Trusting God During Times of Fear

"When I am afraid, I put my trust in you." — Psalm 56:3 (ESV)

The dictionary lists about 700 kinds of phobias:

1. Acrophobia: fear of high places.
2. Claustrophobia: fear of closed places.
3. Agoraphobia: fear of open places.
4. Pathophobia: fear of disease.
5. Ergophobia: fear of work.
6. Photophobia: fear of light.
7. Phobophobia: fear of fear.

 
You don’t have to be a weak person to be a fearful person. Strong people are, sometimes, very much afraid. Julius Caesar, to whose ears the shouts of the enemy were music, was afraid of thunder. And, if it would thunder, he would want to get underground into a cave. He just would quake. Peter the Great—the Czar of Russia, the great political and military leader—was afraid to cross a bridge. And, he would put one foot onto a bridge and would begin to tremble.

Consider this:

• “Fear is an unpleasant and often strong feeling caused by anticipation or awareness of threat or danger… Fear comes from the Old English faer, which means sudden calamity or danger. It suggests a state of alarm or dread. If it is strong enough it can immobilize you. It prepares you for a key response: flight, fight or freeze.”[1]
• “We are born with only two fears: the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. All other fears are learned or acquired, primarily from the adversary, Satan.”[2]
• “Fear becomes a problem when a person is afraid of things that are not real or when the feeling of fear is out of proportion to the real danger present.”[3]

 
Fear can distort our perception of reality. Imagine a man walking across a frozen pond. At first, he moves confidently, but then doubt creeps in: What if the ice isn’t thick enough? What if it cracks? Fear overwhelms him, and he drops to his hands and knees, crawling slowly, trying to spread his weight. He feels trapped, paralyzed by the thought that disaster is imminent.

As he slowly inches forward, a sled pulled by a pack of snowdogs rushes past him. The sled is many times heavier than he is, yet it glides across the ice with ease. The man realizes that the ice was never the problem—it was his fear, magnified by false assumptions. The ice beneath him was far stronger than he thought, and he had been safe all along.

Fear often works the same way in life. One person used the acrostic FEAR to say: "False Evidence Appearing Real." It magnifies the "what-ifs" and blinds us to God's strength that can hold us up. God’s promises are our foundation, stronger than any frozen pond. When we feel fear rise, we must trust in God’s strength, not in our own perceptions. He is always faithful, even when we doubt.

Reflection Question: What fear in your life might be based on false assumptions or exaggerated danger?

Lord, help me not to let my fears control me. Teach me to trust You and Your strength instead of my own limited understanding. Thank You for being my firm foundation. In Jesus' Name, amen.

From "God's Answer for Fear": https://www.joshfranklin.org/media/cr3n4pv/6-god-s-answer-for-fear

[1] Gary Oliver, Real Men Have Feelings Too (Chicago: Moody Press, 1993), 78-79.
[2] Bob Russell, Life Preservers: God’s Promises for Troubled Times (Cincinnati, OH: Standard, 1997), 8.
[3] Tim Clinton, The Quick-Reference Guide to Biblical Counseling (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 2009), 117.