Have No Fear

How to Overcome Your Fears

Millennials (those born between 1981 and 2000) are sometimes known as ‘generation fear’. In one of her most popular songs, Lily Allen sings about ‘being taken over by the fear’.

‘Fear’ carries two meanings in the Bible – one healthy, one unhealthy. In the good sense of the word, it is usually used in the context of respect for God and sometimes of respect for people (especially those in authority).

In the bad sense, it means to be frightened. We are supposed to fear God (in the good sense) and not be frightened of anyone or anything else. Many people today live with the opposite. They do not fear God but their lives are full of the wrong kinds of fear.

How can you overcome your fears?

Be honest about your fears

Psalm 39:1-13

All of us experience fear. You can try to suppress and deny your fears or you can be honest and open about them.

David comes before God with some burning questions. He has tried being ‘silent and still’ but found that his ‘anguish increased’ when he wasn’t communicating with God (v.2).

He has realised how much of human life is spent in anxiety and fear. However, the brevity of life gives perspective to our anxieties. Life is fleeting (v.4). Our lives are ‘but a breath’ (v. 5). Fear often concerns money: ‘Human beings… bustle about, but only in vain; they heap up wealth, not knowing who will get it’ (v.6).

David is particularly concerned about the suffering that he sees around him and in his own life. He cannot understand how God can allow it. He is so incensed by God’s actions that he even prays, ‘Look away from me, that I may rejoice again’ (v.13).

In the midst of desperation, it is healthy to voice your concerns and grievances to God. God understands that suffering will cause us confusion and grief – he went through the worst of it for us.

This psalm does not provide the full answer to these fears about suffering. Yet, right at the heart of the psalm, as David lays his fears, anguish and frustration before God, we see that he finds the answer in his relationship with God. David declares to God: ‘My hope is in you’ (v.7). And his prayer at the end is a recognition that he depends completely on God for an answer.

Life is too short to worry about stupid things. Pray. Trust God. Enjoy life. Don’t let the little things get you down.