At the time of creation God revealed His glory to light up everything but the darkness was only separated and not removed permanently. On the one hand His power works in us to lead us in the right direction, while the darkness also keeps pulling us away towards itself. For this reason, the feeling of fear is ever present in a believer. This fear is of failure but also about not coming up to His expectation
Root of fear in great saints of God – Just like light and darkness, courage and fear are two sides of an emotion. While one encourages us to move forward, the other keeps pulling us back. The temptation to Eve was to eat the forbidden fruit, for then ‘your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’ (Genesis 3:5). She was well aware of two important aspects of their whole being, made in the image and likeness of God and about dominion rights over everything (Genesis 1:27-28). And with this the responsibility to ‘be fruitful, multiply; fill the earth and subdue it’. The only thing lacking was the ‘knowledge of good and evil’.
Except God no one can understand what prompted Eve to eat the fruit. But it could be a desire to serve God and execute properly the given task of being Adam’s partner by gaining additional knowledge. All those committed to serve God have a positive fear of not being able to reach the expectations of God. Probably she never realised that it is not academic knowledge but experiential one. What we read, see or experience, leaves an imprint on our minds, thus forming different layers. This is known as conscience and subconscience and our behaviour is moulded by these. What Eve experienced was reflected in her words at the birth of her son, Cain, ‘I have acquired a man from the LORD’ (Genesis 4:1).
It is common in households to send the young boy with a girl as she goes outside to get something. Such practices instil a fear of the unknown in the young girl forever. If Eve sinned, so did Adam, by not being with her or ensuring her protection but only she was blamed. The deep inner layers of sub-conscience keep controlling our thoughts and actions and that defines our whole life pattern. The upper layer of the conscience keeps on changing with the influence of external situations and forces.
We will see three examples of fear of failure and each of them could overcome that with the help and faith in God. Jacob the name means ‘supplanter’ or the one who seizes or usurps and he urged his elder brother Esau to sell his birthright for a plate of lentils (Genesis 25:31-32). Then, at the urging of Rebecca, his mother, he impersonated Esau to receive the blessing of the firstborn from his father Isaac (Genesis 27:27-29). Since Esau had threatened to kill him, Jacob fled to Padan Arram, to Labaan, his mother Rebecca’s brother. He served him there for twenty years, married Rachel and Leah, Labaan’s two daughters, had children and ‘became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants and camels and donkeys’ (Genesis 30:43).
Since Jacob was chosen by God to be the one to receive Abraham’s blessing, while fleeing from Esau, in his sleep at Bethel, he was blessed by God in his dream (Genesis 28:13-15). God promised to be with him wherever he went and to keep him and bring him back to the Promised Land. Seeing his prosperity, Labaan and his sons were no longer favourable to him, he fled from there with all that he had (Genesis 31:21). Since he feared his brother Esau, he prepared himself in three ways: prayer, conciliation and war (Genesis 32:12; 13-15; 21). Yet, he himself stayed back and even crossed back to the other side of the ford of Jabbok, some believe, to run away and escape it all. Jacob had God’s promise to preserve him in every situation and God sent His Angel to wrestle with him and make him incapable of running and gave him a new name ‘Israel’ (Genesis 32:24-28). He had prayed to God, ‘I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and truth that You have shown me’ (Genesis 32:10). His fear was his unworthiness before Esau, for he was the inheritor of Abraham’s blessing.
Moses, at the Burning Bush repeatedly expressed his reluctance to undertake the task from God, to finally say, ‘I am slow of speech and slow of tongue’ (Exodus 4:10). Prophet Jonah was commanded by God to go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach the message of repentance, to save them. He took a ship in the opposite direction, was thrown out of the ship in the storm, swallowed by a large fish and thrown out back on land. His fear was the same, who am I to carry the message to those who hate the Israelites (Jonah 2:2-4). Prophet Jeremiah cried out to God, ‘LORD God, behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child’ (Jeremiah 1:6). On the steps to greater responsibility is the fear of inadequacy.
Courage does not mean having no fear but having it and overcoming it. It is true of physical courage as also of moral and spiritual courage. We wrestle with our fears like Jacob, pleading before God to help us overcome and submit to His authority and be filled with His power. All the great men of the Holy Bible were not cowards but they submitted to His authority and became victorious.
Overcoming fear of the unknown – When Saul was chosen and anointed as King over Israel, it was his physical stature, ‘he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward (1 Samuel 10:23). The Israelites were challenged by the giant Goliath, who was more than nine feet in height, to select any one person to fight him and the losers will serve the winner (1 Samuel 17:8-11). King Saul and all the Israelite army ‘were dismayed and greatly afraid’. For forty days Goliath challenged them and no one could take courage to face him.
David, a teenager, was sent by his father Jesse to go and deliver some food items to his brothers in the army. He was shocked to see that the whole army was so filled with fear. David volunteered to face the giant while declaring in faith, ‘The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine’ (1 Samuel 17:37; 43-47). When Goliath saw David ‘only a youth, ruddy and good looking’, with no weapon but only a shepherd’s staff, he told him, ‘Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks?’ David challenged him, saying, ‘You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied’. David had no war experience or of fighting with other soldiers except for defeating a lion and a bear that attacked his sheep. His confidence was not in his own ability but in the might of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies and of Israel. He was sure of victory and that is what he declared. The words we speak come from the depth of our heart and faith and decide the outcome of our actions. Goliath compared himself to a dog on seeing David’s staff of the shepherd and died in that manner.
