OP-ED: WHY FEAR?
Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go”.
By Van Yandell
Some men fear death! Some fear life. Some fear other men while others fear pain and many fear uncertainty. Fear of disease or fear of poverty may be the summit of the fears of many and fear of the future may bring other to tremble.
Some jump out of airplanes; others face wild animals or poisonous snakes. Why do some appear to have no fear while others allow their fears to destroy their lives? Why will some engage in a business venture while many are content to work for another in the safe haven of a weekly paycheck?
These questions are impossible to answer because every person has a thinking mind, different experiences and separate ancestral proclivities.
Are some fears common sense? Of course! In the early 2020’s we feared covid. We took precautions to keep from contracting the virus. Certain actions are engaged in to alleviate our fears while others are out of our control.
Many in the world today fear cancer. That of course is somewhat justified. We can take precautions to quell that fear with a sensible diet, an active lifestyle and having the right ancestors. That ancestral choice is not ours to make but we know from observation, family history seems to be a link.
Guilt can lead to a state of fear. Guilt is said to be the most wasted emotion. For the believer in a crucified and resurrected Christ Jesus, sins are forgiven.
1 John 1: 9 “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” To fear the afterlife is unnecessary because of this absolute promise of our Creator.
In the 23rd Psalm verse 4, David wrote “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” The presence of God in David’s life prevented fear.
Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
We have scriptural assurance of the unwarranted feeling of fear. God gave us a mind to analyze the sources of our fears and eliminate them.
If any character in the Holy Bible had a reason to fear it was the Apostle Paul. In spite of his certain future of physical pain administered by those opposing the teaching of the Gospel of Christ, Paul trudged on with his God given purpose.
2 Corinthians 11: 24-26 “Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep. In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren.”
Paul’s body must have been a mass of scar tissue having been flogged five times. Because of Paul’s encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road (Acts 9: 3-6), he was of a certainty of the reality of salvation through Christ Jesus.
Paul had no doubts of the reality of Christ’s divinity and His power. Can we have that assurance? Of course we can through faith. Faith is a belief system and among our greatest gifts from God.
Many of us have found our greatest weapon against fear is prayer. When we encounter those (many times superfluous), reasons for fear, prayer is constantly available. God never hides or sleeps!
Over five billion people in our world have not found the solace of life offered by Christ Jesus. Did Jesus fear? Luke 22: 44 “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” The man Jesus knew fear because of His immediate future (Hebrews 5: 7).
He could have called twelve legions of angels (Matthew 26: 53) and stopped His inevitable future, but He did not. He went, voluntarily, sacrificially to the cross for the sin of all mankind.
We do not face crucifixion as did Jesus. We do not face the flogging whip as did Paul. Our fears seem miniscule in comparison.
If one’s greatest fear is death or the process of dying, consider the depth and promise of Revelation 21: 4. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
We have the promise of God written by the Apostle John. That place called Heaven awaits the believer in Christ Jesus (John 14: 1-3).
It surely appears many Christians fear greatly the command of Jesus before ascending (Acts 1: 8-9) and that is to tell others about Him. With our world eroding further into chaos as we watch, the only solution for survival beyond total anarchy is our Jesus.
We must not have fear of our verbal witness of the teachings of the Holy Bible, God’s word. Matthew 28: 20 “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” We are not alone!
The Bible teaches there is only one eternal salvation. That is by a faith based belief (Ephesians 2: 8) that Christ Jesus was crucified (Matthew 27: 35) for the remission of sin (Romans 4: 25), resurrected (Matthew 28: 6) and ascended alive into Heaven (Acts 1: 9).
Van Yandell is a retired Industrial Arts teacher, an ordained gospel evangelist and missionary. His email is vmy3451@gmail.com