I sat in the parking lot of the Walkway
Over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie and my car wouldn’t start. My phone had just
died and there wasn’t anyone I knew around the area. I didn’t exactly panic,
but became anxious. I grew increasingly annoyed as I tried several times to get
the engine to turn over. What could I do? I said a hasty prayer and tried
turning on my phone. It responded! I immediately called roadside assistance and
hoped that it would connect me before the phone turned off. I was nervous
because there’s always so much info to input before you got a person. On top of
it, this company wanted me to do it all on-line to pinpoint my location. I
prayed a little more fervently. My phone didn’t die and I got through. Now to
wait for the call back. I phoned home just in case by some miracle my husband
would pick up. NO such luck. I texted my friends that the writer’s meeting at
my house would be delayed. A friend offered to come and get me, but I declined.
I needed to be with the car.
I awaited the tow company’s phone
call. About a half an hour passed and still no tow truck. Finally, it showed
up. The service man tried jumping it with his special battery pack. NO go. I got
worried. Oh no. What will happen next? The dealership is so far and they’ll
change me and arm and a leg! It turned out that they did have to tow the car
all the way to Kingston. The tow guy said it was probably the starter. Of
course, the warranty had just run out and I had just paid off the car this month,
but I refused to get depressed. The guy was very nice and offered to drive me
to a diner where I could wait for a ride. My friend Evelyn rushed over to pick
me up and we had dinner together. In the end it all turned out well, though I
had some anxious and fearful moments at that time.
Fear. It can hold you in its grip if
you let it. We’re all subject to it and the slew of anxieties that result from
its wake. Since God is our creator, He understands our weakness to give into
fear. Concerned, He has encouraged us over three hundred times in the Bible, “Do
not fear.” You could easily argue, easier said than done. After all, He’s God. Yet
the Almighty goes further to assure us why we don’t need to fear
Here are a few scriptures that God
gives us reasons why we don’t need to let fear have the upper hand. Do not fear
because:
God will be
with you. Joshua 1:9
God will be with you and strengthen
you. Isaiah 41:10
God knows everything ahead of
time. Isaiah 44: 8
God has redeemed you and will
protect you. Isaiah 43:1
God has given us the kingdom.
Luke 12:32
God gives us peace unlike the
world knows. John 14:27
If we can get a hold of that fear, face it head on and
proclaim faith in God to work it all out for good, we’re well on our way to conquering
fear. If we can believe in a few of the hundreds of promises His Word offers us,
we will begin the journey of trusting and overcoming fear. If we can look fear in the
face and tell it. “You’re a liar," then our false beliefs about ourselves, God
and our circumstances will fall away like dead leaves.
I encourage you today to get into the Word of God and mine the
treasures of His promises. One of my favorites is “God has not given us a
spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). Fear eats
away at faith and your mind, so don’t entertain it for long. Call on the Lord to help you. Alongside this verse is another powerful one I
quote in fearful circumstances. “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
(Romans 8:31). Nobody can overcome God or His plans. Just contemplate that and
fear will run away, so you don't have to. 
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