Have you ever experienced those emotions? Of course! Now it’s one thing to define fear—but how do you break its grip? Many Christians get lost in the voluminous reading of books about fear and never get off the ground with a workable plan. That’s why I offer you this manual as a simple, workable plan that has become part of my life in helping me face many fears and, one by one, to break their grip.

WHERE DID FEAR START?

Fear began in the Garden of Eden. It came because a young couple could no longer say with certainty that they were in the will of God. Our first parents sinned, tried to hide from God, and answered His “Where are you?” with “I was afraid because I was naked…” From then on the Bible is one long story of man surrendering to fear and God trying to show him how to break its grip.

Both Old and New Testaments reveal that we are part of a fear-filled society. Throughout Scripture comes the appeal from God, “Fear not!” To avoid the idea that fear is sent by God and thus accept it as a necessary part of life, we’re told in II Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

YOU’RE NOT ALONE

Today’s wild, immoral, “anything is OK” society fosters fear. It’s spreading everywhere. Women fear rape and murder. Older people fear loneliness, growing old and dying alone. Young people fear their elders will ignite the world in a nuclear war. People barricade themselves behind fortress homes, fearing robbery and murder.

Add to those a great number of other fears such as fear of death, disease, rejection, failure, criticism, etc., and the problem is monumental. I don’t know all the fears you’re facing. But I want to share some of my own—hoping you’ll draw from my experiences, compare them with your own, and learn that you possess the awesome power of God within you to break every one of those fears. Only one “fear” is justified in a Christian life and that is one of reverential awe where God says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge…” (Proverbs 1:7).

FEARS I HAVE FACED

For this, I would need a book but I’ll list the biggest. As a Christian, I have feared death, sickness and failure. I have feared the past affecting me, the present infecting me and the future rejecting me. I have feared God, family and friends turning against me. I have feared possible crashes in airplanes, ships and cars. I have feared cancer and heart attacks. I have feared stepping out on faith to obey God for fear of failure and looking like a fool.

I can almost hear what you’re saying, “Frank, it sounds like you’ve feared just about everything.” You’re right! That’s why there’s hope for you! Now I’m going to tell you how I’ve learned (and am still learning) to break fear’s ugly grip and expel it out of doors from my life. I’ll do these in simple, numbered steps that you can follow.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

ST. PAUL SCHOOL OF LEADERSHIP

“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (I Corinthians 11:1)