Fear - Is it real?

I just had an online conversation with a friend who was scared of the consequences of not reposting some viral posts in Facebook. She said there were people who died after not reposting such posts.

One thing came to my head: we got to pray like RIGHT NOW. Because if I had delayed this prayer for my friend, fear would strike harder at her. Fear is not something to dismiss or scoff. Jesus knows how powerful fear can be - this is why He promised that in His Name, His peace would really be PEACE. The real tangible kind of feeling that leaves you calm and happy about the next step you would take.

Before I go on, let me paste my prayer that I prayed for my friend (you can pray this as well):

Our Heavenly Father
we praise You for Your wonderful love
Thank You for reminding us that in Your Name, all fear is gone

Help us continue trusting in You and help us continue believing in Your promises
Help us not to lose hold of You

Help us to search for You at all times even when we feel we don't need You
because in You, peace can be found
O Lord God, Your Name is wonderful
I praise You again and again
Thank You for this time of prayer to help us refocus on what is important: trusting and praising You, Mighty Conqueror, Prince of Peace, Almighty God, Abba Father

In Jesus' most loving Name, we entrust our safety, our lives, our loved ones to You
we ask this and claim this in Jesus' Name.
Amen.

Now, let's see what the Bible says about fear. Of course, there's the fear of God (revering Him). But in this case, it is the fear that strikes dread in the heart, and makes you very scared of what happens next. See these two examples.

Job 4:14
¹⁴ Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.

Psalms 55:5
⁵ Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.

Fear can cause the person to tremble, shake and worry about horrible things that would happen if he/she doesn't follow what the thoughts tell him/her to do. I once had experienced this kind of fear when I first lost my handphone to a snatch thief and for many days after that incident, I was terrified of any motorcycle that passed by me. I'd jump in the air, catch my heart, and cry silently inside because I was fearful for my life. I was miserable, and would constantly think about my safety. In the end, I had enough of this paralysing fear (yes, paralysing) and asked God for His peace to surround me and to help me live life without fear. Jesus' peace then flooded my soul and I felt I did not have to worry because My Father is looking after me. 

Today, I can walk around without wincing at any motorcycle sound. Whenever fear and doubt creep in my mind, I sing songs of praise and ask Jesus to accompany me on my path home/work/etc. 

As a child of God, we should not fear anything nor give in to fear because God does not want His children to live a life of fear. Indeed, we can see in the following examples why God constantly talks about His Peace that can conquer fear.


Psalms 118:6
⁶ The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?

Proverbs 3:25
²⁵ Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.

Isaiah 35:4
⁴ Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.

Isaiah 41:10
¹⁰ Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Romans 8:15
¹⁵ For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Hebrews 13:6
⁶ So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

1 John 4:18
¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

And of course, one of the most well-known verses:

2 Timothy 1:7
⁷ For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Learn to be aware of the devil's tricks and wiles. One of his favourite methods is to strike fear inside the mind. That's why we are constantly reminded to pray to Jesus and read His Word daily because His Word has power to remove any fear. Because God has given us POWER, LOVE and SOUND MIND to drive out fear. His Love is perfect - trust in His Love always.

I might add that if anytime you feel scared, you can also sing this song "You are the peace that guards my heart" (see http://lyric.jonloh.net/worship-song/you-are-peace).

Remember, we are God's children and we can pray to Jesus, our awesome and mighty Defender to fight the spirits of fear and doubt on our behalf.

Have a wonderful day! God bless. :)