Fear

“Don’t panic. I’m with you.
There’s no need to fear for I’m your God.
I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you.
I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.” Isaiah 41:10 MSG

There is something spreading way faster than Covid-19 in the world, and you might have guessed it by the title, it is fear. I have never seen, in my lifetime, the world more gripped in fear than I have with this crisis.

What’s the big deal with fear? It’s a normal emotion, right? Certainly there are healthy fears that keep you safe. For instance, a healthy fear of fire will keep you from getting burned. A healthy fear of cars will cause you to look both ways before you cross a street so you don’t get hit.

There is also a healthy fear of God, which the Bible mentions quite a bit, with reverence and awe and maybe even trembling that gives you a proper perspective on God.

But then there is the fear that cripples us and causes us to do irrational things. Irrational things like the silly rush for toilet paper or something more serious like taking ones own life. Fear can be powerful. It can literally alter our bodies causing it to change, shutting down certain functions like our digestive system and it can even weaken our immune system. It robs us of hope and confidence. It overrides things that are true, imagining the worst of all possible outcomes.

So how can we fight against fear? The answer is simple but the execution of it takes some work. The Bible says that “God is love” and that “perfect love drives out fear.” The world flips it around and says that “love is God” and “all you need is love” but that kind of love won’t protect you from fear. The work we need to do is to trust in the One who is love. When the storms of life come we need to shelter in the One who holds all things together.

But it doesn’t stop there. There is more work for us to do. Resting securely in His love we now should be compelled to share that love with others. Are you sharing the love of God you find shelter in? You can’t say you love someone else if you are not sharing with them the source of your love. There is no better time than now to mobilize your faith.

Spend some time asking the Lord to bring up any fears that are gripping you right now. Renounce and repent of those fears. Ask Him to forgive you and then forgive yourself. Place your trust fully in His Love. Now, ask the Lord to bring to mind a few people who need to experience His love. Now go show them.

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self control” 2 Timothy 1:7 ESV