I grew up in a state where fair skies were the norm, beautiful mountains could be hiked, and the waters of the Pacific Ocean enjoyed. While I certainly enjoyed all of those things, growing up in Southern California also quickly acquainted me with fear. I am sure that I would have been a fearful person no matter where I grew up but the uglier realities of living in Southern California increased my natural tendency to fear exponentially. Turn on the local news and, of course, you were inundated with reports of rapes, kidnappings, murders, and even serial killers. But unfortunately there were even more “closer to home” examples as well. A woman in our church was stabbed and killed as she was taking her morning jog by a man who was casually jogging past her from the opposite direction. A guy from our youth group was killed by a gang on the beach. The examples were not all violence. My brother’s best friend died in a car accident when he was a teenager. We visited one of my dad’s friends in L.A. who went into a depression and lost everything when his wife left him (he was literally living at the park for quite some time as a homeless person). A young wife died of cancer (as did my mom). These people were professing Christians and this challenged my young hopes that God protected those that belonged to him. It was quite obvious to me that God “allowed bad things to happen to good people” and so I became even more fearful.

As a young woman I feared rejection from people. When I was truly rejected by people I feared even more. I feared never finding a husband and then when I did find one I feared he would die. I feared not being able to have children and then when I did have children I feared all the things that could happen to them. I feared not being able to pay bills and not having enough to live. You name it and probably at some time in my life I have feared it (and am tempted to fear still today). Through my life at different times and seasons it has reared it’s ugly head and motivated my behavior in all kinds of ways.

Call it what you want: fear, anxiety, worry, stress,  being "overwhelmed," they all have the same root... a woeful lack of trust in God and a strong desire for self-preservation. Through the years I have discovered that I am not alone in this. We all fear something. Your fears may not be the same as mine but it seems that all of us struggle with fear routinely. It is one of those “common to man” struggles (1 Cor. 10:31). (Just type in “fear and anxiety” in your Google® search engine and you’ll get over 81 million things to look at! Not to mention all the people that are looking for help through pharmaceuticals....) Several years ago a couple of friends and I read through the book Running Scared by Ed Welch. I was aware that my fears were a problem and had begun to admit that they were sin. Running Scared was of immense help to me. Dr. Welch points out that the command most repeated in the Bible is to “fear not.” If you read through the entire Bible you will see that command repeated over and over to all kinds of people in all kinds of situations (eg. Psa 37:1, 7–8; 118:6; Is 35:4; 41:10, 13; 43:1). If the command was issued alone like that we would be powerless to obey it. We cannot just "will ourselves" to “fear not.” And God doesn’t expect us to. Rather, he graciously provides the reason we need not fear. “Fear not for I am with you,” is God’s refrain throughout. He is with us. God, the Almighty Creator of the universe, the One who sustains all things, the one who controls all things is...not...absent, he is near.

Does that truth bring comfort to you? It is certainly meant to. Unfortunately, for me, knowing God is there with me hasn't necessarily been of help because I have had so many misconceptions about him. And unless I am freed from my misconceptions about Him I continue to sink into whatever the “fear du jour” is. If I view him through a lens of my own human thinking then His ways and means don’t always make sense to me. Sometimes I can be tempted to simply think he is not doing a very good job at being in charge. That’s why it is so vitally important to know him more (Phil 3:7–11). It’s important to study God and get to know Him as he has revealed himself in the written word of our Bibles (listen to Steve's sermon on this here). When my feelings tempt me to doubt, the truth remains that he is sovereign, he is good, he always does what is right and he loves me with an extraordinary love. This is all revealed to me in the Bible.

As a believer in Jesus Christ my worst enemies have been vanquished. I need not fear sin and death (Rom. 8:2). I need not fear condemnation before a Holy God (Rom. 8:1). I need not fear rejection from the only one who’s opinion actually counts (Rom. 8:33). Why? Because God took great pains to redeem me (see Isa. 53). He was pleased to crush his only son for me. He condemned Jesus for my sin. He rejected Jesus as he took my punishment on the cross. Then, He accepted Jesus’ substitutionary sacrifice for me and raised him from the dead for me. For us. And nothing can ever change that (Rom. 8:31-39).

All the things I fear now are only temporal and there are no guarantees that some of them won’t happen. However, there is this guarantee...God is with me and he himself has overcome all the things I fear (John 16:33). He walks through each trial as it comes with me as one who is already victorious and is leading me through the windy, fiery paths of this life (Psa. 23). He lovingly designs each trial for my good and for his glory. And when that last day comes he will be faithful to present me faultless before his throne where I will enjoy fellowship with him forever (Jude 24-25).

I expect that fear will be one of those sins that dog me throughout my life. But that doesn’t mean it has to have the upper hand. I want to, by God’s grace, fight for faith, fight to trust in the one who has redeemed me and will bring me safely home (Job 19:25–27), fight to believe truth about God and his control over all things (Isa. 46:5-13). If you too have an ongoing struggle with fear let me encourage you to not just accept it as “just the way you are” but instead repent - acknowledge it as sin, turn away from your worries and turn towards God.... Believe the gospel, for it tells you that the greatest need has been taken care of, you will be accepted before a holy God and your eternal destination is secure. Trust the Lord with all your heart - believe that He always does what is right and is always at work (Gen. 50:20; Rom. 8:28). Use the means of grace of getting to know God more by reading your Bible (Psa. 119), praying about everything (Phil. 4:6), confessing your struggle to other believers (Jas. 5:16), asking for their help, and asking for the Spirit to empower you to think rightly about God with the knowledge that the Spirit himself is interceding on your behalf (Rom 8:26–27).

Here are a few other resources that I have found helpful in my own battle.

• Running Scared, by Ed Welch
• Trusting God by Jerry Bridges
• From Fear to Faith, by Lydia Brownbeck (a recent weekend seminar given for the ladies at our sister church in Bloomington, MN)

Ladies, let’s be women who take seriously God’s command to “be anxious for nothing" (Phil. 4:6)!

I’m excited to learn from you and grow with you.

~Joy