It seems that people everywhere today are suffering from some sort of mental strain. Millions worry about family problems, business pressures, the economy and the state of their nation. Others experience anxiety and nervous strain over health problems and financial woes. Someone once said that this is no longer the nuclear age, but rather the age of fear of the unknown and the unexpected. Certainly since 9/11, fear seems to be more prevalent. Needless to say, fear robs us of contentment, injects negative emotions into our personality and creates a toxic effect on our individual and collective health. In extreme cases it can even ruin our entire lives.

Of course, not all fears are harmful. Without normal healthy fears none of us would be alive. Proper fear is merely the drive for self-protection. Without this kind of fear, we would not exercise proper caution against accidents, disease and injuries. Helpful fears, when properly managed, protect us from a host of potential hazards and dangers. However, when the mind is plagued with unhealthy fear, that fear works against us internally to sabotage healthy living.

The disabling effects of fear

When we’re assailed by threats from the outside, we sometimes disable ourselves with fears from within that can turn obsessive. This sabotaging fear distorts our perception of ourselves and the reality of the dangers we face. It erodes confidence that we can handle a particular threatening relationship or situation and come out of it intact. This form of anxiety undermines even the best of plans with insecurity, inadequacy and self-doubt, which lead to a loss of heart that is crippling and increase our vulnerability to danger. Consequently, numerous phobias torment us and rob us of happiness and our well being.

When we’re assailed by threats from the outside, we sometimes disable ourselves with fears from within that can turn obsessive.

When destructive fear is entrenched in our lives, we must remember that the eternal God is greater than all our fears. Fear comes when we ignore God’s word or walk contrary to Him, but carnal, uninformed people do not even know enough to fear Him, and often even deny His existence. He desires to empower us to dismantle and demolish fear’s strongholds in our lives (2 Corinthians 10:4). Fear must be uprooted and the truth implanted so that we are freed not merely to survive but to thrive in a dangerous world (John 8:32). Life is never risk-free. But freedom from overwhelming fear empowers us to enjoy all that God offers us in a fallen world.

God’s antidote

Indeed fear is torment, especially if is consumes us with worry and despair. That is why our Creator in other places in Scripture, gives us direction as to what to do when unhealthy fears overwhelm us. Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, God tells us not to fear for He will always be there for us in time of trouble. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you” (Isaiah 41:10).

Freedom from overwhelming fear empowers us to enjoy all that God offers us in a fallen world.

Jesus tells us not to allow fear to overcome us. When speaking to His disciples in the book of John, He tells them to “let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me” (John 14:1). On another occasion He challenges us to come to Him with all our cares and worries. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

The psalmist David also promises us God’s divine deliverance from troubles and fear. He writes: “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry...The righteous cry out and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles” (Psalm 34:15-17).

According to the Scriptures, the greatest antidote for fear is love. The apostle Paul writes, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). The worries and stresses we encounter come from the fear we have when our love for God and our fellow man has not been perfected. (See Luke 10:27.) Love is doing what God commands. “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). Love, then, is the perfect fulfillment of God’s law according to the spirit and intent. It is the summation of all that is good and right.

It is God’s commandments (summed up in the two greatest commandments—love for God first and neighbor second), which define right and wrong. By loving and obeying God’s commandments, we avoid the dangers and pitfalls of unhealthy fears. God has promised us that instead of being plagued by fear, He will fill us with love, power and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). This kind of mind enables us to put our trust in God in time of trouble instead of being consumed with the fears and cares of this world. Allowing God’s Spirit to dwell in us can indeed give us that kind of faith that brings a soundness of mind to confidently deal with the storms of life. It is no wonder that the early Church of God had peace and contentment when “walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 9:31).

There is no better life than living according to, and safely within, the laws of God. Life outside of God’s divine laws causes people to run the enormous risk of becoming victims to the multitude of fears and phobias of this world. Our Creator has set dynamic spiritual laws in motion. If we choose to violate God’s laws, we will eventually suffer and succumb to the torments of this age. We should choose rather to develop the greatest healthy fear of all—the fear of God. Fear in this sense means a healthy respect and adoration for our bountiful Father in heaven who supplies our every need.

How different this kind of fear is from the fears and torments of this world. Instead of allowing Satan to fill our minds with doubts and fears, let us focus on all that is good, true, noble, right, pure, lovely and honorable (Philippians 4:8).

We should choose to develop the greatest healthy fear of all... a healthy respect and adoration for our bountiful Father in heaven who supplies our every need.

With this kind of mindset, God enables us to follow Him into battle against the forces of evil in the midst of our fears. As we strap on our spiritual armor and prepare for war (Ephesians 6:10-18), we must not pretend that fear of the enemy doesn’t exist. But we must move forward with conviction and resolve in spite of the genuine threat posed by the flaming arrows of the evil one or the opposition we face from the adversaries in this world. What must preoccupy our thoughts are the reassuring words of Paul: “The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:24 New International Version), and “The Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3, NIV).

When we are faced with difficulty, anxiety and sorrow, let us lay everything out before the very Son of God, and listen to Him say, “Let not your heart be troubled...” (John 14:27). For in doing so, we will allow God’s soothing Spirit to keep our hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus and eliminate fear as a controlling factor in our lives.