FEAR NOT

“The LORD is my light and salvation; whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

-Psalm 27:1

THE CHALLENGE WE FACE

Typical discussions of FEAR and the warrior are almost always conducted in a secular context and space. Increasingly over the past 50 years, our society has demanded this of us in the name of inclusiveness and progressivism.

As believers, this forces us into an impossible spot philosophically. Yes, we can talk about FEAR as an evolutionary life-saving signal, the first sign our body gives us – the gut feeling, the hairs standing up on the back of our neck – that something is about to go down. We can talk about FEAR as a trigger, kicking us into our journey around the OODA loop and preceding our subsequent decisions and action.

But what we still aren’t permitted to do, when we’re having these conversations at conferences and seminars or government-funded training rooms (where most of our tactical mindset conversations take place), is deepen the conversation to address the issue of FEAR from the perspective of our faith-based paradigm.

This backs us into a corner when it comes to speaking real things that need to be said when Christians talk about fear.

FEAR: A GAP BETWEEN KNOWN AND UNKNOWN

FEAR, after all, is only about the gap between the known and the unknown. This is why the feeling in your gut as you head outside the wire is different on your tenth deployment than on your first. Experience and preparation hone our instincts and narrow the scope of who or what can actually get the drop on us.

For non-believers, it stops there. FEAR is a biological process, an evolutionary signal, and something we can manage with our mindset and breathwork. If FEAR gets out of hand, it’s a pathology – we call it a disorder and seek counseling and medical help.

But for believers, only approaching FEAR in this accepted cultural context is a BAD REP if we don’t do the work of digging deeper and framing it out in the context of our FAITH.

THE BIBLICAL INSTRUCTION WE HAVE RECEIVED

As warriors in the name of Christ, our approach to evil must be firm and unequivocal. Fear for fear’s sake – or even fear of death – have no place in our minds because God has made it clear that we are to go forth and fight the battles to which He’s assigned us with clarity of purpose and full faith in His guidance and faithfulness.

The Biblical direction we have received on this topic is vast and direct:    

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.” – Psalm 46:1-3

In the face of any threat, even an insurmountable natural disaster, God has assured that He will be “a very present help in trouble,” and “our refuge and strength.” He assures us that he will never leave our side:

“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” – Deuteronomy 31:6

Fear and dread are human emotions that we feel in the face of evil because we do not know what the future holds. Still, our omnipotent and omniscient God tells the believer that He walks alongside us into battle, the most loyal of teammates (“He will not leave you or forsake you”). This knowledge-that God is at our side throughout every trial we face-should resolve our every fear, as we are reminded in Psalm 23:

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” – Psalm 23:4

When it comes to facing the possibility of death, the BELIEVER need not fear because there is no gap between what we know to be true of this life and what we have full faith awaits us in the next. If we lay down our lives in the fight against evil, and we truly believe, then we know where we are going – and that should give us peace as we forge ahead in battle. This is made crystal clear in Psalm 91:

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” – Psalm 91:1-2

This week, while millions of people will gorge on candy accompanied by the mental, emotional, and spiritual “junk food” of horror and gore content – “fear porn” to stoke and titillate their deepest fears—avail yourself of the opportunity to meditate on these truths:

Evil is real, and it is not entertainment; it is a reality for which we train, and which a great many have sacrificed to confront.

God is also real, and His assignment to us could not be clearer:

“Fear not, for I am with you.” – Isaiah 41:10

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