Fear Not

10/16/2024

Written by: Margie Davis

I was 10 years old, laying on my top bunk in my 2nd story bedroom and it was dark when I heard the noise. The scraping sound on my window screen. I listened closely. There it was again!!! My sister screamed from her bottom bunk and I ran down the hallway screaming for my Dad. He checked the roof and didn’t see anything. He popped his head in my brother’s room which was just next door and he was in his bed and seemed to be asleep. We decided it must have been a squirrel or a bird. Mom and Dad went back to bed. My sister and I lay there in the dark listening. And just as we were about to doze off, there it was again! A very distinct and very scary scraping across the window screen! We just lay there and screamed our heads off and our parents came running! But this time they stopped at my brother’s room first and caught him just as he was coming back through his window after having scared us half to death! The long-taloned monster of our imaginations was just my goofy brother! We are approaching the season of scary things and some of you LOVE to be scared. I do not!

Fear is the worst feeling in the world, in my opinion. It can set and simmer in our head until it builds up to that awful feeling in our stomach. We go to the doctor for tests, and we begin to fear the worst. We hear of a traffic accident and the anxiety ramps up until we know our kids are home safely. When our fears are unfounded (often) we feel so relieved! But sometimes we DO get the worst news from the doctor. Someone’s loved one WAS in that wreck. Today someone saw their fears come to fruition. What do we do with real fear? We KNOW God loves us. We KNOW He hears our prayers. We KNOW we are instructed to fear not, but how do we make the reactions of our body and mind obedient to that knowledge?

Here are some things I do when I’m wrestling with fear and anxiety.

1. Replace thoughts of fear with Biblical words of truth. Memorize passages like Isaiah 41:10, Psalms 32:7, I Peter 5:7 and Philippians 4:6-7 and repeat them as often as needed when fear or panic begin to rule over your day! Even if you don’t feel brave or courageous right away, continue to declare the Word!

2. Declare your trust in Him. “My God, I declare my trust in You and in Your Holy Word no matter how my circumstances seem!” “You are my strong shield, and I trust you completely.” Psalm28:7

3. Make time to DWELL with God. A scripture that I memorized and repeated daily during the early days of the Covid Pandemic was Psalm 91. It starts with “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” When we are living in a season of fear or anxiety, it’s so hard to truly rest. But take 10 minutes each day to just sit alone and listen for His voice! Set a timer and clear your mind of every other thing!

4. Ask others to pray for you. We have this community of believers that God gave us to rely on. It’s one reason we have small groups! I recently learned that I need surgery. My small group declared that they were going to lay hands on me and pray for me! Initially, I was embarrassed to accept it, but as they prayed and the peace washed over me I was humbled and thankful. I slept 8 straight hours that night in that peace.

5. Declare over and over that you have a choice in whether to feel fear or not. Many of us have this protective layer in our brains that have us imagining the worst-case scenario/outcome. It’s protective, because we are trying to test how we will feel if the worst does happen. It’s a “give me my trouble now” mentality but what it truly does is steal today’s peace in advance of a scary outcome.

Fear is exhausting. And if you are not a person who is prone to anxiety, be thankful! If you love someone who is, be their support. You don’t have to understand it to know that God is likely trying to take them from a place of fear to that beautiful place of a deeper faith. If you can walk that journey with them, it will be a wonderful thing to be there when they come out on the other side!