Isaiah 41:10
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.’
How many of you here today have a problem with fear?
When I was a teenager I used to have a fear of storms, but now I am the nut that stands outside or by the window to watch the storms.
Many people are afraid of the dark. Why is that? Because, most people are afraid of what's in the dark waiting to jump on the and attack them. Fear is a respectable thing to have.
Fear can be both physical and emotional.
The definition of fear is:
Fear is an intensely unpleasant primal emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes psychological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat.
So, if a large animal is coming at me I am going to have fear of that animal hurting me or eating me. And with that fear means I will either stand up to him or run away.
Fear is a very physical and emotional ride. The physical body gets anxious which is often noted by the heart starting to race, a cold sweat, or a shaking of hands and other parts of the body.
Have you ever had a fear of paying your tithes? Many people have a fear of paying their tithes, because they may not have the money to pay an electric bill or phone bill.
I have had that fear before when I used to only pay tithes on my wife's check. I was always worried that if I payed the money I would owe off of my check in tithes that I could not pay my bills.
When I finally started paying my tithes I found out that somehow I had more money. Was it always perfect? No, there was a few times that I had to figure out how to pay a bill, however God never let me down. Somehow I always manage to survive and over time God has helped me not only in money, but how to manage my money.
In the movie Jurassic Park 1 there is a young girl that gets scared when a vegetarian dinosaur gets too close to her when she wakes up. That fear sends her body into a shaking mode.
Now, have you ever had a fear that you though a demon was trying to hurt you or torment you. Satan and his demons are always trying to find a way to hurt you whether it is physical or emotional.
Moses had a fear of speaking to Pharaoh. He even told God that was directly speaking to him that he could do what God has asked of him.
Luke 12:32
“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
God even gave Moses a mouth piece (a person that would speak for him) and yet he still had fear.
Satan will use anything he can to get fear in your life to the point that you don't think about God's way out, but all you can think about is more fear. If you could grow fear like a fungus you would find out that that fungus does not die, but only grows bigger.
There was all kinds of different people in the Bible that had fears.
Gideon
In Judges 6, Gideon overcomes fear and doubt to save Israel from the Midianites.
Ananias
In Acts 9:13-14, Ananias overcomes fear to visit Saul, who persecuted Jesus' disciples. Ananias obeys God's command, heals Saul, and plays a key role in Saul's transformation into Paul.
There are many people throughout God's word that overcome fear and go on to be some great leaders.
Normal fear is a good thing, a gift from God. Otherwise, when I'm visiting the zoo I might be tempted to crawl over the fence and pet the tigers or bears on the head. Fear holds me back. Most of us might break the law speeding more often if it wasn't for fear of the man driving the car with the revolving red and blue lights.
Satan is always out to destroy you and take you to the pits of hell with him.
We become very scared when we do not believe that our source of strength is weaker than what we are facing. So, where should your strength come from? Your strength over fear should come from your confidence in God and the faith that He will be there and help us no matter what.
In the middle of that stormy sea, Jesus shouted, “Hush! Be quiet!” and the wind ceased and there was a great calm. After that night the disciples never again feared a storm on the Sea of Galilee if Jesus was with them. They knew He was sufficient.
Psalm 23:4
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
God is there if we will pray and have faith in Him.
Psalm 34:4
Psalm 34:4 - I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
In the middle of the storm there is going to be people that are afraid, however with God we can overcome that fear and stand strong.