So I've been looking in the Bible to see what it says about fear. Being fearful is an awful thing and I don't want to be like that. I have been reading through the Psalms, and with my children we are reading the story of David's life at the moment. Surely David faced a lot of fear. Having the king chasing you because he wants to kill you. Having to hide and run for your life.
I wrote down in my journal what David said about fear in Psalm 23. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;..."
He also said in Psalm 56
"What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
In God have I put my trust; I will not be afraid what man can do unto me."
I started looking up verses all over the Bible that talk about fear, and I was fascinated to see that they nearly all basically say the same thing. They don't just say Fear not. That really wouldn't be helpful. They nearly all say Fear not;... But they don't say "Fear not; for worry is a waste of time." "Fear not; for worry is bad for your health." "Fear not; for worry never helped anyone." "Fear not; it's not that bad." "Fear not, it could be worse." "Fear not; you can handle it."
What do they say?
Isaiah 41:10 says "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; year, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
and verse 13 "For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee."
What did God say to Joshua? "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Joel 2:21 says "Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things."
There are tons of verses like this. Fear not; for God is with you. Fear not; for God will help you. That is why we don't need to be afraid. David had the same answer. When I'm afraid, I trust in God.
God's presence and help is the answer.
In Matthew 6:25-34 God tells us not to worry about what we will eat, drink or wear. Does it say why? Yes, for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. He promises to provide for our needs. That is why we don't need to worry.
In Hebrews 13: 5 we are told to be content with the things we have. Does it say why? Yes, for he hath said, I will never leave thee, not forsake thee.
I don't know about you, but I tend to trust in other things than God. When I was fearful about my health, I had the thought, if the doctor can just check me, I don't need to be afraid. If I could just get all better, I won't need to be afraid. A panicky kind of fear.
Although, we can/should use the doctors God has provided for us, they are not the answer to our fears. My trust should be in God not in a doctor. My trust shouldn't be in my health, or in a steady income or in whatever else we naturally trust in. In the Bible verses I found, faith in God is what we need.
Another thing I've found helpful is to ask myself why I am fearful and to remind myself of the truth.
This is what I wrote in my journal about a week ago just after I had been back to the doctor again.
Why am i fearful?
*I'm fearful of causing an accident because of my dizziness
*I'm fearful that I have something more serious that the doctor hasn't picked up. (an underlying condition)
Truth/Facts
*I am not anemic anymore (I had just found out that my iron levels were way better; it was low blood pressure that was making me still feel dizzy)
*I was very low in iron when I had my bad experience in the car--I am not still like that. I shouldn't get that dizzy again.
*I have low blood pressure which is making me feel dizzy
*The doctor is not worried about me
*I am usually lowish in iron and have low blood pressure anyway--it's nothing new, just worse than usual
*The doctor thinks the anemia is just from blood loss
*God knows the whole situation
*It's all in God's hands
*It's all working together for my good.
*Most likely it will soon be a distant memory. It will pass
Even if the truth is not good, like if we do have a serious sickness, etc. there are always the truths of God's promises we can remind ourselves of.
Are you fearful? You are definitely not alone. But I hope you can find some encouragement in this post .
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