There are different kinds of fear. There’s the kind that is afraid of other people – what they will or will not do. That’s a lack of love.
There’s the kind of fear that is afraid that bad things will happen. That’s a lack of hope.
There’s the kind of fear that is afraid of the darkness in the world. That’s a lack of trust in God.
There are other kinds of fear, too, but they all usually come back to a lack of trust or love. Ultimately, either one can be traced back to our relationship with God and how we view Him – do we actually, really, truly believe that He loves us? Do we really and truly believe that He is good? Do we trust Him – really trust Him?
These are not easy questions to answer. It’s simple enough to have a general knowledge that God loves us – after all, He sent Jesus to die for us (Romans 5:8). We sing about how God is good. And we all know that we should trust God, especially when it comes to financial woes.
But when we get down to the everyday reality of our hearts, the high-level mental knowledge isn’t necessarily our actual experience. Do we think of God as someone Who will punish us for our misdeeds or perhaps overlook the little things in life? Or as someone Whose love is so enormous for us, specifically, that the highest heavens can’t contain it all? (Ephesians 3:18-19)
Do we view God’s goodness as a truth – “Oh, sure; He’s the giver of good gifts”? (James 1:7) Or do we live with the absolute assurance that God is good and every single thing He does and every single interaction He has with us is good, from the huge and important to the totally mundane? (Psalm 37:23)
Do we trust in God as a matter of religious duty? Or is our trust in God so ingrained into our lives and our faith that it’s a matter of our current reality? (Psalm 28:7)
I don’t intend judgement with these questions. Instead, I want this to be an encouragement with practical application: If you want to walk out of fear, the place to start is with trusting God. How we view Him and His ways, as well as how we interact with Him, will build the foundation for trust that will overcome any fear we might face in this life.
