Our car merged onto I-85 in Atlanta and my husband reached over and rubbed my hand for reassurance. Knowing how anxious I was, he said, “Don’t be so nervous, the ride is only three hours.” He knew I had a very hard time with driving long distances and even at forty years old, I never understood why this fear always seemed to grip me. It wasn’t just the fear of riding in a car for long periods of time, other fears had cornered me in various areas of my adult life. Our family was on our way to Florida for vacation, and my mother was accompanying us. She is very afraid of flying and has vowed never to set foot on another airplane. We thoroughly enjoy her company, so any time we’re blessed to have her with us on vacation, we drive to make provisions for her comfort. There was a pattern here, and until this trip, I had never given it much thought.
Accommodating our fears and the fears of others is very common, and it can be a very compassionate and caring thing to do. When it came to my mom, accommodating her fear of flying is just something all her kids do, and we do it out of love for her. Likewise, when my husband sensed my anxiety, his first instinct was to comfort me as well. Comforting words and gestures remind us that we’re loved, and this is a very good thing. We should be thankful to God for giving us these precious relationships with individuals that care for us, because it is a privilege to care for them. However, whether they are our fears or the fears of those we love, there comes a time when we have to pause and ask ourselves whether these fears have turned to phobias that keep us from thriving in Christ the way God desires.
It’s important to note that there is such a thing as a healthy fear instinct. It helps us to avoid danger and to recognize impending dangerous and harmful situations. Phobias, on the other hand, have a crippling effect. They change behaviors and cause us to see life as a series of dangers to avoid rather than seeing life as a gift from God.
Through Jesus Christ, we have received new life. Titus 3:5(NLT) says, “he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.” As his followers, until he returns, we will always be in a posture of putting off the old and putting on the new. This means we must train our minds to think new thoughts, and these thoughts must be aligned with the Word of God. It’s a process that takes time and lots of practice.
We must practice renewing our minds to the Word of God so that we have faith in God’s promises. He tells us in Psalm 84:11(NLT), “For the LORD God is our sun and our shield.
He gives us grace and glory. The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.” The Lord is our protection, and He desires that we have total faith in this. Like the sun that He created, He gives us light, and He also shields us from the heat that will burn us. He alone perfectly positioned the sun to increase our health and give enough light to illuminate the entire world, yet we are not consumed by the sun’s heat. God took care of this, and He will do this for every other aspect of our existences if we will trust Him.
Renew your mind in faith, not fear
He tells us in 1John 4:18 that His perfect love expels all fear. In 2Timothy 1:7, He informs us that He hasn’t given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control. By this, you and I can know that unhealthy fear and phobias are not natural. Although we all may be challenged with these, God has given us His Word to increase our faith in Him every day. When I’m faced with a situation that could potentially cause me to experience a high level of anxiety, I do as God’s Word commands, and renew my mind to what He says.
Deuteronomy 31:6(NLT) is a verse of scripture that brings me tremendous comfort, so I repeat it often when I’m in a challenging situation. This verse says, “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” Fear doesn’t belong to God, it comes from the devil, and the devil uses it to paralyze us. We must be wise to his tricks and never accept the devil’s lies over believing and trusting the truth that God has told us in His Word. It’s very good practice to write down the promises of God’s Word that resonate with your heart and repeat them to yourself with faith and believing. Before you know it, these will be imprinted on your heart and your mind will be renewed.
Pray about everything
We must continually remind ourselves that God wants us to walk in victory every day, and you and I should desire to walk the way He wants us to. He wants us to be released and delivered from anything that doesn’t resemble His love. God has given us victory through our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 1John 5:4(NLT) declares, “For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.” This is our reality as God’s children, but many of us struggle sometimes with trusting that God is taking care of everything. When this is an issue, we must be instant in prayer, and as His sons and daughters, we must pray continually.
Heavenly Father also tells us in Philippians 4:6(NLT), “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Going higher and walking in the faith and liberty of Christ requires us to travel light. God’s Holy Spirit lives within us, and He will help us to release the weight of fears that hold us back, so we can embrace more of God’s love.
Healing is part of the victory walk for God’s children. He provided us with a remedy for every problem, issue, and troublesome situations in life, and this remedy is Jesus Christ! Our wonderful Redeemer tells us in John 14:6 that he is the way, the truth, and the life. He is our High Priest, our Advocate and Mediator. Ephesians 2:18 tells us that through Christ, we have access in one Spirit to the Father. Jesus Christ has given us the way to victory, and through him God will supply all our needs. But make no mistake, God requires that we renew our minds to His Word and pray often, because these are the practices that strengthen us spiritually. When they are our go-to rather than being paralyzed by fear, we will bring ourselves closer to God and invite His healing power into our hearts. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Overcoming Fear”, written for Springfield Fellowship © 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.