Are you ever afraid?
Afraid of the future?
Afraid of not making the right decisions?
Afraid you aren’t good enough?
Afraid of failing?
Afraid for your or your children’s health?
Afraid your children will become worldly?
Afraid of God?
Afraid for your job?
Afraid for your financial problems?
Afraid of looking foolish?
Afraid of preaching to others?
Afraid of being alone?
Afraid you aren’t ready for Christ’s return?
Afraid your children will marry into trouble?
Afraid of death?
Afraid of your responsibilities?
Afraid of your lack of scriptural knowledge?
Afraid of your inability to express yourself?
Afraid of being fearful?
Fear is Normal and natural, a part of being human Everyone is afraid to some extent of somethings Every time I get up to speak I am afraid what I have to say is not good enough.
Bible examples
Fear is evident in the lives of most of the faithful men and women in scripture.
Joshua was afraid, possibly terrified His leader and mentor of 40 years had just died, leaving him m charge of more than a million wandering, homeless people looking to him to lead them from the wilderness Before him was a land filled with fierce and mighty people. His own people were stubborn, rebellious, fickle and faithless with a track-record of giving up at any excuse.
Thirty-eight years earlier he had proven to be one of the most courageous and faithful of men He and Caleb were fearless in their faith that the land could be conquered with God’s help But now it was time to actually go in and conquer, to prove he could do what he had said could be done – and he was afraid.
How do we know he was afraid? Because God kept telling him – ten times in the record — to “fear not, be strong and of a good courage” The clear implication is that he was not naturally strong or courageous The ten times include Moses’ instruction to all the spies (Num 13:20), God’s encouragement of Israel, including Joshua, (Deut 20:1-3, 31 6), Moses’ exhortation to Joshua (Deut 31:7,8) and God’s direct admonition “Be strong and of a good courage be thou strong and very courageous 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” (Josh 1:6,7,9,18)
Exhortations to courage
“Courage” and related words are used 25 times in the KJV with 20 of the occurrences being in the context of exhortation to courage As with so many virtues, courage is not normal, it is something we need to learn and work at It is something God gives us if we are willing to accept it from Him.
God understands our fears and expects us to be afraid at times Yet He expects us to have courage in the face of our fears Courage is not lack of fear, it is facing our fears and dealing with them.
Since courage is not a natural part of our character, where does it come from? It comes from knowing that God is with us He told Joshua just this in Deuteronomy 20 1-3, 31 6, Josh 1 9, 8 1 and 10 25 God will always be with us, too, as He says through Hebrews 13 5 “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” Further, David tells us in his Psalms that God will give us courage “Wait on the LORD, be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart Wait, I say, on the LORD” (Psa 27 14) Again the Psalmist says “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD” (Psa 31 24).
Assurances in various fears
Are we afraid of weakness and infirmity? Paul tells us in II Corinthians 12 9-10 that “When I am weak, then am I strong” He says, “I rather glory m my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me”
Elisha’s servant was afraid when he felt overwhelmed by the Syrian army Elisha prayed and God opened His servant’s eyes so that he could see all the horses and chariots of God surrounding them The person with God is never outnumbered “Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them” (II Kings 6:16)
Are we afraid of loneliness? Solomon was faced with the great task of building God’s temple without the help of David Anticipating Solomon’s fears, David had reassured him “Be strong and of good courage, and do it Fear not, nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee, he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee” (I Chron 28 20)
Are we afraid God has deserted us because of our failings? II Chronicles 20 17 tells us not to worry about it Even though He is angered by sin, God is forgiving and will respond to our repentance Israel feared the enemy was God’s instrument of punishment, yet they cried out for mercy His response was, “Ye shall not need to fight in this battle, set yourselves, stand ye still and see the salvation of the Lord Fear not, nor be dismayed” God will fight our battles for us if we are contrite about our failures.
Are we afraid of being afraid? Isaiah 35 3-4 speaks to us “Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees Say to them that are of a fearful heart, be strong, fear not, behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense, he will come and save you”
Are we afraid of preaching, of not having the right words, of not knowing enough? We are reassured that not even one sparrow is forgotten before God “Fear not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows” (Luke 12 6-7) Just four verses later those sent forth to preach are told, “Take ye no thought (do not worry NIV) how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say, for the Holy Spirit shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say” (Luke 12 11) We don’t have this same form of help, but our needs are the same and surely the Father will help us ma manner appropriate to this time.
Are we afraid of God? We are told God will not cast away those He has called from the ends of the earth to serve Him “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, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” (I sa 419-13)
Are we afraid of coming judgment? Daniel shook and trembled at the presence of the angel but his fears were calmed with the words “O man greatly beloved, fear not, peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong” (Dan 10 19) The apostle John also provides encouragement urging us to walk m the light now so “that we may have boldness in the day of judgment There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear” (I John 4 17-18)
Are we afraid of the return of Christ? We are told in Luke 12 32 “Fear not, little flock it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom”
So we can take courage, not in ourselves, but in God We need not depend on our own ability or our own righteousness God will supply the strength we need and provide forgiveness to the penitent heart
The example of our Lord
We have before us the example of our Lord Jesus Christ Surely Jesus was afraid as he faced the agony which lay before him He was alone through those hours, but in reality, the Father was with him all the way Jesus took courage from his Father, placing all his trust in Him, even to the point of death as he uttered the words “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Lk 23 46)
Jesus knew fear and thus can empathize with our fears “For we have not an high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4 15-16) Thus his reassurance to us is in the spirit of his ancestor David “Be strong and of good courage Fear not, nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee, he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee” (I Chron 28 20)
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One