Scriptures to Help You Overcome Fear

Franklin D. Roosevelt said in his first inaugural speech, “the only thing to fear is fear itself.”  It seems that FDR is referring to the effects of fear on a person not the actual fear that is felt. So how do you alleviate fear? Many turn to the Bible for comfort when fear creeps into their lives.

“Even though I walk through the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4). This is probably one of the most well-known Scriptures quoted from the Bible. Its words provide such comfort and peacefulness to those who hear them. The fear that has built within your heart seems to just dissipate.

“For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will help you” (Isaiah 41:13) This Scripture evokes an image of a father lovingly extending his hand to a frightened child and lends his strength and comfort to that child. One of the most comforting things is to have someone sit beside you and just hold your hand. This comforting gesture gives you a feeling of safety, that you are not alone and that you just need to reach out and your heavenly Father will grab hold and walk you through your fears.

“Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.’” (Exodus 13:14-15)Even though Moses lived centuries ago, in a land so far removed from modern day life, his words still ring out and hold the same conviction as they did all those years ago. The Lord will always wrap his arms around you and keep you safe from your adversaries. He will remove the fear from your heart and guide you towards a peacefulness that calms your spirit and gives you renewed hope and strength.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6) Stand firm, even when you are feeling defeated and the fear has seeped into your entire being. The Lord is there beside through your trials and He will continue to lift you up and ease the fears that are entrenched in your heart. He knows every secret crevice of your heart and He knows the fear that is residing there, he will never leave you even though he knows your deepest terrors and secrets.

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7) The Lord gave us the power within ourselves to stand up to the fears that invade our beings. He has empowered us and given us the tools to not cower in the corner but to step forth and defeat those who are trying to intimidate us and make us cower in a corner and from the bullies of this world, whether these bullies be human or circumstance.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?...Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.” (Psalm 27:1, 3) This is another very well-known Scripture that calms the fears of people and makes the fears recede to the background and empowers you to stand against the fear that is gnawing at your heart and soul. With the Lord standing beside you, there is no one or nothing that can embed fear into you. He will keep his arms around you and protect you from any fear that tries to invade your calmness.

There are many more Scriptures that address fear and how to help alleviate it before it becomes all-consuming, paralyzing fear. With the Lord standing guard over you and swatting all the enemies away before they can fully embed within your soul and cause you an uneasiness that alters the way you live your life. The enemy will try to force his way into your heart and cause you to doubt the love that the Lord has for you, but remember the promises that the Lord has given throughout the Bible to always stand with you. “The only thing to fear is fear itself”, fear is only a feeling that can be dispelled by grabbing hold of the Lord’s hand and keeping your eyes firmly focused upon the cross.

Scriptures on Hope

People have turned to the Scriptures for centuries for comfort and to find hope in dealing with situations that seem hopeless or buried in despair.  To have hope in an unseen entity takes a great belief. Through the Bible, there are so many instances of people standing against adversity with the hope that the Lord will deliver them from the situation in which they are being persecuted. 

There are so many scriptures in the Bible that pertain to hope. Hebrews 11:1, Proverbs 24:20, Proverbs 24:14, and Jeremiah 29:11 cover hope for the future.

Proverbs 24:19-20 
"Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of wicked men for the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out."

The hopes of a true believer do not lie in things of this world, but of the promise for everlasting life through Jesus Christ. Evil or wicked men in this life are not to be envied for their Earthly possessions or what seems their good fortunes for those who are washed in the blood of Christ will be given the ultimate reward in heaven.

Proverbs 24:14 
"Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off."

A righteous man when he walks with the Lord, listens to His words, and gains wisdom will always have hope for the future and peace in knowing that the Lord will continue to provide.

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

The Lord will not forsake you when you walk with Him. He knows the paths that He wants you to follow. He will provide you with the hope and future that He has arranged for you as you continue to grow and learn in your faith.

Titus 1:1-2, Titus 3:7, 1 Corinthians 4:16-18, and 1 Peter 1:3 relate to hope of Eternal Life and Salvation

Titus 1:1-2
"Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies promised before the beginning of time,"

Before the Lord sent His son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins, He promised eternal life to those who believed in Him. After Jesus came to Earth and died for our sins, the Lord still promised eternal life for those who believed in Him and come to Him through His son.