Apostle John had faced innumerable challenges and overcame them to say, ‘this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith’ (1 John 5:4). In faith, David hurled a stone at Goliath with his sling, hit him in his forehead and killed him. To overcome fear that is from within, due to our own conscience, or from outside forces, what we speak matters. When we speak the promises of God in His Word, we seek His intervention in our problems. When we speak negatively, we cede control and bring the forces of evil to take charge.
Second, seek help from the Holy Spirit to identify the root cause of your fears and then to overcome them by facing every situation with total awareness. People make notes or write a journal about their life daily to analyse progressive changes.
Third, expect God to bring about a definite change. We are assured of a good outcome of everything, for we are chosen by God, filled with His love and equipped to follow His ways (Romans 8:28). Have faith in the promise of God, for He is faithful and does what He has promised.
Fourth, study and meditate upon God’s word, for then our focus will remain on The Divine power of God and His love for us. Also listen to the Word being preached, for faith is not self-generated but comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Faith would then help in expecting victory in God’s power.
Fifth, fellowship with other believers. When we meet other believers, we learn that such fears are common to all. Through prayers and their testimony, we are encouraged to be strong. In this manner meeting others helps in reducing undue tension and stress and helps focus on good and pleasant things (Philippians 4:8).
Sixth, visualise success and victory. Faith is about believing in results, even when the expected change is yet to come and start thanking God, for He has promised to answer our prayers (Hebrews 11:1). To overcome fear of any kind, it is necessary to first imagine the positive result. With that our minds start acting to believe and the process of overcoming starts.
Seventh, avoid unnecessary searches for answers on the internet. Many such advisers add to your fears by giving weird suggestions and creating confusion. Scripture is the best source of all information for anything. Also we can seek the help of a trusted friend to help.
We are surrounded by the forces of evil and not everything in our lives can be, as we want. But that does not mean that it is all bad only. Do not try to control it all and learn to live in dependence on God and do not permit fear and anxiety to rule your life. Fear is a natural reaction to help us escape dangers, accept and move on in life.
Reasons for fear, despite all the knowledge – God created fear in every created being to help them prepare to take preventive action to escape. But fear that paralyses a person is not from God but from the devil who ‘roars like a lion’ to devour those who are affected in this manner (1 Peter 5:8). The weapons of spiritual warfare have been provided by God to us but all these weapons, except the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God are all for our defence (Ephesians 6:14-18). The final weapon is our earnest prayers to God our Father to intervene. The devil and his demonic forces are real and powerful and our strong faith does not mean we go start hunting for them.
We are specifically warned, ‘when they say to you, ‘seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter’, should not a people seek their God?’ (Isaiah 8:19). When we go with someone even out of curiosity, we are opening a door to these forces to step into our lives. A family contacted us about the violent behaviour of their young son. On speaking to him it was found that he used to play a game in which you either kill your enemy or he will kill you. Most of such video games depict demonic activity and unknowingly one falls prey to that. The boy was advised to stop that and other such games and deliverance from the control of that evil spirit was then possible.
David was afraid of King Saul killing him and foolishly fled to king Achish of Gath, the place Goliath the giant belonged to. He acted as a mad man to escape from the hatred of the people. When afraid, take time to think through the options available before reacting in haste. After this incident he wrote, ‘Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His Word), in God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can mere mortals do to me?’ (Psalm 56:3-4). Fear overpowers our faith and logical thinking when we keep on focusing on negative possibilities of our situation.
Apostle Paul has assured us that the indwelling Holy Spirit is not a spirit of fear, ‘but of power, love and self-control’ (2 Timothy 1:7). The spirit of fear in us acts only, when we turn to it, rather than on the Spirit of power. Having served in the Infantry, there have been many occasions when militants fired upon me. Like all others, I was also afraid but never allowed it to overcome and faced everything with courage. God protects when we stop acting under our own counsel and seek His protection. A clear promise of God is, ‘Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand’ (Isiah 41:10). When we proclaim these promises to ourselves, the fear will still be there but we will be able to face it in God’s strength.
God and Moses both told Joshua, the new leader of Israel, to lead them into the Promised Land five times, ‘Fear not’. God, who knows our hearts and minds, readily assures us by His Word to cast our cares on Him, but we in our desire to control it all, do not. It is then that we, like David, fall into the lap of our worst enemy, the devil and his forces of evil and darkness.
An advertisement declares, ‘Victory beyond darkness’, because fear binds us and to overcome this fear is to continue in faith. When we understand the worst outcome of any situation, our efforts focus on finding solutions rather than remaining stuck. We start looking for ways to find answers and God our Father, fills us with knowledge, wisdom and understanding. Courage is to move forward in faith, then even though the fear will still be there, it cannot control us understanding.
