Perspectives

Fear is Painful

  • Peter Friesen, Author
  • Retired Minister

Deuteronomy 20:2-4… When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. 3 He shall say: “Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. 4 For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” (NIV)

When fear numbs my heart and troubles my soul; I know no other solution other than to take it to the Lord in prayer. When I mess up and trouble strikes, I must learn to do the Biblical thing and take it to the Lord in prayer. Let the Holy Spirit bring peace and quietness to my troubled heart. It is no use pretending or acting as though all is well when all is not well; I just cannot bring that gentle quietness to my own soul, it just will not work. That means, I must stop whatever scheme I have going in my mind and let the power of the Holy Spirit bring lasting, calming relief, rather than rely on earthly devises that bring only short-term relief.

As Christians we must learn not to fear all the twists and turns of this life that rub us the wrong way. Rather, we should learn to continue with what we were originally encouraged and motivated to do. Yes!! There will be those who will try and mess up our work, but there will also be others who believe in what we are doing. We might say that the fear of letting others down and failing in our mission would not be the best testimony for us. Fear is one luxury that few of us can really afford. We must remember that God is always with us.

Every Christian has the power to cope with life’s problems; the power to stand up in the face of the most soul-searing sorrows and monumental disappointments that are out there. The amazing thing that happens, when we are judged is that we learn to put God first in our lives. Because now we understand the spiritual needs of other people. We must love the lost so much that we will not get lost in the noise of this world, nor allow our hearts to turn a cold shoulder to the needs of those who have never accepted Christ as their personal Savour. That requires a certain measure of self-discipline. It means we must take control of our emotions and not allow fear and panic to ruin our ministry. Let us strive to give it our absolute best in everything we do, in every situation; we cannot give more, and leave the rest to God. We believe that it is Christ alone who can keep us from surrendering, leaving the work to others.

Fear is dreadful. To fear things, to fear people or some looming event in the future, is something we do not enjoy. Oh!! Yes, we can talk and say how awful it is for people to live in fear. But until we experience fear ourselves, we really cannot talk to others, pretending to know what they are suffering. However, the fear of God, a reverential fear is the very beginning of wisdom. If we believe that Jesus is the Christ, that He is the Son of God, and accept Him into our heart, then we become children of God. That means we no longer need to fear our future and, we no longer need to fear God as a future judge because He loves us with a perfect love.

That perfect love eliminates all fear of what God might do to us. Instead, we will hear His gentle voice in our heart, soft as an evening breeze to ensure us that each fault, each sin has been forgiven. He will calm each fear and turn our attention to heaven, that we might enjoy every victory won, and think thoughts of holiness that come right from the heart of God. That is the privilege of serving God fearlessly, free from fears of failures and others. And there by making us holy and acceptable, ready to stand in His presence on the day of judgement, ready to serve Christ.

Would you pray this prayer with me? “Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Forgive my sins. I want my life to change. My thoughts and my attitude need to change. I do not have the peace in my heart that I yearn for. I want that peace, joy and happiness that fulfills my heart’s desire. Please let the Holy Spirit help me be the kind of Christian that will honor Your Name. Amen”