The Key to Fighting Fear
KRISTEN WETHERELL
“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” Psalm 56:3 (ESV)
I’ll never forget the sight of our first ultrasound images. Tears pooled in my eyes as I considered the delicacy of our baby’s sweet frame, and the precision of how our Creator had knit her together in my womb. My husband felt the same sense of awe.
Yet in the next breath: fear.
I would consider myself to be fearful by personality. A Type A perfectionist, I struggle when I’m not in control, when people disappoint and critique me, and when I fail. Then, there are those struggles with fear that come from pain and suffering in this broken world. But nothing — nothing — has come close to the fears that arose when I found out I was pregnant and after I caught sight of the precious life in my womb.
What would the future hold? Would our baby be born healthy and strong? Would I be safe in the process? What if we lost the baby? What if …?
Friends, the list of our “what ifs” is never-ending. So are the number of our fears. Perhaps you, like me, are terrified of what could unexpectedly happen to your kids, your husband or your loved ones. Maybe you’re afraid of what the doctor will report about your test results, or maybe you just lost your job and wonder how you’ll make ends meet. Maybe death haunts you — when it will come, how it will come, what it will mean for your eternity.
When it comes to fear, I’ve been immensely helped by Scripture, God’s very breathed-out Word that reveals who He is. In Psalm 56:3, King David writes, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” Not if, but when, David says. He knows that fear is a stubborn, persistent enemy of the human heart; and he also knows that the only realistic and effective way to fight fear is to continually put his trust in God.
Now, “trusting God” sounds like a good and right thing to do — but if we’re honest, it can feel like an empty platitude. I just found out I have cancer. What do you mean trust God? We wonder in these cases if God is truly trustworthy, and if He is, then how are we supposed to trust Him when our fears loom and our faith fails?
What David says in Psalm 56:3 helps us because fighting our fears isn’t a one-and-done act, but a continual practice. Trusting God is the same: It doesn’t necessarily mean our fears vanish. It means we know where — and to whom — to go with them. Again and again.
We fight fear with an even greater fear: the fear of the Lord. Because God is good and in control, He is worthy of our reverence and awe. Not only this, but He has demonstrated His trustworthy character by sending His Son to rescue us from our greatest and most fearful plight: deserved punishment for our sin. And since Jesus rose from the dead — since He defeated the thing we should most fear — we can trust Him. When we are afraid, we can go to Him. We can ask Him for hope and help continually.
As we keep coming back to Jesus with our fears, He will increase as they decrease. And that’s the key to fighting fear: to know Jesus, trust Him, worship Him —fear Him.
Heavenly Father, You are worthy to be feared. Thank You for giving us Your Son. We are fearful women, and we want to put our trust in You. Help us to fear You and to keep coming back to You with our fears. Give us the power and perspective to fight fear by revealing Your trustworthy character to us and by growing us in our worship of You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Psalm 130:3-4, “If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O LORD, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.” (ESV)
Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” (ESV)
RELATED RESOURCES:
For more truth and practical application on fighting fear, grab a copy of Kristen Wetherell’s book, Fight Your Fears: Trusting God’s Character and Promises When You Are Afraid.
CONNECT:
Connect with Kristen on her website and on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Enter to WIN your very own copy of Fight Your Fears by Kristen Wetherell. To celebrate this book, Kristen’s publisher will give away 5 copies! Enter to win by leaving a comment here. {We’ll randomly select 5 winners and then notify each one in the comments section by Monday, March 2, 2020.}
REFLECT AND RESPOND:
What’s one particular fear you’re struggling with today? Identify it. Then read a passage in your Bible and ask, “What do I learn about God from this passage?” Apply that truth to your fear, then bring that fear to God in prayer. Confess it to Him, and ask Him to help you fight it with the truth of who He is.
© 2020 by Kristen Wetherell. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31 Ministries thanks Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group, for their sponsorship of today’s devotion.
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Proverbs 31 Ministries
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Originally published Tuesday, 25 February 2020.
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