Fear

We are only born with two fears: the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. Fear usually develops as we get older.

Fear is a chain reaction in the brain that starts with a stressful stimulus and ends with the release of chemicals that cause a racing heart, fast breathing and energized muscles, among other things, also known as the fight or flight response.

Fear is something that many of us struggle with. Fear is not always bad because it alerts us of dangerous situations. But when fear takes over our lives, then it is not a good thing.

These are common fears that people have: fear of the unknown, fear of spiders, fear of snakes, fear of dogs, fear of clowns, fear of heights, fear of the dark, fear of public speaking, and the fear of death.

Then there are those fears that are natural to have at some point. If someone would point a gun at you, then it would be natural to fear for your own life. In a season like Covid-19 it is natural to feel fear at some point. We might be scared of catching this virus, or that one of our family members is going to catch it.

F.E.A.R. is an acronym for False Evidence Appearing Real. This is true in some cases but not all. If you believe that some thing is going to happen to you, because you have read, heard or seen something happen then it is False Evidence Appearing Real. But if you are walking in a forest and someone starts to chase you, then it is not False Evidence Appearing Real, because something scary is actually happening to you.

I have struggled with fear for as long as I can remember. Some of these experiences with fear have been False Evidence Appearing Real, and some of these fears have been very real.

I was once watching a movie with one of my sisters, and I think that my brother was watching the movie too. The movie was from Hallmark Channel. It was a movie series called Garage Sale Mysteries. The movie was not scary, but it was very suspenseful. When I went to bed that night I had some of the scenes from the movie stuck in my mind. The more I thought about some of the scenes in the movie, the more scarier it became. I had a hard time sleeping that night, and my heart was beating faster, I was also sweating very much too. This has not been the only time that something like this has happened to me. I have had times when I have seen or read something on the news, and the more I thought about it the more scarier it became in my mind.

As I think back on the times when I have been fearful, I often wonder why I was so afraid then. The answer to that is because I let one fearful thought take control of my mind. The more we feed on our fearful thoughts, the more it grows and develops.

The only way you can fight the presence of fear that you can not see is the name of Jesus. – Sadie Robertson

I wish that I would have heard this quote at a much earlier time. I’m sure that it would have been helpful for me to remember this in my most fearful moments.

The name of Jesus is so powerful. You can call on the name of Jesus every time when a seed of fear comes in your mind. Reciting bible verses about fear is something that we can do too. God knew that we would all experience fear in our lives at some point. In the bible God tells us more than 365 times to not fear.

The next time when you experience fear in your life, try to remember to call on the name of Jesus, and recite your favourite bible verse about fear.