The Origins of Fear
II Timothy 1:7,
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love,
and of a sound mind.”
FEAR
What does this word mean to you?
When I think of fear, the first thing that comes to mind is a child being afraid of the dark. This is probably one of the first fears that many people face. As a child, you probably experienced a number of fears. Many of these fears may now seem rather comical as you think back on them.*
Children are generally much more open and willing to discuss their fears. However, as we mature into adulthood, we have a lesser tendency to be transparent about our struggles. Many times as adults, we try to mask our own emotions of fearfulness and lack of faith.
In the 90’s the slogan, “No Fear” became popular. Saying we are not afraid apart from trusting in God is an attitude of pride. It is based upon the idea that we can handle our problems in our own strength. It is a denial of our need for God.
God does not want us to live in fear. But this should be based upon our trust in Him. It should not be founded in our own strength and pride.
Anxiety is at an all-time high in our country today. Many of these cases are caused by certain physical conditions. However in many instances, anxiety is induced by fear.
What fears are you currently experiencing in your own life?
Are you letting fear control you rather than casting your worries upon the Lord?
Every one of us must make the decision as to whether we are going to let fear dominate our life or trust in God. When we choose to place our fears in the hands of the Lord, He will give us peace in exchange.
Let us consider the sources of fear:
Fear is Not of God
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear…
Fear does not come from God. Repeatedly, throughout the Bible God tells His people to “fear not.”
Abraham
Genesis 15:1, “After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.”
Jacob
Genesis 26:24, “And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.
Hagar
Genesis 21:17, “And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.”
Children of Israel
Deuteronomy 1:21, “Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.
Deuteronomy 31:6, “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
Isaiah 41:14, “Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.”
Isaiah 43:1, “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.”
Joshua
Joshua 8:1, “And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed:”
Zacharias
Luke 1:13, “But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.”
Disciples
Luke 5:10, “And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.”
Luke 12:4-7, “And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.”
Revelation 1:17, “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:”
Fear is of the Devil
Obviously, if fear does not come from God, it originates with the devil. Satan will use whatever tactics necessary to defeat the believer. Realizing we are fighting a spiritual battle will help us employ the appropriate tools God has given for our use.
Ephesians 6:12,
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Fear is rooted in the lies of the devil. We must confront these lies with the truth of God’s Word. The best weapon we have to combat the lies of the devil is the truth of Scripture.
A. B. Simpson writes,
“Fear is born of Satan, and if we would only take time to think a moment, we would see that everything Satan says is founded upon a falsehood.”
Satan uses fear in an attempt to keep us from accomplishing God’s will for our lives. It is fear that keeps us from witnessing to an unbeliever. It is fear that keeps us from going to the “ends of the earth” to spread the Gospel. And it is fear that keeps us from stepping out in faith to fulfill God’s purpose in our lives.
I once heard a story of a man who was called to the mission field. This man chose not to go because he was afraid of snakes. One day as his children were playing, two of his boys climbed under their trailer and found a nest of rattle snakes. The man quickly put the boys in the car to rush them to the hospital. As he was backing out of the driveway, he ran over his third child. His wife coming out of the house and seeing what had happened, dropped dead of a heart attack. The man lost his entire family because he tried to flee from his fear instead of obeying God. In the end, his fear found him.
Fear comes from within ourselves
Romans 8:6,
“For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”
Fear comes when we are not guarding the thoughts of our hearts and minds. It comes when are not sifting our thoughts through the sieve of God’s Holy Word. God will give us peace when our hearts and minds are stayed upon Him.
Isaiah 26:3,
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
Rogers said, “Fear is the passion of our nature which excites us to provide for our security, on the approach of evil.”
Fear comes when we are looking to ourselves for security instead of to God. It comes when we are looking at God through our circumstance instead of looking at our circumstance through God. It is a lack of faith in God. Fear is a matter of looking to ourselves instead of to the Lord for help and strength.
The disciples demonstrated their fear and their lack of faith when they were in the midst of the stormy sea.
Matthew 8: 23-27,
“And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep… his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish… he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!”
They toiled on in their own strength before finally crying out to the Lord. So often, this characterizes us. The Lord is often our last resort when facing difficulties in our lives. Fear comes from our own hearts when we fail to put our faith in the Lord.
Elisabeth Elliot said,
“Where does your security lie? Is God your refuge, your hiding place, your stronghold, your shepherd, your counselor, your friend, your redeemer, your Saviour, your guide? If He is, you don’t need to search any further for security.”
Are you looking to yourself for security or to the Lord?
John 14:27,
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
I invite you friend, to cast your fears upon the Lord and allow Him to fill your heart and mind with His perfect peace.
3 Ways to Overcome Fear
*Please note that I am not in any way seeking to downplay legitimate fears you may have experienced as the result of childhood abuse or neglect. If you have experienced this, I hope this article is a blessing and encouragement to you.
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To trust God, I have been purposely focusing on Him and on His word. As you wrote above, He tells us not to fear. Only by continually reminding myself of that am I able to keep fear at bay. I think God understands that and maybe that is why He has told us not to fear so many times in His word! 🙂 I am so thankful that our God cares so much for us that He wants us to feel safe and courageous with Him!
Yes, focusing on His Word is the best way to overcome our fears!
Julia, Thanks for sharing great insights, comforting scripture verses and much encouragement.
Thank you for taking the time to read!
Hi Julia. I really appreciate you taking the time to put together such an in-depth post. This is a topic that so many struggle with (myself included) and I’m adding it right now to my Pinterest board to share it with others.
Blessings to you.
Thank you so much for sharing!