Fear is something none of us can escape, but I often feel I struggle more with it than others do. I’m not talking about the fears I believe I was born with such as ophidiophobia (fear of snakes), claustrophobia, acrophobia (free of heights), and glossophobia (fear of public speaking).  Those types of fears exist on the periphery and can easily be managed with avoidance.

I’m also not referring to the fears we experience in response to certain situations, such as the fear I felt a week ago when our dog got scared and ran away, not once, but twice. She has taken off before, usually preferring to stay close to me, so I admit I panicked and was afraid I might lose her permanently. This, in turn, has given birth to the lingering fear that she will run again if something scares her (which sadly is not uncommon.)   As horrible as this experience was though, it was temporary and served an important purpose in teaching me to be more cautious in the future.

The type of fear I want to focus on here is the irrational consuming kind that can often times become crippling if left unchecked.  I believe it’s worth talking about because until recently I wasn’t really conscious of its true source, which may be the case for others as well.

First Peter 5:8 tells us that our enemy, the Devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking people to devour.  I believe anyone can fall prey to this spiritual warfare because Satan delights in creating separation from God. He has many tools at his disposal, one of which is the ability to study our habits and pinpoint our fears. He then uses them to deceive us and keep us from walking by faith. Some examples would be fear of death, failure, rejection, embarrassment, the list can go on and on.

The fear Satan likes to exploit in me is a fear of serious illness. After watching both my sisters battle cancer and losing my mom to it in 2016, I admit to being fearful of it striking again. Because of this, when I or someone I love, experience unusual or chronic physical problems, Satan swoops in and plants seeds of doubt which quickly grow into worst case scenarios.

For the past several months, I have been struggling with vertigo, neck pain and pressure in my inner ears. Despite a visit to an ENT to have a tube placed in my ear, the symptoms have not resolved, which has spawned an irrational fear of a tumor being the root cause of my problems. Nights are often the worst because I will experience dizziness while turning in bed and then lie awake as my mind runs away on me. Darkness has a way of amplifying fear.

In the past, these fears would consume me and create a huge amount of anxiety clouding my focus and causing me to be self-centered. Thankfully, I am getting better at controlling these thoughts because of our current Bible study, The Bondage Breaker by Neil T. Anderson. Through this study, I have learned to take each thought captive and examine its source.   2 Timothy 1:7 tells us: For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. In fact, the term “fear not” is used more than 100 times throughout the Bible, so it is clearly something God understood we would struggle with after man’s fall into sin. The key is to remember that fearful thoughts do not come from our Creator, but are Satan’s attempt to create separation between Christ and his followers. The fact that Jesus overcame sin, death and the devil means all who have accepted Christ have the ability to live without fear.

Does that mean nothing bad will ever happen? Absolutely not! The Bible also tells us that in the world we will have trouble, but as believers, we can rest in the assurance that whatever trials we experience are temporary because the battle has already been won.  Because of Jesus’ victory, we can live joyfully, not fearfully.

That’s why I vow to keep following. One day at a time.