Christian Crier
Here are seven Bible verses you can read when you have fear.
Genesis 21:17 “And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.”
When Sarah sent Hagar away, she went out with her son into a hostile environment. When they had run out of water (Gen 21:15) God heard the cries of the boy and so “God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow” (Gen 21:19-20). Even in the hostile desert, God was not going to abandon Hagar and told her, “Fear not.”
First Peter 3:13-14 “Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled.”
The Apostle Peter is so encouraging in this letter of his to the dispersed and persecuted Christian Jews. They have been displaced, many had lost all their possessions, some families had forsaken them for their faith in Christ, and many more had been martyred. Peter reminds them that they are blessed when they are suffering for living in righteousness and in trusting in Christ. He later adds, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1st Pet 4:14).
Exodus 14:13-14 “Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
When Israel’s back was up against the Red Sea and the powerful Egyptian army was to their front, God instructed the people do one main thing; nothing! They had no need to fear but simply had to stand their ground and watch God bring to pass that they “shall never see” them “again” because it was “The Lord” Who would “fight for” them. All we must do when we have our backs against the wall is “to be silent” for “he will work for you” today and every day of your life.
Isaiah 41:9b-10 “I have chosen you and not cast you off”; 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.”
Every felt cast off by the world? How about by family, friends, co-workers, and even perfect strangers? Isaiah writes to encourage Israel but we can apply this to our lives that Jesus has promised “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37) and says “this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day” (John 6:39). That is upholding you by His right hand, even beyond the grave.
First John 4:18 “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”
If you have ever had a time in your life where you’ve repented of your sins and placed your trust in Christ, then Jesus says to you, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32) and what good shepherd would cause his sheep to be fearful? A love that’s been perfected is a love that fearless. The greater love for God compels us to have no fear of the world because we know that we can’t be separated from the love of God; not by death, powers, principalities, rulers, or anything that’s created (Rom 8:35-39).
Matthew 10:28 “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Jesus always preached the whole counsel of God and that included the need for repentance and faith (Mark 1:15) but when He was speaking about persecution, He was trying to prepare them to be fearless in the face of it because they had no need to fear what man could do. The only One that any of us have to fear is He “who can destroy both soul and body in hell” and that’s not Satan, demons, unbelievers, but only God. For those who have been saved by grace (Eph 2:8-9), there is no need to fear judgment after death like the lost do (Heb 9:27).
Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”
The fear of the Lord is not the same fear of being struck dead by lighting. Fearing God means reverencing God, regarding His name as holy, and respecting and obeying what He’s written in His inspired Word, the Bible. It’s not just wise to do that but pragmatic since “The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short” (Prov 10:27) and it is only “by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil” (Prov 16:6). Further, Solomon writes “The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm” (Prov 19:23). That takes the bite out of the fear of death, doesn’t it?
Conclusion
Even the “When the centurion and those with him guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God” (Matt 27:54) but by then, it was too late because He had already been slain, but for those believe in Him today, they have no reason to fear anymore, and “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven” (Matt 10:32) however, there is a down side to this as “whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Matt 10:33). In the latter case, Paul directly tells them that all they are doing right now is “storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed” (Rom 2:5).
Article by Jack Wellman
Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.
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