Fear Is Not An Attribute Of God
I have written before that the Bible tells us not to live in fear 395 times. Fear was not an emotion that God created in us. When we were made in the image of God, fear was not an attribute that was engrained in us. The feeling and emotion of fear came with the fall. After Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge and committed the first sin, humankind was changed. In Genesis 3:8-10, Adam and Eve hid from the Lord among the trees of the garden. God is looking for them and calls out to them. Adam answers God and tells Him that he hid because he was afraid. Before the first sin, there was no need to fear. Humans lived in perfect peace and harmony with God and creation.
Now there is so much that brings us fear. As you sit and think about what brings you fear today, I want you to imagine a life without that fear. It’s hard to imagine what that would look like.
In Isaiah 41, God is recognizing the fear that envelops His people. He starts in verse 8 by naming His chosen people. The Israelites were God’s people. He loved them dearly and wanted not only a deep connection with them but also wanted them to desire Him as their one and only God. The people had placed the world over God. They had been looking for the world to fill their needs and desires and had taken their eyes off God. God says in verse 9, “I have chosen you and have not rejected you.” God had chosen them but by looking at the world and allowing fear to fill them instead of trusting in God, they had rejected Him. He goes on to say, “So do not fear, I am with you…I will strengthen you and help you.” Regardless of the many times the Israelites allowed fear to outweigh their trust in God, He still loved them and never left them.
We are the Israelites today. We are God’s chosen people. 1 Peter 2 tells us, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness and into his wonderful light.” We are God’s chosen and yet we allow fear to overtake our trust in Him just like the Israelites. We look at the world instead of looking at God for our every need.
God gives us 5 reasons in Isaiah 41:9-10 that we can trust in Him and not live in fear.
God is with us. In the middle of fear, we feel alone. We feel that there is no one to turn to and so the fearful thoughts become more exacerbated. God tells us that He is with us through it all, the good and bad times. He will not leave us in a lurch and in need of rescuing, He is in the business of rescuing.
He is our God. We do not need to live in search of something or someone to put our hope and trust in; God is the one true God that fills that need. We can rest in His promises and live in the hope He provides.
God will strengthen us. We are all searching for things that give us a false sense of strength, news, social media, families, friends, our pastor, etc. We feel like we gain strength through these things because we feel like we gain some kind of control through them. God is the only source of strength we need. He has enough strength to share with all of us.
God will help us. God does not leave us abandoned and in need of help. By simply calling out His name, He is on the move to rescue His people. Sometimes our idea of helping and His is not the same, but we can know that His plans and ways are perfect and if we are patient enough we will see this play out in our lives.
God will uphold us. Uphold means to support or defend, as against opposition or criticism. With His mighty righteous right hand, He is supporting us and defending us. Righteous means morally right or justifiable. God’s ways are right and just. We can rest assured that He is on our side, and He is protecting us from whatever is making us fearful.
As you try to let go of the fear that is in your life, remember these ways that God has given you to place your trust in Him instead of the world. Fear is hard to let go of, but when we remember we are not alone and that there is something greater than our fear, maybe just maybe it is possible to live without it.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8
Digging Deeper:
What is making you live in fear today?
How is God calling you to let go of that fear and place your trust in Him?
What practices can you set in place today so that fear is not an emotion that overtakes you?