I’m told that there are more than 365 “fear-nots” in the Bible – at least one for every day of the year, so that tells me God knows that we are all going to experience, fear, anxiety, and worry at some time in our lives. And the Bible is filled with examples of men and women who defeated fear, as well as invaluable parables, illustrations, and Scriptures on fear, anxiety, and worry. Let’s examine a few so we can learn to defeat fear as God intends us to do.
The more we consider the sovereign love of God, our heavenly Father, the less we will fear!
More than anything, I want you to know that God cares about you. In 3 John 1:2, we see His love and compassion, “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.”
In Matthew 6:25-33, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus straightforwardly implores us not to fear or worry about anything.
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious 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 more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
All these things—everything you need in life—will be added to you.
So this is Jesus’ Word on fear, worry, and anxiety. He’s telling us that worry is so unnecessary. It doesn’t accomplish or change anything! It’s just unhealthy and unproductive, so why allow it to overtake our minds? It’s even unholy because it represents a lack of faith.
I can just imagine Jesus—a smile creasing His sun-encrusted face, looking up and seeing birds flying, perhaps even singing, and saying, “Look at the birds. They don’t worry, they don’t fret. God just takes care of them.” Jesus even said in Matthew 10:29 that not one sparrow will fall to the ground without God’s knowing and caring about that one little bird. And if God takes care of the birds, don’t you know He will take care of you, believers? He promised!
He also told us to “look at the fields”—look at nature. Often when we are stressed or feeling anxious and pressured, one of the best things we can do is just get away. Even if it’s in your own backyard, find a place where you can look at the trees, hear the birds, notice the flowers, soak in God’s creation, and find peace in that. Marvel and find peace in what God has made—an ocean, a mountain, a rose, the face of a small child—and take a deep breath. God made it all, and He made you, and He cares about you more than you could ever imagine.
I am reminded of 1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” I like the way the New Living Translation says it: “Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.” Now, I don’t love perfectly, but God does! And if I believe that God truly loves me and wants the best for my life, it is His perfect love, the perfect love of the Father for you and me, that expels fear and anxiety. We just need to let that penetrate our mind and heart.
Philippians 4:19 says, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” So God provides for our every need, physically, financially, emotionally. But remember, He knows our needs and wants, but fulfills our needs. All those things that you’re worried about, God said, “I will take care of this. Trust Me. Worship Me. Pray.”
God’s peace is something you can’t get in a pill; you can’t get it in another person; and you can’t get it in pie (as much as I love pie)! It’s something that truly only God gives. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).
The bottom line is this: Jesus Christ is Lord! When He is Lord of your life, He is Lord over every circumstance and every situation of your life. The world can offer no greater solution, no healing or antidote to anxiety greater than the presence and the power and the peace of God.
Jack Graham appears this Wednesday on LIFE TODAY. This is an excerpt from Help! Facing Life’s Challenges With Confidence And Hope by Jack Graham. Copyright ©2020 by Jack Graham. Published by PowerPoint Ministries. Used by permission.
