***2 days after I wrote this post, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Breast Cancer. How kind was the God of the Universe to have this truth upon my heart, right before my devastating news!
I write this post as a reference for myself to be able to come back to. A place to come when I need to hear truth. A truth reminder, for when I am fearful.
There are so many things that we can find, to be fearful of. Yet God tells us over and over, “do not fear.” Yet, I do…
I read the following verses and feel so understood and taken care of by the God of the Universe. He gets us. He gets that His children would struggle with fear. He is this beautiful, perfect, Creator Being; reassuring us over and over that He’s got our backs. Reassuring us that we can trust Him and His perfection. He is perfect, which means His plan for me is perfect, even if my world shatters around me.
For me, fear can be so “in my face” at times, and at other times appear so subtly that I don’t even realize that I am being fearful until it has almost paralyzed me. I find that my fears often comes in the form of this question:
What if?
Oh how those 2 words can sneak in and occupy space in my brain!
“What if– my children get hurt?”
“What if– something happens to my health or the health of my husband?”
“What if– I just offended her”
“What if–they aren’t telling the truth?”
Scripture says “Whatever things are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable….think on these things.” Philippians 4:8
That first one jumps out at me:
Scripture says “Whatever things are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable….think on these things.” Philippians 4:8
That first one jumps out at me:
“Whatever is TRUE...”
Back to the “What If” question. It is a question about things that are unknown. Do I know for a fact that I have offended that person? Do I know the future of my children? Of my health? No. So why am I allowing this “What If” stuff in? Why do I worry? Why do I fret?
Instead, I want to think on what is true. What I know to be true.
Truth.
Easier said than done, but as the below verses show, I have a perfect God, who is ONLY good, that has my back and tells me to “fear not” over and over and over again. When the list of verses runs so long, of God telling me not to fear, I can’t help but shut my eyes & exhale, let go, and decide to trust. And when the “what if” question comes back, I will come back to this post and read, exhale, let go and decide to trust, again, because:
2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.
Psalm 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
Genesis 26:24 I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you.
Numbers 21:34 Do not fear him, for I have delivered him [your enemy] into your hand.
Deuteronomy 3:22 You must not fear them [spiritual or natural enemies], for the LORD your God Himself fights for you.
Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:8 And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”
Joshua 10:8 And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you.”
1 Chronicles 28:20 And David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God–my God–will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.
2 Chronicles 20:17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.”
Psalm 27:3 Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident.
Psalm 37:4 The Angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them.
Psalm 46:2 Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Psalm 56:4 In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?
Psalm 118:6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
Isaiah 35:4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you.”
Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:13 For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, “Fear not, I will help you.
Isaiah 43:1 But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.”
Isaiah 43:5 Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, And gather you from the west;
Isaiah 44:8 Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.”‘
Isaiah 51:7 “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, You people in whose heart is My law: Do not fear the reproach of men, Nor be afraid of their insults.
Isaiah 54:4 “Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; For you will forget the shame of your youth, And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.
Isaiah 54:14 In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
Daniel 12:2 Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.
Daniel 10:19 And he said, “O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!” So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”
Joel 2:21 Fear not, O land; Be glad and rejoice, For the LORD has done marvelous things!
Haggai 2:5 “According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!‘
Psalm 91 1 He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flies by day; 6 Nor for the pestilence that walks in darkness; nor for the destruction that wastes at noonday. 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. 8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. 14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. 15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. 16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Mark 4:40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?
Luke 12:4 “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
Luke 12:7 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Luke 12:32 “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
Hebrews 13:6 So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
Revelation 2:10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Vicky@sleeping in an unmade bed
August 31, 2010 at 12:05 pmI did a study once about worry and fear (I can’t remember the title off the top of my head), but it said that the phrase “Do not fear” or a similar phrase is repeated 365 in the Bible. That is one for each day of the year!
Julia
August 30, 2010 at 2:49 pmFear can take over your life if you let it. I think that is part of my mom’s problems. She has always been a very anxious person. Now, she is not able to discern what has really happened from the dreams she is having. All of her dreams seem to be about horrible things that “could” happen to one of us, or to one of the kids, or to her, or to her mom and dad, etc….. She yells uncontrollably at times. I pray that your reading these scriptures will help settle your mind. A wise man once told me that if I can do something about a situation that I should do it, but if I couldn’t that worrying would not help. I try to live by those words. Another wise man told me that whatever is going to happen (the circumstance was concerning my mom at the time, but this can work for anyhting) it will happen whether I am by her side or not. He recently died and I wasn’t there. But, because of his words to me I didn’t feel guilty.
Clean Mama
August 30, 2010 at 7:37 pmI’m currently reading “Fearless” by Max Lucado and it is POWERFUL and convicting. Great post – fits right in. Maybe God is trying to tell me something 🙂
Poppins (AKA Traci)
August 30, 2010 at 2:09 pmJust what I needed this morning. My current fave saying is straight from the church marquee across from my daughter’s school: “Feed Faith and Fear will starve to death.” Simple, but true.
Kelly Morris
August 30, 2010 at 2:51 amhtr, I, too, am sorry for your friend’s loss. There can’t be anything worse in the world than the loss of a child…praying.
The battle is in our minds, that’s for sure. Jesus never said life was easy, fair, etc. He said that He would be with us….
Driftwood Girl
August 30, 2010 at 3:52 amThank you for posting the verses! I struggle with fear daily and am constantly meditating on God’s Word regarding fear. The Bible calms me because it’s infallibly TRUE! The very first verse you listed is my go to promise from the Lord. When I am giving in to fear, I read it and pray aloud “Thank you Lord that you have not given me the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind”. The knowledge God gives us is key! Knowledge will trump fear which is (when all is said and done) just an emotion. While fear can be a reaction to truth (circumstances), uncontrollable fear can be debilitating and we have freedom from that in the Lord! I’m really unspeakably encouraged by this post. Thank you for sharing.
htr
August 29, 2010 at 9:33 pmThank you for this. We have dear friends who lost their little girl in an accident last week. The fear for my own family has been overwhelming this since I heard about this tragedy. We have had a lot of changes going on in our church and I see fear making my friends act in ways that they normally don’t. Rather than dwell on things that aren’t true or facts, I am now armed with more truth and love from scripture. Thanks so much.
Amy Bowman
August 29, 2010 at 10:41 pmBeth-Yes, the battle IS WON! love that.
htr-so, so sorry to hear about your friends little girl. those are the exact stories that just get me when it come to fear and yes, it can be so overwhelming. scripture is so soothing to the soul in those times, and TRUTH fights the battles of our minds so powerfully, like none other. thank you so much for commenting/sharing.
Beth
August 29, 2010 at 9:32 pmHe’s already won the battle for us! Now He has left all these great words to remind us of this fact. Stay in the Word every day. Fear God and you will not live in fear. Thanks for sharing these verses.