Fear’s greatest deception may be that it carries an air of inevitability – as if fear is the only appropriate response to a very troubling circumstance. Yet the phrase, “Do not fear,” appears 57 times in the Bible. The Lord is not only encouraging us not to fear, but clearly indicating we don’t have to fear. Fear is, after all, a choice. Does the Lord make it too easy? Perhaps we just make it too hard.

The Bible and history provide a long list of those who scoffed at fear in the midst of the most daunting dilemmas. You can join this list. Still have some doubts? Honestly, I still struggle with fears and insecurities. I’ve been thinking recently about root beliefs that bring me freedom from fear. The Lord wants to be our Stronghold, not fear.

1) God is on your side.

The God and King of the universe adopts those who receive Jesus’ free gift of righteousness into His royal family. (more on how here). To make this possible, He gave us His very best – Jesus. All other needs are minor and He willingly meets those needs FOR FREE. Freedom from fear is one of the “all things” that He freely guarantees in Romans 8.

If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? – Romans 8:31b-32

 2) God guarantees victory over any fear.

Think about it – can anything be stronger or more powerful than God or His love? No possible way! So we can be totally victorious over fear in any situation – including sickness.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. – Romans 8:35 & 37

 Please note: the ability and power to overcome fear does not come from you – it comes from Him!

 3) God is not punishing you.

Sometimes we believe that we deserve something bad to happen to us. So the Lord will certainly not deliver us or even help us – we are on our own. This would certainly be cause to fear – if it were true. We must shake all guilt and shame through the work and shed blood of Christ on the cross. If you have trusted in Him and Him alone as your personal Savior, realize He has taken away all of your sins at the cross, even sins for which you’re struggling to forgive yourself.

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. – Romans 8:1

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. – 1 John 4:18 

Don’t ask for freedom from fear. Based on these passages, you already have it! So just claim your freedom now. Just thank Him now for granting it to you freely!

For a related devotional – check out “Panic Is A Choice.”

Lord, we fear NOTHING with You on our side!

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. – Isaiah 55:9

Could the Lord have created a solar system on a smaller scale? Well sure, He can do anything. Is there a message in the vastness of the scale He chose? Definitely! To quote Him: “As high as the heavens are above the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Now, do we really believe we could advise the Lord on how to better run His universe? The closest star in the heavens is a mere 93 million miles higher than the earth – quite the “knowledge gap.”

To get a better grip on this gap, consider the quiz God gave Job after listening to him spout off about the mysteries of His universe. Yet realize God’s list of questions for Job continues on for several chapters.

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now gird up your loins like a man, and I will ask you, and you instruct Me! Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”

Job quickly got the point. To properly evaluate God’s choices, our experience, wisdom and capabilities must match His experience, wisdom and capabilities. Keep in mind, Job’s exchange with God came fresh from the pain of Job’s loss of his ten children, all of his possessions, and last but not least, his health. So even in the agony of the tragic storms of life we have to remind ourselves of the knowledge gap.

Recently Stronghold Ministry has been praying for two young mothers fighting Stage IV metastatic melanoma. No doubt our intensity has been miniscule compared to the wrestling of small armies of friends and family. Still, both mothers passed away this past month… and both had four children. I, along with many others ask, “Why, Lord?”

Let’s suppose the best, most insightful answers to this question forms a tall mountain, the Mt. Everest of human understanding. Still, while comparing our highest mountain peak to the height of the sun, our answers are dwarfed by God’s answers. Someday in heaven we’ll fully explore and grasp the wonders of His ways, but for now, what can bridge this gap?

At the top of our knowledge mountain stands a cross – The Wonderful Cross – which extends through the heavens, touching the outer edges of the universe, and forever declaring God’s good intentions towards us. Once we were totally undeserving, yet He sent Jesus, His Son, to sacrifice Himself on that cross to deliver us sinners from eternal death and punishment.

 For Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You? (Psalm 71:19).

 For me, the cross fully explains all that I don’t yet understand. How about you?

Lord, we struggle – but help us trust your heart.

Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. -Habakkuk 3:17-18

When my son and daughter were about 10 & 9 years old, we were walking along the shore of a lake. My son abruptly announced, “I smell Mexican food.” We were two miles from any restaurant, so I thought he might just be hungry. We walked another one hundred yards, and as we got closer to a truck parked along the lake, he said, “It’s in there.” Sure enough, as we looked at the seat of the unoccupied truck, there was a full bag of fast food from a familiar restaurant. I asked him how he could have detected the food from such a long distance, he said, “Dad, I was born to eat Mexican food.”

Now we all have different tastes and callings which we were born to carry out, but there is a common inclination in every human – praise. We are innately and unavoidably drawn to find things awesome. Though we are awe-struck by many things – singers, athletes, a sunset – our Designer intended the primary object of our adoration to be Himself. He certainly is worthy, not only because of His amazing deeds, but because of His incomparable nature. Words fail to describe Him.

Praising God may flow best when circumstances are favorable. Yet when we encounter adversity, our hearts may turn elsewhere. We may be unimpressed with His ability or willingness to spare us of troubles.

Yet one thing I want to practice this year is to praise Him always. Habakkuk grasped the unconditional aspects of true worship. He wanted to praise and exult God even if he had no food! The patriarch, Job, praised God after he lost all of his earthly belongings and all ten of his children.

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.” -Job 1:20-21.

Some of us are in very difficult physical or spiritual condition because of cancer or some other trial. We don’t feel like praising, but praise lifts us into true joy above worldly suffering into heavenly realms. There, all that matters is that God is good and He always has the last word. So praise Him! Praise becomes you. You were born for this.

Lord, give us a spirit of praise and worship of You – You are worthy!