip and suddenly, you’re no longer afraid. Almost every day for over a year I had to choose to either worry, doubt, panic, stress, be afraid, or trust God. It’s a mental process and it’s different for each person and each situation.

In the Bible, sometime after already making promises to Abraham, God told him, “Fear not.” It took Abraham some time to not be afraid, that he and Sarah would indeed have a child, an heir as God promised. He finally got to the point of believing God.  Speaking of Abraham believing that promise, the Bible says:

He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith [believing], giving glory to God;

And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform.
Romans 4:20 & 21

I may not like, or be able to control a situation, but my thoughts about the situation are always in my control. Shifting from fear to believing and trusting God is a process. I can choose to feed and fuel the fear or put my focus on God’s promises. Arriving in California, I chose the latter, and God was very kind and gracious.

• Any Negative Situation In Your Life Is Always Caused By Your Fear?

Some well-meaning but many times over-zealous Christians, who seem to have everything in life boxed into a perfect formula, often say you are in a mess because you have fear. Then they quote a verse from the book of Job and that settles everything.

You certainly can bring more negative situations into your life by consistently worrying, doubting, stressing and being afraid; constant mental focus always brings results, positive or negative. But to say anything and everything negative or unpleasant in your life is because of your personal fear is not only ridiculous, but it’s unloving, and it breeds self-condemnation.

• Not Believing God’s Promises Is Always Because Of Fear?

I know the Bible teaches that staying afraid is not believing God. Jesus said, “Fear not, only believe!” Believing God brings His promises to pass.

Yet, there are times in life when we know what God promised, and we’re not afraid, but there may be an issue of doubt in our thinking. Doubts always interfere with completely accepting what God has promised. Recognizing when and where we have doubts and then shifting from doubt to accepting what God has promised will lead to believing God and receiving what He has promised.

• Only Weak People Have Fear?

Everyone faces difficulties, challenges, obstacles and negative situations. Faced with those kinds of circumstances can cause one to fear or have doubts. The question is, when you recognize fear, or doubts, what are you going to do about it?

When faced with unpleasant situations, we can choose which thoughts to think. The Scriptures in many places encourage us to get rid of the fear, to replace it. The Bible says that fear is a snare, a trap – it keeps us bound so that we cannot move forward.

Everyone has the choice to continue to hold onto their fear, or to replace their fear with the promises from God found in the Bible.  Maybe that’s why there are so many verses in the Bible about fear; the phrase, “Fear not” is found 63 times.

And, since I’m counting, the word, “fear” is found in 385 verses. There is a lot in the Bible about fear! The point is, God does not want you and me to be afraid, to worry, to doubt, to stress, to have anxiety. It’s very detrimental to our lives.

In the Book of Philippians, it says, “Be careful [anxious] for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.” That is a choice, and for me, there are some days I need to choose to do that over and over again.

That move to California is ’89 was challenging to say the least. But God was kind and gracious.  Recalling those victories there, prepared and helped me to not be afraid, but to trust in our loving God when faced with new challenges and setbacks in future years. 

Two of my favorite verses about fear:

Fear not; for I am with you: be not dismayed; for I am your God: I will strengthen you; yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.

For I the LORD your God will hold your right hand, saying unto you, Fear not; I will help you.
Isaiah 41:10, 13

If you have a favorite verse about fear, please share it in the comments below.

FEAR NOT!