Learning to Overcome Fear

¹⁰ He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” Genesis 3:10
FEAR: an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain or a threat.
This is how the dictionary defines fear. As you can see, it is an emotion evoked by belief. Perhaps the belief is real or imagined. In my opinion, most of the time, it is imagined. Someone has said that 80% of things we fear or worry about never happen.
Today, the world is in the grips of fear of the coronavirus. People are afraid. The economy is doomed. The world seems to be on the brink of collapsing. No one seems to have any answers, and scientists are working day and night to find a vaccine. Our lives turned upside down in a matter of 3 months. What happened? We were so secure in our education, our medical advancement, and our financial resources. We think of ourselves as enlightened, progressive intellectuals who can solve any problem if we put our minds together yet, a virus, and we find out how vulnerable we really are. This is not new. Let’s see what we can learn from the Bible regarding this.
The first time we come across fear in the Bible is in Genesis 3. Adam and Eve ate the fruit, and sin entered the world. As soon this happens, Adam is afraid. The source of our fear is two things. First, when we do something wrong, we are fearful of the consequences. Adam had knowledge after eating the fruit, but he did not have a complete understanding. Many times, much attention is given to the fact that adam knew he was naked, but I don’t think that’s why he was afraid of God. I like to suggest that he was afraid because he disobeyed God. What does this have to do with coronavirus and the present situation? Like Adam, we have disobeyed God, and we continue to eat from the tree of knowledge. Like Adam, we are hiding from God and trying to cover our nakedness. We continue to walk in disobedience, and suddenly, the virus shows up, or 9/11 happens, and we start wondering what God is doing. Secondly, we fear the unknown. Joshua 1: 9 is one of my favorite verse, which talks about being courageous, do not be afraid, and God is with us. I believe about 19 times in the first chapter, God tells Joshua not to be afraid or do not fear. Why do you think that is? I believe it was because he was afraid. Moses has just died. After 40 years of journey, they are at the bank of Jordan river about to cross over to the promised land. He knows battles and giants are waiting for them on the other side, I would be afraid, and Joshua was afraid. God knows our heart, and in Joshua chapter 1, He is assuring Joshua that He is going to be right there next to him. Many of you right now are afraid. You are scared of the unknown; Shelves are empty, your portfolio is down, there is a real threat to health, we have never experienced what is happening around us, But As God was with Joshua, He is with us.
Deuteronomy 31:6 says, Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” I want to ask you what the source of your fear is? Are you fearful because, like Adam, you have been eating from the tree of knowledge and have lost fellowship with God? Have you fallen into the trap of thinking, your job, your health, your 401k, your planning is going to give you security and peace? As you can see, 30 days and the whole structure is coming apart at the seams. How many of you have believed me if I had told you a month ago that you would be searching for toilet paper? Like Adam, many of us realize our nakedness, and we are trying to cover it up with fig tree leaves, and all it does is give you itch. The good news is that as God had a solution for Adam, He has one for you too. It is not too late to turn to Him. Perhaps like Joshua, you are afraid because of the unknown, to you God says, Be courageous, I am going ahead of you. We have the assurance of victory, and there is no need to fear.
Perhaps some of you are like Elijah; you have seen the work of God in your life. You have witnessed the power of God first hand but like Elijah, who ran at the threat of Jezebel even though he had seen with his own eyes, the fire God brought from heaven. He went in hiding, and when God found him, he was just waiting to die. Some of us are afraid like Elijah, and our Jezebel is the coronavirus. We think our God can not save us. Elijah was at the end of his rope. After all the amazing things God had done, Elijah could only focus on the fact that one woman was threatening his life. At this moment, Elijah forgot that God is infinitely more powerful than Jezebel. He was looking at things through human eyes, only seeing the threat in front of him. Elijah needed to refocus! I’m afraid that, at times, most believers are guilty of doing what Elijah did. Even though God has taken away our sin, given us new life, and continues to pour out His blessings on us, when something goes wrong, that one thing is all we can see. At times, we all need to refocus! As bad as pandemic sounds and challenges we face in days ahead, isn’t our God capable of taking care of us? For 40 days, Israelites were afraid of Goliath, and David brought God into the equation. 10 Spies were afraid of the giants in the land, but Joshua and Caleb brought God into the situation. Million men’s army was approaching Jerusalem, and defeat was inevitable until Jehosaphat brought God into the battle. How about we bring God into our struggle today?
For a victorious Christian living, we must overcome our fear not in our own strength but because of Jesus. It is because of Him that we are more than conquerors. The only one we should fear is GOD. It sounds like a contradiction, but through our fear of the Lord, He will abolish all other earthly fears we have. When we fear God, it means that when we put Him first and foremost in our lives, as long as He remains our greatest concern over any earthly things, our worldly fears will fade away. Proverb 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of the knowledge.” Are you afraid of coronavirus? I suggest you replace that fear by the Fear of God. Amen