Fear Not
She punched me square in the face! Streams of blood began to leak from my nose and the biting cold gusts of wind slapped my rosy cheeks. The young girl was horrified she had punched the substitute teacher by accident. It was her first time on cross country skis and as I had tried to help her glide forward, she became afraid with the sliding contraptions tethered to her feet, and her fear flung her off balance. The kafuffle ended with her fist in my face. It was a comical sight to say the least.
I stood there in a daze, until laughter filled my lungs and gushed forth with the spilling blood. She had been afraid, and with fear gripping her, she had lost control. It was as if, the unsafe feeling of the slippery skis hijacked her ability to move slow and calm. I think I had experienced something similar earlier that day. I had walked into a new school, a full classroom, and many eyes expecting me to have answers I didn’t. I had felt fear too… I took firm charge in the room and my kindness was caged.
No wonder the Bible says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…” – 1 John 4:18
In this context, fear (phobos) means, “that which causes terror or dread.” In this context, fear is not referring to a healthy fear of God, or a fear that actually protects us from danger. No, the Apostle Paul is referring to the fear or terror a slave feels under oppression.
We all experience this kind of fear, because we are human, and it’s part of our experience. However, it often goes unrecognized. Before the young girl punched me in the face – I hadn’t recognized my own fear earlier that day. Often, fear looks like anger or coolness on the outside, that’s why psychologists call anger a secondary emotion, because it tends to be what follows the primary emotion of fear. To express fear is to be vulnerable, and the discomfort of this emotion often causes us to express a secondary emotion like anger instead.
The big problem is, we can’t live a full life sitting in fear because fear and risk are like water and oil, and we were made to risk. As long as our fears are hidden, we can’t choose to dispel them with God’s love that drives out all fear.
Here are some common fears that jab at people:
Fear of failure
Fear of death
Fear of rejection
Fear of ridicule
Fear of being alone
Fear of misery
Fear of pain
Fear of the unknown
Fear of losing your freedom
Fear of not being enough
The scripture says over 365 times to “fear not”. Yes, that’s one for every day. However, the central message about fear in the Bible isn’t simply: YOU MUST NOT FEAR. Instead, the Bible leads people to understand the reason they need not fear – and the more we understand, the more freedom from fear we actually experience. This is at the very heart of the Gospel message and the entire Bible tells this story. If you have a relationship with Jesus, receive his forgiveness, and believe in his finished work on the cross, you need not fear ANYTHING.
Overcoming fear is not simply: mind over matter. It’s a matter of knowing God’s love in your mind.
There is no condemnation for you who are in Christ (Romans 8:1)
God is love (1 John 4:8)
God’s presence will not leave you (Hebrews 13:5)
So recognize fear when it causes you to feel unsteady, and let the truth of God’s love expand like a balloon in your heart, leaving no room for fear.
Face your fear and punch fear in the face.
Suggested Meditation:
Romans 8:38-39 “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”