Why Fear?

“This I know, that God is for me.” --Psalms 56:9
“In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?” —Psalms 56:11

It is so easy to get lost in fear.

Fear starts as a whisper – a faint, “What if?” – and if left unchecked, it becomes consuming. Our focus quickly shifts from what God has already accomplished to some threat we fear we can’t survive. What we once would have considered merely a blip on our radar screen becomes the lens through which we view our inner world. In this process, fear is rarely content to remain alone. It invites other fears, both real and imagined, to join it. We build towers of imagined outcomes, each one more convincing than the last.

Much of fear lives in the imagined future – a future built on the foundation of fear. Fear is always creative – but it is never truthful. It always assumes the worst possible ending. And as it deepens, we find it more difficult to remember God’s promises. While we may remember scripture, we no longer feel it. What we once knew and trusted becomes overwhelmed by urgency. Fear feeds on itself. The more afraid we become, the more justified fear feels.

As we allow ourselves to sink deeper into fear, God begins to shrink in our thinking. We don’t stop believing in Him; we stop leaning on Him. As fear tightens its grip on our imagination, faith begins to lose its grip. And we find ourselves in a tailspin toward despair.

The beauty of faith is that at any point in this freefall, God’s word can derail the process and restore our trust.

“This I know, God is for me!”

That is foundational. That is our wide place. That is our solid ground. That is where we stop the slide. Even if everything else in all creation is standing against me, God is standing for me. Not only am I not facing this battle alone, but I don’t have to face it at all. If God is for me, then all I have to do is walk behind Him – and allow Him to face it for me.

“In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid.”

There is no fear “In God.” In God is strength, confidence, and victory. I am more than a conqueror. I don’t just win, I overcome. My future is secure. And nothing can change that.

So, what have I to fear?

Nothing.

Prayer

Father, You are for me — even when my thoughts run ahead of You. Quiet what I imagine and steady what I know. Teach my heart to trust You even when I cannot see.

Amen.