Responding to Fear with Faith

Another clap of thunder cut through the steady drumbeat of unrelenting rain. Record-breaking rains had settled over our region. Lightning and thunder frequently accompanied the incessant showers and their irregular occurrences often startled me.

While I wasn’t afraid of the thunder, it reminded me of the different responses our various pets had displayed over the years each time thunderstorms passed through.

Flight

Lacy tried to distance herself from the thunderous booms. She trembled with her tail between her legs, even as she ran throughout our home. Her attempts to escape the source of her fear took her to the corners of every room in our house. Yet she couldn’t run far enough away to escape the source of her fear.

Freeze

Romer was a hefty boxer whose size contradicted his disposition. Big, bold, and affectionate, he behaved more like a giant teddy bear than a boxer . . . until thunderstorms arrived. Then this 90-lb. dog would morph into a scaredy-cat. And my scaredy-cat dealt with his fear by attempting to hide. He would squeeze his body into any enclosed space he could find, including inside closets and under tables and desks. But he also could not escape the source of his fear.

Faith

Duke was another boxer who trembled at the first hint of rolling thunder. But he did not try to run away from his fear or hide from it. Instead, he searched the house for me and drew as close to me as possible, often trying to climb into my lap for security.

My responses

I confess, during various storms of life, I have, at times, reflected all 3 approaches in responding to fear. I have run everywhere, other than to the Lord, with the goal of seeking distractions. I’ve tried to resolve my fears with ineffective solutions. And I’ve pursued a practice of avoidance.

Still, I’ve learned that God doesn’t leave us on our own when it comes to fear. His Word offers the following helps in responding to fear with faith:

• Pray:
  • Paul wrote, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

• Remember who we belong to:
  • David also wrote in Psalm 27:1, “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?”
• Trust:
  • David wrote in Psalm 56:3-4, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid.”
• Don’t rely on your own finite resources:
  • Proverbs 3:5–6 reminds us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
• Worship:
  • We read in Acts 16:25 that when Paul and Silas were in prison, they sang!
    “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”

Fear can be paralyzing and distracting. Or it can cause us to draw closer to our heavenly Father. Which will it do for you?

How have you responded to fearful situations?

Which of these biblical solutions to fear will you practice the next time you are fearful?