Why does God encourage us not to fear?
God is the first and the last—He was here before the beginning of time and He will orchestrate when Jesus returns. He knows the end of the story. God is sovereign and omniscient. He knows the number of hairs on your head.
If God cares enough to know the smallest detail of every one of our lives, you can trust Him in everything, even in the moments when you feel he has abandoned you, doesn’t hear you, or life appears like God is absent. Here are some Scriptures to give you courage in the face of fear:
1. God walks you through the darkest of valleys.Psalm 23:4 – Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23 is one of the most well-known and most quoted verses in the Old Testament. This verse in Psalm 23 can give you great comfort because God is our shepherd. Shepherds guide their sheep to the food and water they need. When a sheep goes astray, a shepherd will use his staff to gently guide the sheep back. Even when you mess up and stray from God, He is your great Shepherd. He will lead you back to life everlasting.
2. God wants to be your only stronghold.Psalm 27:1 – The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? In this translation (NIV) the word stronghold is used. Yet, sin may cause Satan to gain a stronghold in anyone’s life. God doesn’t want you to be mastered by anything other than Him. This may sound harsh, but actually should give you great courage.
God wants to be the one area of your life you can’t let go of, no matter how hard you try.
Instead of being bound by a sin that gives way to bondage, by allowing God to be your stronghold, you can live in freedom knowing you no longer have to fight your battles alone. God is with you every step of the way.
3. God holds you in the palm of His hand. Isaiah 41:10– So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. This verse reminds me of how small I really am! Think about this: God holds each one of us in the palm of his hand. This means he is a big God! It is easy to only see your part of the world and think you are in so much more control than you really are. It’s so comforting to know God holds everything—including you and I, and everyone—in one of His hands.
4. Do not worry about tomorrow. Matthew 6:34 – Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. This is easier said than done. Because God gave you the ability to look to the future, it’s easy to worry about how your actions or lack of resources now might negatively impact your future. Yet, you can trust that just as God cares for the most insignificant of creatures, he can and will take care of every detail of your life. Therefore, it is fruitless to fret about tomorrow, since the author of tomorrow already knows what ‘s coming.
5. Be aware of the devil’s schemes.Matthew 10:28 –Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. In today’s world, it is easy to diminish the devil to a small cartoon character wielding a pitchfork and donning two red horns. Yet, Satan is a powerful force in this world, and he influences those that are apart from God. Scripture says he prowls around like a lion looking to devour. Lions are not small animals! While you can put your trust in God, you still need to keep your guard up and protect your heart from the influence Satan can have in your life if you give him grounds to do so.
6. Nothing can separate you from God’s love. Romans 8:38-39 – For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing can separate you from the love of God—nothing! This gives great comfort and assurance that there is nothing you or I can do to separate ourselves from God’s love. Even when you feel completely separated from God, take solace in the fact that Jesus’ blood covers every sin. No sin is left uncovered by Christ’s blood.
7. When you are humble, you have peace. 1Peter 5:6-7– Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. I love that this verse not only tells you not to be afraid but also that through humility you can achieve peace. Pride is the antithesis of peace because pride allows you to think you’re independent from God and you can do things on your own. But when you humble yourself and tell God you can’t do anything without him, you can cast your cares onto God because He is big enough to shoulder them. You no longer have to carry your burdens independently from Him and try to manage them yourself. God cares about you enough to lift your burdens and give you a yoke of peace that gives you rest when we need it most. Fear is not easy to overcome. Yet, the Bible speaks a lot about fear. The above verses are just a sample of many verses that discuss fear. No matter what verse you analyze, however, know this—God is here for you in every detail of your life. In this you can take heart.
(7 ‘Fear Not’ Scriptures to Give You Peace and Courage” by Michelle Lazurek, excerpted from Crosswalk.com).