Overcoming Fear
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These verses and any linked articles/stories are intended to help jumpstart you in your own studies. MOST VERSES ARE BEST UNDERSTOOD WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE WHOLE LETTER in which it was written. We can’t emphasize enough how important it is to have your own bible and seek on your own. no one or any resource can replace one-on-one time with the king.
Most of us assume that hate is the opposite of love, but my opinion is that it is FEAR. Fear manifests in may ways: shyness, anger, appeasement, cruelty...Whenever there is an unknown, there is fear. The solution to fear is love—and faith. I've learned I need to be confident in God's love and how that infuses every bit of my life. The absence of fear comes when we are in the fullness of love (Read 1 John). So, when I am afraid, it's an indication to me that I need to have a better understanding of love within that situation. At the same time, when God tells us "Do not fear", it's not a rebuke, it's an invitation to run to Him when we do; locking our eyes with His instead of focusing on what is causing the fear, knowing He is with us in the midst of what we are going through.
Bible versions used will vary and some may be paraphrased.
We suggest using BibleGateway.com to look up the verse in your favorite version.
1 JOHN 4:18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. [NLT]
PSALM 23:4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley (the dark valley of death), I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. [NLT]
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PSALM 3:3 But in the depths of my heart I truly know that you, Yahweh, have become my shield. You take me and surround me with Yourself. Your glory covers me continually. You lift high my head when I bow low in shame. I have cried out to You, Yahweh, from your holy presence. You send me a Father’s help. [TPT]
PSALM 78:22 For they turned away from faith and walked away in fear; they failed to trust in His power to help them when he was near. [TPT]
2 KINGS 6:16 [Elisha] answered, Fear not; for those with us are more than those with them. [AMPC]
ISAIAH 41:9-10 …for I have chosen you and will not throw you away. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. [NLT]
ISAIAH 41:13 For I hold you by your right hand—I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, “Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.” [NLT]
ISAIAH 59:1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor His ear so dull that it cannot hear. [NASB]
When I am anxious and fearful and my thoughts full of darkness it is because I've forgotten this verse right here (Is. 59:1). Because, when I lose this perspective I make my sin and the cares of this world bigger than He is.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. [NLT]
PSALM 34:4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. [MEV]
Our hearts leap at the promises of God revealed in scripture, yet in our eagerness to be set free from fear and anxiety (or any other promise we are meditating on) we often skip some very important information. God is perfect and truly good and all His promises are easily avialable but we must follow His instructions. He tells us exactly where and how to access His blessings. In the case of Psalm 34:4, we see that David was delivered from His fears AFTER David sought the Lord and asked Him for help. This brings to mind the verse in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be given to you." As you read through the verses I have listed here, be sure to take notice in the verses the HOW we are delivered from fear.
MATTHEW 6:25-34 Therefore, I say to you, take no thought about your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body than clothing?… Who among you by taking thought can add a cubit to his stature?….therefore, take no thought, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” Or “What shall we wear?”…For your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. But see first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be given to you. Therefore, take no thought about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take thought about the things of itself. Sufficient to the day is the trouble thereof. [MEV]
PSALM 34:10 The young lions are in want and suffer hunger, but the ones who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing. [MEV]
There's good, healthy fear versus types of fear that cause us harm or lead us in the wrong directions. For example, the Fear of God versus the Fear of Man. Click here for a study in the Fear of God.