Day 4: What the Bible Has to Say About Our Fears

I've always been told that there are 365 verses in the Bible that tell us not to fear. One for everyday of the year. I didn't count them, but I like to think that this is true because I need that reminder every.single.day. From the beginning God was intent on reminding His people, from Abram to you and I, that we don't need to fear. He knew we would struggle so He threaded this reminder and promise that we need not fear throughout Scripture.

When Adam and Eve sinned their first sin was out of fear. Fear that they had been lied to. Fear that God was short-changing them. God's love is perfect and in 1 John we are told that, "perfect love casts out fear". If Adam and Eve had believed that God's love for them was perfect their fears would have been relieved. In Scripture the word "cast" comes up several times in reference to fear. In 1 Peter we're told to "cast all our cares on Him (Jesus) because he cares for us". The word "cast" really sticks out to me. The idea is that we need to literally throw off our fears and let Jesus take care of them.

Meditating on the words of Scripture instead of the voice of our fears can radically change the our fear level; in general and in the moment. A verse that I have learned to keep at the ready is Psalm 56:3, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in You." Simple, beautiful truth. We will look at more places in Scripture where fear is spoken of throughout the next 27 days, but for now we can rest in the fact that God knows our fears and wrote reminders again and again to calm our anxious hearts.

What are your favorite passages from Scripture about fear?

Tomorrow: My Fear of Flying