Do Not FearSample

Respond to the Fear

What are you afraid of? Most people’s answer is, “Nothing and everything at the same time!” Fear is an old enemy of ours; we came to know fear in the garden of Eden–when we stopped trusting God and decided that we could define good and evil by ourselves. The first sensation that came out of our sin was fear, which brought about separation—Adam and Eve hid from God.

We are all familiar with that crippling feeling, that surge of fear. It is undeniably part of the human experience. Fear demands a response. When we face a situation that causes fear in us, we must respond. We can move back or forward. Some of us get paralyzed and have the sensation of not being able to cope or handle the situation, while others face and confront fear in order to move forward. 

There is an interesting story in the Bible that illustrates two different approaches to fear. When God gave the Ten Commandments to His people, the background and scenario looked pretty scary. Mount Sinai was a spectacle of thunders, flashes of lightning, and sounds of trumpets; the mountain was covered in smoke (Exodus 20:19). The people were afraid and trembled; they stood far off and asked Moses to talk to God as their representative. They did not want to hear God by themselves, for they thought that they were going to die.

Pastor Mark Batterson says, “The only God-ordained fear is the fear of God, and if we fear Him, we do not have to fear anyone or anything else.” Fear of God is reverent; it is born out of awe. It is born out of the realization and acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty and power. 

Just as the people of Israel had Moses as a representative between them and God, we know that we have access to God through Jesus. We can draw near to the throne of grace with total confidence. There is nothing to be afraid of, because Jesus’ blood cleanses us from all sin. We are no longer separated from God; we can draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith (trust) because we now have the Spirit of God living in us.

The Spirit of God is not one of fear, but of power, love, and self-control. Let us draw closer to God and be filled by His perfect love, for love casts out fear.