Join us this Sunday! In-Person 9:00am & 10:45am, Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

Join us this Sunday! In-Person 9:00am & 10:45am, Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

Join us at the next Sunday worship service:
In-Person
9:00am & 10:45am,
Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

Overcoming Fear

“The presence of fear does not mean you have no faith. Fear visits everyone. But make your fear a visitor and not a resident.” ~ Max Lucado

While the vast majority of people never receive it, there are plenty of people that do. That phone call when your worst fears are realized. It is the police that your son has been in a serious accident or a friend calls to tell you there has been a shooting on the campus where your daughter attends school. Or the doctor calls with a diagnosis that is completely different from what you were expecting. There is a sense of foreboding. And fear. It is easy to feel like we are living in an age of fear. And it is is easy to feel helpless.

When we were little and afraid all we had to do was run to our parents who were there to reassure us. And all of a sudden it was our kids running to us looking to be reassured about things that go bump in the night.  But in many cases, those kids are no longer kids. They are off in college and starting families of their own. They must deal with their own fears just as we must deal with ours. In today’s world it is easy to conjure up some scary potential scenarios that are all completely improbable, but yet seem very possible in moments of frightening uncertainty. These are the times when we want God to reassure us, clear our heads and remind us of Bible passages that give us step-by-step instructions on what to do. Passages like Psalm 91:1-2: “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.”

He is our refuge and our fortress.  He is the place we run to and take refuge.  A refuge is a quick place we duck into to find shelter. A fortress is a place built intentionally for the purposes of exceptional security. God is not just a quick refuge from the storm, but He’s also the place where fear no longer has access to us. Fear can’t affect what it can no longer reach.

It’s not that bad things won’t happen. We live in a broken world where broken things happen every day. But as a child of God, we don’t have to live with fear taunting and terrorizing us. Rather we can make imperfect progress in processing fear by turning that fear into faith. The good news is that while there are times when we will feel afraid, we don’t have to live afraid.

While you probably won’t completely rid yourself of fear, not this side of heaven anyway, it doesn’t have to control your life. Your reasons to trust God are so much greater than your fears.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you fear and how does it affect the way you live? Does it lead to anger, worry, or anxiety?
  2. What can you do this week to diminish fear and increase your faith? 

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