Title: Escape from Fear
Contents
We are all afraid of the fragility of life.
It was Jesus' mission and message to save mankind from this horror.
Fear is a problem recognized by many.
Many people live in fear.
Fear doesn't matter whether you are famous or mentally ill, rich or poor, educated or ignorant, old or young.
Fear comes to everyone.
This fear is caused by several factors.
Fear of others, fear of the past, fear of the present or future, fear of disease and death, fear of poverty, etc. There will be endless factors for fear.
Some of our fears are normal.
Normal fear is good for our safety or stability, or our knowledge and health.
Those who do not avoid fear end up in dangerous situations.
But many fears are abnormal.
These abnormal fears eat away at our abilities, our mental and physical well-being.
These fears make us sick, and they are the enemy of our souls and bodies.
Throughout the Bible, God often tells people not to be afraid.
“Do not be afraid” God comforted Abraham with these words.
“Fear not, Abram, I am your shield and your exceedingly great reward” (Genesis 15:1).
With these words, God also comforted the lonely Isaac digging a well in the wilderness (Genesis 26:24-26).
With these same words, God comforted Jacob who was going to Egypt to find Joseph who had been lost (Genesis 46:3).
And in a similar way, God spoke to the Israelites before the Red Sea.
"Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today; the Egyptians you saw today will never be seen again" (Exodus 14:13).
The psalmist declares, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).
The prophet Isaiah receives these lessons from God.
“Do not be afraid, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).
God wants us to live without fear.
But many Christians are plagued by fear.
That shouldn't be the case.
We must break the habit of fear before it destroys us.
These are made possible through the application of the following positive techniques.
1. Develop the habit of accepting change.
We often love the stereotyped life.
We love the environments we are familiar with: reliable goals, job security, families, and homes.
So they are afraid of change, and when there is pressure to change, they feel fear and chaos.
We must recognize that life itself is a series of changes.
There is nothing eternal in God's world.
God made the world that way. There is no way we can fix it.
Human existence is also fluid.
History is a record of the rise and fall of humankind's rise and fall.
Nature itself is the story of the ever-changing universe.
The habit of fear is broken when we accept that change is normal and a natural part of life.
The constant fear of change betrays our faith in God and the world he has made.
Therefore, we must acknowledge that:
First, change brings opportunities as well as risks.
Second, there is life as well as death in change.
Third, change makes life fun and challenging.
Fourth, change often makes a better world possible.
Efforts to recreate the past while interrupting the present or avoiding the future are wrong.
2. Develop the habit of accepting the inevitable.
Find the best in any situation
This does not mean simply obeying the fickle fate.
This means adjusting our life changes so that we can use them to our best advantage.
Don't rely on your own judgment, go on the path of faith. God's children should keep this in mind.
When we walk down the road in this way, we show great courage even on the brink of death, the biggest change in life.
Biblical figures show that they have the power to control the changes in their lives.
When God closes some doors, He opens others.
These facts can be seen in the cases of Joseph, Moses, Daniel, and Paul.
3. Develop the habit of making factual judgments.
In many cases, fear is worrying about things that don't exist (80% of your 10,000 thoughts a day are negative).
These are hypothetical situations or events that we fear might happen.
As the Israelites lay ahead of the Promised Land, twelve spies set out to investigate.
When they returned, they reported to Moses that the land was flowing with milk and honey.
But there was one thing wrong.
They reported that the land was "inhabited by giants."
The report made the people terrified and wanted to return to Egypt.
But Joshua and Caleb thought differently.
They weren't discouraged at all, just knowing that the "giants" were just humans.
So they said, "Do not fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their guardian has departed from them, and the Lord is with us" (Numbers 14:9).
We need to have the same faith and discernment that Joshua and Caleb had.
Many fears arise from preconceived notions.
We create fear from our preconceived notions and general thoughts about other things.
When God has given us intelligence, he has given us to use it.
God wants us to judge and deal with things as they are.
4. Develop the habit of fully trusting God.
This is the truth presented in the Old Testament.
Old Testament prophets offer trust in God as an antidote to fear.
The prophet Isaiah proclaims: “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and have no fear; the Lord GOD is my strength and my song and my salvation” (Isaiah 12:2).
The psalmist says: “I asked the LORD, and he answered me, and he delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4).
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; whom shall I fear” (Psalm 27:1).
The psalmists declare that God has set them free from all fear.
When we develop the habit of fully trusting in God, we can free ourselves from fear.
The New Testament helps us develop the habit of trusting God completely.
Jesus often taught his disciples that there was no need to fear.
Jesus wanted His disciples to know that God takes care of the lilies, birds, and grasses, and likewise takes care of them (Matthew 6:25-30).
The apostle Paul wrote the same thing several times.
“You have received no more the spirit of bondage to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Father, Father” (Romans 8:15).
The writer of Hebrews explains this truth easily.
“Therefore we say with boldness, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6).
In 1 John 4:18 we can read these precious words.
"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear..."
So how can we get perfect love?
We must ask God to fill us with the Holy Spirit.
Complete trust in God, who is great, good, and merciful, leads to complete love.
Instead of a habit of fear, we must create a habit of faith.
A habit of faith removes the risk of loneliness by staying connected with our Heavenly Father and enables us to care for you with great power.
Trusting in God is the perfect safeguard against the dangers lurking in the way of all of us.
Those who always find strength by trusting in the Lord are those who conquer fear.
Their hearts are not set on trusting themselves, but rather on trusting in God.
Their hearts trust God, not their environment or imaginary images.
May God make us all such people.
Today we learned how to escape from fear.
There are four good habits that each of the four should develop.
1. Develop the habit of accepting change.
2. Develop the habit of accepting the inevitable.
3. Develop the habit of making factual judgments.
4. Develop the habit of fully trusting God.
Now, I bless you all to overcome the world with courage even in the midst of fear.