Rewriting FearEsimerkki

People the world over are gripped by fear. Economic and financial pressure, political uncertainties, relational breakdowns, crime, health issues, job loss, rejection, abandonment. All these exist in the realm of “might”, “possibly”, “could”. This is all speculative. When we leave these fears unchecked, when we don’t fight fear with faith, we can find ourselves in a stronghold of fear. Capture starts with one subtle lie followed by another, and before we know it, a lie of huge proportions has us in its grip. The enemy uses these strongholds of fear to entrap us and we become prisoners of fear.

Nahum 1:7 says the following, “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows those who take refuge in Him.” To be in Gods’ stronghold is to be fortified in a place of safety and refuge, a place where He keeps the enemy at bay. 

In the Biblical account of the children of Israel crossing the Jordan river, imagine their fear as they faced the raging waters of the river. Perhaps they had forgotten that God had delivered them previously, or they doubted that He would do it again. But He did. Once they had crossed over, Joshua issued a command to bring stones out of the river and these were to act as memorial stones to remind people forever afterwards that God would never forsake them in their time of trouble. 

Fight your fear with faith by immersing yourself in the knowledge of God's character. In His very essence, He is good and utterly trustworthy. Even when you forget His provision in your place of fear, He is gracious in reminding you of His constancy. When you are faced with fear, remind yourself of the times that God has come through for you in the past. Build up your own collection of memorial stones which you can look back on when you are afraid and remind yourself that God is your refuge, a stronghold in times of fear.