Trust or Fear

What do you do when you experience fear? They say that people have three basic reactions – fight, flee, or freeze. Depending on the reason for the fear each of these may be best choice, but what about those times when the fear has no clear reason or we don’t know how to react? There is a fourth response which is good in any situation – Faith, trust in God.

Isaiah 12:2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.”

God is the source of our help

Salvation – rescue, deliverance. It implies every kind of assistance for body and soul.

This is our greatest need – not money, or health, or other people, but knowing God as our Savior.

Psalm 46:1–2 NIV84

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

He becomes our strength

Go into Barnes & Noble, or any major bookstore, and take a look at the self-help section. You’ll find suggestions for dealing with all kinds of situations. While some of them may be helpful they all have one shortcoming, evident in the name of the section: Self-help. If we look mostly to ourselves for help we will continue to have problems.

Because of His great love

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Trust is how we obtain that help

To trust is to be confident, rely on, believe.

Proverbs 3:5–6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Isaiah 26:3–4 NIV84

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.

God’s character

God’s help in the past

We are to walk by faith, not by sight or feelings.

Cast our anxiety on Him

Shirley Dobson, wife of James Dobson shares this experience: One night about 2:00 a.m., I awoke with a start. I was afraid and didn’t know why. For a few minutes (it seemed like hours!), I lay in bed worrying. Finally, I forced myself out of bed and sank to my knees.

“Lord, I don’t know why I’m so frightened,” I prayed. “I ask you to watch over our home and to protect our family. Send your guardian angel to be with us.” I climbed back into bed, and in about half an hour I was back asleep.

The next morning our babysitter, who lived across the street, came running over. “Mrs. Dobson, did you hear what happened? A burglar robbed your next-door neighbor’s house last night!”

It was true. A thief had broken in, entered the couple’s bedroom while they slept, and snatched the husband’s wallet from a dresser. The burglar escaped with the family’s vacation money, about $500. The police determined the time of the robbery: about 2:00 a.m. My mind reeled at the thought. “If a burglar wanted to break into our house,” I said, “he would probably try to get in through the bathroom window near our children’s bedrooms. There’s a hedge, and he’d be shielded from view. Let’s go look.”

When we looked at the window on the other side of the house, we saw that the screen was bent and the sill splintered. Someone had indeed tried to break in!

I am convinced that God protected us that night. I was surprised, but I should not have been. For years, Jim and I had prayed and fasted, trusting God to protect our family. We knew God powerfully works through prayer. On that dark early morning, my trust was tested in a frantic moment, and God proved faithful.

Conquering our fears is the result

When we focus on God’s promises and His faithfulness we will see our situation in a new way. We will see that even the frightening experiences of life are leading us more deeply into our salvation.

When we focus primarily upon our needs we will be in difficulty, for supply of those needs becomes the ultimate goal and all else, including the Sovereign of the universe, becomes but a means to that end.

Fear becomes a problem when a person is afraid of things that are not real or when the feeling of fear is out of proportion to the real danger present. In the long run, fear is evidence of lack of faith.

Report of the spies after checking out the Promised Land.

Deuteronomy 7:17–18 You may say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?” But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.

Peter walking on the water.

There are four major relational fears that people experience that can significantly alter their quality of life:

fear of failure – God will enable us to do whatever He calls us to do

fear of rejection – while people might reject us, God has called us to be His, and His calling is sure. Romans 11:29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.

fear of abandonment – God will never leave or forsake us

and fear of death or dying – whoever believes in Jesus will never truly die.

Joyful praise is our response

Praise and thanks are essential to robust spiritual life, not because God needs them, but because we need to give them.

Psalm 28:7–8 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. The LORD is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.

Philippians 4:6–7 NIV84

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

We don’t want to be like this person:

A Japanese soldier by the name of Shoichi Yokoi lived in a cave on the island of Guam to which he fled in 1944 when the tides of war began to change. Fearing for his life, this man stayed hidden for twenty-eight years in the jungle cave, coming out only at night. During this long period of time, this self-imposed hermit lived on frogs, rats, snails, shrimp, nuts, and mangoes. He had carried a pair of trousers and a jacket from a burlaplike cloth made from tree bark.

Yokoi said that he knew the war was over because of leaflets that were scattered throughout the jungles of Guam. But he was afraid that if he came out of hiding, he would be executed.

Finally, two hunters came upon him and told him that he need not hide any longer. At last he was free, and with new clothes to wear and food to eat, he was taken by plane to his home.

1 Peter 5:7 NIV84

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.