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PROGRAM D-7101

Guess how many times the words “fear not” appear in Scripture. I was surprised to find that “fear not” appears 365 times in the Bible.  Here are two examples:

  • Isaiah 41:10:  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.
  • Luke 12:7:  Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered.  Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

It is obvious that fear is and has always been a major issue for the people of God.

Useful Fears

Some of our fears are useful to us.  Appropriate fears protect us and keep us from doing foolish things that could cause us great harm, like crossing the street without looking or driving fast on icy roads.

The Bible tells us that a reverential fear of God is a useful fear because it leads us to make wise choices and leads us to wisdom.  Jesus told us:  “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Useless Fears

But most of our fears are useless, and as we indulge those useless fears, then they grow very rapidly and send deep roots into our souls.  Surprisingly, studies show we are more afraid of living than we are of dying.

Here are some examples of the fear of living:

  • Fear of being rejected
  • Fear of failure
  • Fear of being vulnerable – being real
  • Fear of not measuring up
  • Fear of making a fool of ourselves

This fear of living may be due to our personality, our life’s experiences, some traumatic event in years past, some relationship – the list is endless.  And these useless fears can easily become out-of-control.  In fact, every normal fear has the potential to become an exaggerated fear.  For example, the normal fear of looking foolish, when exaggerated, leads to a fear that immobilizes you and keeps you from ever taking any risk or attempting anything that might not be successful.  Everyone can develop useless fears; no one is immune to them.

What do you do that keeps your fears alive?  If we can learn to starve our fears, then we can be set free from them.