Fear Flees

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble. Therefore, we will not fear though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea . . . He says, 'Be still and know that I am God.'" 

~Psalm 46:1-2;10a

Though I have walked with God for practically my whole life, knowing His providence and protection, I have always been inclined to fear. Fear from the stories I make up in my head or the ones that happen to others, fear from what I'm going through or what reasonably could happen. And then of course, the striving or paralysis that so often come from fear. Striving to move myself out of the fearful position and be my own protection or paralysis at making a decision, going out, etc. because that could lead to the scenarios I fear. Fear that in terms of faith has led me to strive for my salvation or to avoid time with my God altogether because of the guilt birthed from my fear.

Thankfully, God has pursued me and has not left me where I started. Fear no longer defines me as I once let it. Anxiety doesn't cripple me. And even the race of thoughts have found a safer home in His presence. He is good, and I testify to that goodness as I look at a life transformed.

And yet fear is still a sin I struggle with. From the brokenness of the world or from my own flesh. And at times it has been a powerful spiritual attack on my life, threatening everything I know about God and who I am in Him. I know my freedom from fear comes from my God's protection over my mind and my emotions and from the intimacy I now have with Him, which invites Him into those spaces, but I can still fall into the pattern of fear.

At times in my life, I have tried to get rid of my own fear. To surrender it to God because that is the "right" thing and living in fear is living in distrust of Him. But if we look at Psalm 46, the path to freedom from fear is not first in surrender but in testimony.

The psalmist testifies to who God is, and it's because of this testimony, because of who God is, that he will not fear. He lists circumstances that are bad, and for all accounts and purposes, they give good reason to fear, which is why it's hard for our reason to talk ourselves out of that fear before we go to the throne room. Because a lot of fears are not irrational, but even the rational fears cannot stand against the God who made the world and reigns over it.

He is greater. And that is the key the psalmist latches onto. Because God is our refuge, our strength, our ever-present help, we have no cause for fear even if the worst is happening around us. We are held secure in who God is.

We cannot talk ourselves out of fear, but we can know who God is, and fear flees in the face of His mighty deeds and everlasting goodness. Fear causes doubt, but testimony builds trust. He is faithful, He is good, He is kind, He is almighty. And in light of all of that, what do we have to fear? 

Attempting to talk ourselves out of fear only fuels the swirl of thoughts and restlessness that fear brings with it, but in the stillness, God speaks. In the stillness we find His heart. In the stillness we know Him. And when we know Him, fear flees before the reality of His character and His might and His love for us.

"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?"

~Psalm 27:1