Courage and Overcoming Fear

A great lie of the devil is that in order to be brave you must be fearless. If that were the case, most of the heroes of history would fail to pass this test. When God states, “let not your heart be troubled (John 14:1),” he is communicating a powerful truth. We must make a free-will decision to agree with God’s promises of victory and protection. We consent in a very simple fashion, by trusting God. How can we guard our heart from control by fear? We avoid slavery by praying, surrendering control, calling upon him, worshiping God, repenting, meditating on his promises, and giving thanks. Any one of these actions indicates harmony with God’s will. God tells us to “fear not,” but there is a subtle distinction. God created us with the fear response to protect us against danger. God’s main goal is to reassure you of his protection so you will choose not to act on fear and avoid self-condemnation for experiencing physical fear. Fear is a necessary emotion in the temporal world, but it is a weapon of destruction in the spiritual. The origin of fear is separation from God; hence it is a foretaste of hell: the complete absence of God’s presence.