As I read the news and speak with my friends these days I sense an undercurrent of fear everywhere I go. Perhaps the reason I am attuned to it, is because it is one of my own besetting sins. It is, after all, one of Satan’s primary weapons in his battle against us (see S.M. Wibberley, Equipped! Ready for Everyday Spiritual Warfare [Canterbury, CT: Edifying Services, 2012], pp. 54-57). It seems that the Enemy has turned up the heat and the world and the Church are suffering from it. We fear political circumstances; we fear social pressure; we fear lack of success and lack of numbers; we fear not having enough income; we fear poverty; we fear uselessness; we fear not leaving a legacy; we fear what may yet happen, we fear knowing it as well as not knowing it. All of these cause us to make bad decisions, harming us and those around us.

And yet, we are called to not be afraid. One verse that keeps coming up these days is, “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2Ti. 1:7 – ESV). So how do I overcome fear? It is an all-pervading emotion that freezes. Telling myself the truth is not always enough. Fear is driven out by God’s love (1Jn. 4:18) and overcome in our daily lives by applying faith to what we’re afraid of. These days when I find myself worrying (which, by the way, is a symptom of fear), I stop and renounce that sin and its root cause, which is not trusting in God and His goodness. For He is good (see, e.g. Ps. 34:8; 100:5; 135:3; Nah. 1:7 and 2Pe. 2:2-3), in His very essence. Do we truly believe that? I know that I often only give mental assent to it. You see, if God is truly good, in His very essence, then we do not need to be afraid that He’ll ever do anything mean, nasty, low-down, devious or bad. If He takes something from us, it is good. If He gives us something, it is good. If He allows terrible things to happen, He is still good. If an evil person comes to power, God is still good. Period.

So, little one, do not fear. Trust in the Good Gifting Giver, the Perfect Powerful Provider, the Kind Coming King. Lift your eyes to see who He is. Repent your sin of fear and embrace His all-healing love, knowing our future is not here, but in the world to come; and it is certain. For God is good. All the time. And when fear comes knocking, do it again and again and again and again….