At one level, fear is healthy. ‘Fear’ is an emotion induced by a perceived threat. It is a natural human emotion. It is God-given. It is a basic survival mechanism. It keeps us alive. It protects us from danger.
However, there is also such a thing as unhealthy fear. The Greek word commonly used in the New Testament is Phobos – from which we get the word ‘phobia’. This is unhealthy fear. It is disproportionate to the danger posed. It is ‘False Evidence Appearing Real’. It is when we catastrophize –overestimating the danger and underestimating our ability to cope.
Common phobias include fears in relation to health, finances, failure, growing old, death, loneliness, rejection, messing up, public speaking, flying, heights, snakes, and spiders. They also include things such as, what is now called, FOMO – the Fear Of Missing Out, the fear of not being special.
Whereas the Spirit of God does not produce negative fear, there is a healthier fear – the fear of God. This does not mean being frightened of God. In fact, it means the opposite. It is an understanding of who God is in relation to us. It means respect, reverence, awe, honor, adoration, and worship; it could even be translated as love for God. It recognizes the power, majesty, and holiness of God Almighty. It leads to a healthy respect of God and is the antidote to all other fears and phobias we experience in life. Fear God and you need not fear anything else or anyone else.
It is no coincidence that as the fear of God has decreased in our society, all the other fears have increased. We need to return to a right relationship with God. The expression ‘do not be afraid’ is one of the most frequent commands in the Bible.
Proverbs 1:20-33 – No fear of harm
This passage gives you the key to avoiding ‘terror and calamity’ (v.26) and living ‘without fear or dread of disaster’ (v.33).
The idea of the ‘Fear of the Lord’ is one of the key themes of Proverbs and appears twenty-one times throughout the book. It is a choice that you make. If you are wise, you will ‘choose to fear the Lord’ (v.29) and listen to him. He promises that you ‘will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.’ (v.33).
Wisdom is personified in the book of Proverbs (v.20). As we read it through the lens of the New Testament, we know that it is Jesus who is ‘the wisdom of God’ (1 Corinthians 1:24).
This passage (Proverbs 1:20–32) is a warning against ignoring the Lord’s voice and following a path of ‘turning away’ and ‘complacency’ (v.32).
Instead, choose to fear God, listen to him and repent when he corrects you. If you do, God will reveal to you more than you could ever imagine. ‘I will pour out my spirit upon you; I will make my words known to you’ (v.23a). He will reveal to you the hidden treasures of wisdom in his words. Choose this fear of God and you will be ‘at ease’ (v.33) and can be free from the fear of harm.
Lord, I choose to fear you – to live a life in reverence and awe of your power, majesty and holiness. Help me to live life fearing you alone.
Matthew 10:1-31 – No fear of people
Three times in this passage Jesus says, ‘Do not be afraid’ (vv.26,28,31).
The context is Jesus sending out his disciples to preach the gospel and heal the sick. The moment Jesus calls his twelve disciples, he sends them out on mission.
He sends them (and us) to follow his example:
- To proclaim: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near (v.7)
- To demonstrate: ‘Heal the sick’ (v.8)
As Jesus sends us out, he warns us that we will face a lot of opposition: ‘I am sending you out like sheep among wolves’ (10:16a). We will need pure wisdom (‘be wise as serpents and innocent as doves’, v.16b).
We may be opposed by ‘local courts’ (v.17), face hatred (v.22), be persecuted (v.23) and be called demonic (v.25). It is in this context that Jesus says three times, ‘Do not be afraid’ (vv.26,28,31).
- Do not be afraid about what to say:
Jesus says, ‘Do not be afraid of them’ (v.26). You do not need to be afraid of other people, however powerful they may be (for example local courts, governors and kings, vv.17–18): ‘Without knowing it, they have done you – and me – a favor, giving you a platform for preaching the kingdom news! And do not worry about what you will say or how you will say it. The right words will be there; the Spirit of your Father will supply the words’ (vv.19–20). - Do not be afraid of what others will do to you:
Jesus says that rather than fearing those who can ‘kill the body but cannot kill the soul’, you should fear God, ‘who can destroy both soul and body in hell’ (v.28). Have a healthy respect for an all-powerful, as well as all-loving God. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life –body and soul – in his hands. - Do not be afraid of what will happen to you:
Jesus says that if you fear God, you need fear no one and nothing else. God is in ultimate control: ‘Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father’ (v.29). Not only is he in control but he also loves you deeply: ‘But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.’ (vv.30–31). Jesus cares about what happens to you even more than you do (v.30).
Lord, thank you that you value and love me so much. Help me to know your love, to trust in you and not to be afraid.
Genesis 25:1-26:35 – No fear of death
Life is never easy. It was not easy for Isaac. Among other difficulties, he waited twenty years for the birth of a child (25:20–26). Then there was sibling rivalry when the twins were born. He lived amongst hostile Philistines and one of his sons ‘made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah’ (26:35).
Isaac committed the very same sin as his father – trying to pass off his wife as his sister (vv.26:7–11). However, Isaac did learn from some of his father’s mistakes. When Rebekah was unable to have a baby – unlike Abraham’s disastrous attempt to solve things himself through his relationship with Hagar – Isaac’s response was to pray to God for a miracle (25:21).
The Lord had appeared to Isaac and promised, ‘I will be with you and will bless you… And in your offspring, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed’ (26:3–4).
Nevertheless, Isaac was afraid. He feared that he might die: ‘lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah, because she was attractive in appearance.’ (vv.26:7,9b).
God said to Isaac, ‘Fear not, for I am with you’ (v.26:24). Isaac feared people more than he feared God, and yet he is reminded that he need not fear others because God is with him. Remember the same truth when you are tempted to fear: God is with you. If God is with you, you need not be afraid of anyone or anything.
Despite Isaac’s fear of others, God blessed him. God says, ‘I will bless you and multiply your offspring…’ (v.26:24). God’s blessing meant growth, reaping many times over. This is what he wants for your life too.
‘And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham.’ (v.26:18). When Isaac met opposition and was stopped, he moved on until he found another well that he could reopen. In this way, the Lord gave him room to flourish (v.26:22).
