Be Fearless. But Fear Him!

While the current coronavirus outbreak poses a very real physical threat to humanity, it has brought with it an even greater psychological threat, one that will affect those who never even contract the virus. One person who was interviewed on the news explained that she usually suffers from anxiety and that the virus outbreak has caused her severe panic attacks. A journalist for a South African news outlet wrote a detailed account of his personal terror of contracting the virus, knowing that he already has severe respiratory problems. Thousands of others are in danger of losing their income and are left wondering if they will survive the lock downs imposed in their home countries. These are all real, painful fears.

While the coronavirus appears to have ramped up global levels of anxiety and fear, it seems that our current society is more riddled with anxiety today than at any previous time. There are even reports of pre-teen children being anxious about their futures – so much for carefree childhoods! Anxiety and its frequent companion, depression, are rife within our society today, and the coronavirus is only making it worse.

If you already feel anxious about life – your personal future, the future of your country, the state of the natural world, your family, career or any of the other hundred and one things that seem to bear in on us every day – then the coronavirus may feel like the straw that could break the camel’s back.

The solution to the vexing problems of our day are to be found in a place where most people have stopped looking – the Bible. It even contains a specific promise about this very issue – Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad (Prov. 12:25). A good word can be a word of personal encouragement, but ultimately the Good Word contains everything that can “make our hearts glad” once more. So if you want a chance to be free from your anxiety and depression, join me as I explore the solutions found in the Good Word.

A cursory glance at what the Bible says about anxiety and worrying may seem rather flippant and shallow. Jesus made the following statements: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matt. 6:34) “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.” (Luke 12:29-30). And Paul tells the church in Philippi to “Be anxious for nothing” (Phil. 4:6a). Try quoting these verses to someone in the midst of a panic attack and you may get a slap, at best!

This is why we need to go beyond quoting a few Bible verses, as though they are nice little sayings that come out of a fortune cookie. If the sayings above were just presented on their own as good advice, then they would be even less effective than said cookie, or reading your daily horoscope. They could even deepen your state of anxiety, as they command something that seems to be entirely out of your reach, or anyone’s reach, for that matter. How could any thinking person possibly be anxious for nothing? Or not worry about the basic necessities of life? Or their future? One would need to surgically remove a large chunk of our brains to achieve such a thing!

But Jesus and Paul aren’t asking us to have brain surgery. They’re asking us to use the part of our mind that feels fear for what it was originally meant to do. One of Jesus’ key teachings on fear deals with being afraid of what other people may think of us or do to us, a major source of anxiety for many people. He makes this rather drastic statement: “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matt. 10:28). The fear of actually being killed is an extreme example that most of us never face; we rather fear people killing our reputation or killing our friendship or social status. These are all real fears that can be included in Jesus’s command – do not fear people.

In this verse and elsewhere, Jesus not only tells us what not to fear, but what we should fear – God (read the verses around the passages quoted above to see what I mean). These two thoughts are linked very closely for a reason. I believe that the part of our mind that feels fear can be used either to fear man or to fear God and that these fears are inversely related. The more you fear God, the less you fear man, and vice versa. The key to living the reality of “be anxious for nothing” and “do not worry about tomorrow” is found right here – fear God. Is it any wonder that a society that has rejected God and blasphemes His name daily is filled with anxiety?

But what does it mean to fear God? Surely living in fear of the awesome, holy Creator of heaven and earth is even worse than living in fear of people or the future? While the two types of fear appear to be linked, as explained above, they evoke entirely different emotions within us. The fear of man or the uncertain future (in your personal life, county, or the world) brings out anxiety, so I call it “anxious fear”. The fear of God comes with an understanding of what He has done (created the universe and each one of us) and who He is (holy, powerful, good, loving), which brings out awe – dumbstruck amazement – so I call it “awesome fear”.

Our capacity to fear seems to have both a conscious and subconscious aspect to it. Worry is usually a conscious activity, but it doesn’t always stop there. Those living with anxious fear sometimes can’t even explain what they fear or why the feeling can be so intense that it breaks out in panic attacks. People struggling with depression have some idea that it is linked to anxiety, but what exactly they are anxious about and why they even feel depressed remains an enigma. As a result, their efforts to escape from this fear are severely hampered, as their subconscious just keeps dragging them back down to the depths.

The fear of God is a similarly enigmatic experience. Awesome fear can be generated by a conscious activity as one thinks about God, but it also works in the subconscious in ways we cannot explain. Just as anxious fear is accompanied by depression, awesome fear is accompanied by joy. Joy is not an easy thing to explain (I have tried my best here) – it seems to live in the subconscious and work in exactly the opposite way to depression. Even when life around us starts closing in and we start feeling worried in our conscious mind, joy can enter our heart and drag us up to the heights where God is.

Because of the conscious-subconscious nature of fear, I believe it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to “fix” someone who has the subconscious issue of depression by giving them things for their conscious mind to think about. This is why psychotherapists can only do so much by talking to their patients; those who have deep-seated feelings of depression are almost always prescribed chemical anti-depressants. While these chemicals may help reduce the symptoms of depression, there is a more excellent way.

If the Bible were indeed just a collection of good advice for our conscious mind to contemplate, it would be useless against the terror of subconscious depression. People who read it as just that and do not seek the Author of the book will find very little lasting help for their real-world problems. Yet the Author not only wrote the book, but He also crafted the human brain and understands the very depths of the human soul. The teachings I have highlighted above about worry and anxiety are just pointers along the path; the pointers are of no use unless you follow them to the destination.

Unlike the psychologists, I do not claim to be able to relieve anyone’s anxiety or depression. This article is not a self-help guide, nor is the Bible. The deep recesses of the heart and soul are beyond our reach and all the drugs in the world cannot fully heal that which is broken deep within us. Yet there is One who can. The purpose of this writing and the Bible itself is to direct the reader to that One.

When we find out who God really is and believe in what the Son of God has done for us on the cross, then the relationship between us and our Creator begins to heal and we start to experience awesome fear. This healing takes place deep within our souls and proceeds at the same rate that we surrender to Him and let Him take His rightful place as King of our hearts and lives. This process may take a while (depending on how stubborn we are!), but as we progress along this path we start to realise something – anxious fear is declining, while awesome fear is growing. Depression will not just be dampened (as it is with chemical drugs), but muscled out of our hearts by the more powerful experience of joy.

All born again Christians are on this path of increasing surrender, awesome fear and joy. We have not yet arrived at the final destination of complete surrender and joy, so we may still struggle with the worry and anxiety of the world from time to time. Depression is one of Satan’s favourite weapons, and he will certainly use it against anyone who is slowly being released from its terrible grip. As one who is just walking along the path, I cannot tell you how to gain total freedom from anxiety and depression, but I know Someone who can set you free. As you walk with the Lord Jesus Christ, He will show you what it means to be fearless in this life, while you learn to fear Him!