Fear hits us from all angles. We desire to make a difference and fear living a life that doesn’t count. We need control and fear surrendering to God. We fear insignificance and uncertainty. The fear of failure drives us to make rash decisions or causes us to fear deciding at all. And then there is the final enemy—we fear dying. We battle fear, but things change when we realize the battle is too big for us. We are surrounded, outnumbered, outgunned. The battle against fear will be won, at the end of the day, by coming to grips with this truth: The battle belongs to the Lord. That’s what King David learned early in his life.
Daily Devotion
Confronting My Fear – Death
One comedian has quipped. “I don’t fear death. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” Most of us would agree there is some truth to that statement. The mystery of “the other side” causes anxiety, if not downright fear. So, let’s confront the fear of death by considering what awaits us on the other side.
Confronting My Fear – Death
It seems to me that those who fear death the most are involved in life the least. They have focused their sights on the temporal things of the world. In essence, those who fear death, it seems, fear life and have prioritized self-indulgence for the remainder of their days. Slowing down and focusing on oneself is not Scripture’s perspective on life. Theologian J. I. Packer explains it this way.
Confronting My Fear – Death
Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor of China. Among his many achievements was building large sections of the Great Wall of China. However, the emperor lived in fear. To ensure his power and authority, he banned and burned many books and buried scholars alive. But his greatest fear was death.
Confronting My Fear – Failure
What’s holding you back? Could it be the fear of failing? Or failing again? Maybe you were serious about your walk with Christ and made progress…for a while. But then life got in the way, and you fell back into the same old habits. Now you are thinking, “What’s the use? I don’t want to fail again.” “I don’t want to make commitments I can’t keep.” “I don’t want to start something I can’t finish.” “I don’t want to get hurt in another relationship.” “I don’t want to disappoint God…again.”
Confronting My Fear – Failure
Sebastian Coe was one of the greatest middle-distance runners in England’s history. During his career, he set eleven world records and won gold medals in the 1,500-meter event at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics. He was favored to win the 800-meter event at the 1980 Olympics but lost to his archrival and countryman, Steve Ovett. That loss delivered fear to his heart when he faced Ovett six days later in the 1,500-race. What if he failed?
Confronting My Fear – Failure
Sometimes, the fear of failure causes us to freeze. We simply can’t make a decision for fear it will be the wrong one. And sometimes, the fear of failure causes us to take matters into our own hands. No time to wait for God. After all, it’s your job, your career, your marriage, your children. You know what’s best. You say, “I will not fail! Here’s what I must do!” Fear makes us unpredictable. Sometimes, we fight; sometimes, we freeze. That’s what happened to a man named King Saul.
Confronting My Fear – Uncertainty
Fear has the power to debilitate us, cause us to make unhealthy decisions, erupt within us a volcano of hurtful words, and lead us down a dark path. Fear can come quickly and leave just as expeditiously. Or it can settle in our hearts and threaten to never leave. Fear is often brought on by uncertainty in our lives. It was the fear of uncertainty that changed the course of George’s life.
Confronting My Fear – Uncertainty
Uncertainty is the only certainty in our lives. We just don’t know what will happen tomorrow. Money markets rise and fall. Health can take a quick turn. Children make decisions that alter their lives…and ours. One phone call can change everything. Uncertainty around us produces fears within us. But…the fear of uncertainty doesn’t wear well on followers of Jesus.
Confronting My Fear – Uncertainty
Have you read today’s newsfeed? The world has changed since you last scrolled through the news—division in government. Stocks are up and down—medical updates. Sports teams win and lose. Players get traded. A coach resigns, and another gets fired. Evil leaders attempt to expand their kingdoms by taking over another area. The world revolves around a twenty-four-hour cycle of change. What will happen next? No one is certain.
Confronting My Fear – Insignificance
Many believers are stuck in the past. Past disappointments. Past failures. A past demeaning comment. They have defined themselves by the past. What happened years ago is still influencing who they are today. But the cycle can be and must be broken. Our significance is not, nor has it ever been, in who we were or who we are. It is God alone who gives us significance.
Confronting My Fear – Insignificance
The fear of insignificance must be confronted. Positive self-talk won’t do it. A TED talk on individual value will fall short. Only the truth of God’s Word, impressed by God’s Spirit, can move us to find significance. Through the understanding of God’s Word, we switch the focus from who we are to Whose we are.