by Linzy Slayden
One of the greatest problems we all face is the problem of fear. According to psychiatric reference books, there are approximately 2,000 classified fears we could face in today’s world. Those documented fears run the gamut — everything from photophobia (the fear of never looking good in a picture) to arachibutyrophobia (the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth). There is even phobiaphobia — the fear of fears.
Napoleon, Julius Caesar, and Alexander the Great feared cats.Gustave Eiffel, the designer of the famed Eiffel Tower, was terrified of heights. Alfred Hitchcock was afraid of eggs. Yes, irony of ironies, Walt Disney, who gave the world Mickey Mouse, was indeed, afraid of mice.
What’s interesting is that psychiatrists tell us we are born with only two innate fears: the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises.
A study of the Bible will reveal that fear has been the companion of man from the beginning of time. There are 17 different nouns and 13 different verbs for the idea of fear in the original languages in which the Bible is written.
Our Heavenly Father wants to deliver His children from fear (2 Timothy 1:7). Nearly 100 passages in the Bible exhort us to “fear not.” Yet fear is a current problem for many. We fear disappointment, health issues, financial issues, national and international issues.
We know that fear is a thief of happiness. We can’t enjoy happiness in life and deal with the agony of fear at the same time. Fear robs us of worthy achievements as we fail to set goals and it produces failure as we stagger at the counsel of our fears.
David knew much about dealing with fear and we can take counsel from his words in Psalm 27. This Psalm tells us, faith that conquers fear is a faith that trusts God right now (Psalm 27:1). Our God is not only the God of the ancient past but the God of today. Actually, God is very concerned about now because our tomorrow is largely wrapped up in the decisions we make today. Faith that conquers fear is a faith that trusts God because of the past (Psalm 27:2). Because God has been faithful in the past, we can have confidence for today. It has been my habit to journal for the past 20 years and along with the circumstances I have faced I have written down many prayer requests. I am always excited to read and reread how the Lord has answered many of those prayers and worked things out in amazing ways. The faith that conquers fear is a faith that trusts God for tomorrow (Psalm 27:3).
I have witnessed the Lord come through many times and in many ways. This has strengthened my personal life and my ministry life. I see the same thing with our Fellowship. The Lord has blessed us in a great way. He has done great things in the past, and I expect Him to do great things with us in the future.