Throughout the Bible, God told his people not to be afraid. How can you not be afraid when terrible things happen every day? The nightly news and personal experience confirm that. Is there some secret formula for making fear disappear?
How you answer these questions may help you better understand your relationship with fear. What are you really afraid of? Is this a legitimate or an irrational fear? Do you believe God will see you through this, regardless of the outcome? Have you prayed to the point of experiencing genuine peace?
READ MORE: FIND COURAGE IN GOD’S WORD
Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers (Philippians 4:6 MSG). Ask God for what you need, praise him for who he is and watch as your fears become transformed into peace-producing prayer.
Though your fears may never disappear completely, you can learn to control them instead of allowing them to control you. God’s formula for letting go of fear is no secret.
It is written on page after page of the Bible, in passages as clear and direct as this one: “Do no fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand . . . For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you” (Isaiah 41:10, 13 NIV).
Look closely at those verses. Stop and meditate on the precise language God used: God is with you. He is your God. He will make you strong. He will come to your aid, grasping your right hand and keeping you standing with his own right hand—his righteous right hand. And he will tell you, directly and in no uncertain terms, not to be afraid. He will help you.
Those are more than words of comfort. Countless Christians can attest to the very real presence of God in the face of unspeakable horror as well as everyday fears. When fear threatens to overwhelm you, pull out two of the most powerful weapons in your spiritual arsenal—the Bible and prayer—and fight fear head-on. You may find yourself above it, no longer cowering under its tyranny.