Titus 3:7 
"so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."

Once again we are reminded that the Lord has promised eternal life for those who have accepted Jesus into their hearts and live according to the word of God.

1 Corinthians 15:19 
"If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied by more than all men."

The covenant was given by the Lord that those who believe in Him will have eternal life. By having that hope and the expectation of eternal life, we know that we will always be sheltered by the Lord. We are not to be pitied for our hope but joyful in our knowledge that we will have eternal life.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Even though these verses do not have the word hope, the meaning within them inspires hope. Although we are aging day by day and our bodies are becoming more and more frail, we still have the hope and the promise of eternal life. We know that as we walk through this fallen world, we will face pain, grief, and tribulation as well as love, joy, and contentment. But we also know that we do not truly belong in this world, we are called to a higher place once we have completed the tasks set before us here.

1 Peter 1:3 
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,"

This is another example of how the Lord has given us the promise of eternal life and that we will achieve perfection when we leave this world.

Throughout the Book of Romans, we are given uplifting words of hope.

Romans 5:2-5 
"Through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

The love of the Lord is so pure and we know that through our love and commitment to Him, we will obtain eternal life. It is this hope that sees us through the darkness of this fallen world and allows us to see the light and the path that He has chosen for us.

Romans 8:24-25
"For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."

We cannot see or touch the Lord but we can see His hand in the blessings and miracles around us in this world. We have to have hope while moving through this world, even though we cannot see our Lord or the promise of eternal life.

Romans 15:4
"For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."

We are taught to learn from history and the Bible is a history book as well as a guide book. Therefore, we must learn from the missteps of those who walked before us. We have a sense of hope as we read through the Bible and we know that through our hope and love for our Lord, we will obtain eternal life.

Romans 15:13 
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Many times we can see a light shining forth from a person and we know that they have hope in the Lord and a peace in the promise of eternal life. The Holy Spirit resides within their heart and the hope that they feel shines from deep within their soul.

The Bible offers scriptures of hope when dealing with a crisis.

Psalm 27:4-5 
"One thing I asked of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.  For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock."

When facing tribulations or stumbling blocks, we must remember to keep our eyes securely fastened upon the Lord and He will protect us and keep our enemies at bay. The Lord will pick us up and dust us off when we fall into the dirt face first and he will heal our wounds when we are attacked.

Mark 5:35-36  
"While Jesus was still speaking, some med came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler, “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why trouble the Teacher any more?” Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid, just believe.”"

Even though we cannot see the Lord or know His plans for us, we do know that He will always be there for us even when we doubt. Our faith will endure even through our missteps and our grief.

Scriptures were taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version.

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God Bless,

Rev. Michelle

1 Chronicles 16:11

I have felt let down and uneasy for several weeks. It was more of restlessness within my soul that kept me on edge and looking over my shoulder. There have been so many odd things happening lately and I had not realized until it was almost too late that Satan was whispering in my ear more and more. I won’t say that God was silent during these past weeks, but I think He was waiting.

I walked a thin line between hating God and wanting Him in my life. Things at home have been super stressful with the passing of a beloved family member and the worry about the elderly spouse left behind. As the family focused on their grief, God was pushed further away. It was not until I sat quietly at my desk that I asked the all important question: “Are you there Lord?”

I sat quietly for several minutes and then I seemed to feel a calming within my heart and heard the faintest whisper: “Here I am.” I remember smiling and then bowing my head and sobbing!

After my crying fit was over, I began praising Him and thanking Him for not abandoning me! It was then that I realized that some of my choices over the past few months had not been driven by my love of God or my desire to do His work.

I now have one of my favorite verses written on sticky notes around the house, in my office and in my car…”Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face continually” (1 Chronicles 16:11).

As I cling to these words, I am reminded that even though Satan is being a little louder than usual and very obnoxious, my God will never forsake me and that He will lend me strength when I need it most!