How to Face Fear Faithfully – Part Two

“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41: 10   

An estimated 10 million Americans failing to live in accordance with that text suffer from anxiety neurosis. There are so many phobias that there is even a phobophobia, a fear of fear.

Fear has been mankind’s nemesis ever since Adam hid himself.

Fear paralyzes reason. Bible knowledge is the antidote to fear.

Faith works against such obstacles as: 1) past failures, 2) present difficulties, 3) the silence of God.

Great honor belongs to all to whom God spoke these words. If you are one of His children, that means you. It is an honor because these words mean He knows about you and cares about you.

The expression “fear not” indicates God wants you to live in terms of personal intimacy with Him.

With the force of a bolt of lightning God instructs us not to be dismayed.

The word dismayed refers to a sudden complete loss of courage, to become utterly disheartened. When the text says, “Don’t be dismayed” it simply means, “Don’t give up and quit.” Does that sound like your current address? Are you living at the corner of “Give Up” and “Quit” streets?

John Bunyan, in his incomparable “Pilgrim’s Progress,” describes certain people graphically. I hope this description doesn’t fit you. Bunyan uses illustrative language to depict the conditions of people He spoke of being in a “Slough of Despond.” A slough is a kind of swamp. Despond is short for despondency. He says of certain people: “They need not fear the Slough of Despond for they carry a slough within their heart, they never get it out and they never get out of it.”

God says, “Don’t give up. Don’t quit. Don’t get bogged down in the Slough of Despond.” Faith is confidence in His character that keeps us out of the Slough of Despond..

Faith is consciousness that God is present even when our feelings tell us He isn’t. Faith acknowledges God has entered into an eternal covenant with us that cannot be broken which assures us He is obligated to finish the work He has begun in us. Faith knows our Refining God has a purpose in every degree He allows in our furnace.

Faith knows that when it is being applied, others are learning lessons from us they could not comprehend any other way.