E66 - Hope’s Harbor Gritty Bible Devotions - FEAR - When you go after it! - Part 3 of 3
Hope’s Harbor
Gritty Bible Devotions
Episode #66
Title: Fear – Going after it and overcoming it – 3 of 3
Date: August 8, 2022
Contact: info@hopesharbor.net
Key verse(s):
Intro: Let me go ahead and get this verse out of the way: 1 John 4:18 – ‘There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.’
I’m not going to use this verse in 1 John 4 to overcome unhealthy fear because of the context in which it was written. The context is explained in the previous verses beginning with vs 14:
1 John 4:14 – ‘And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.
1 John 4:15 – ‘Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
1 John 4:16 – ‘And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
1 John 4:17 – ‘Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.’
You see, many well-meaning people confuse the statement in vs 18 to mean if their love is perfect, which means complete, they will have no fear. No fear of death it meant here because, think of it, if we fear death due to a lack of faith that is surely torture to the human spirit. Fear of death also involves bondage.
Hebrews 2:14 – ‘Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
Hebrews 2:15 – ‘and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.’
Now, we may not be able to totally cast out all fear, but we can minimize it with the application of Scripture much like applying medicine to illness.
Keep in mind: it is possible to completely overcome some fears as I’ll share from personal experience in this episode.
Devotion focus: Finding ways to overcome unhealthy fear -
· -- Revelation 2:10 – ‘Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.’ (An account of Polycarp’s death and how he learned from the Apostle John)
In this verse from Revelation 2:10 Jesus is warning His people on that day there are some who are going to suffer at the hands of godless people. And even though in this day there are Christians suffering similar torture and death for their faith, for the most part as Christians we don’t suffer like those did and now are in the world.
However, Jesus doesn’t want fear to lead us by the nose, as in having a nose ring, the kind used on pigs. And if He could tell those, some of who would be burned at the stake not to fear, He has every right to urge us to do the same.
Not long after Jesus spoke the words of Revelation 2:10 fearful circumstances came upon a Christian named Polycarpus or Polycarp to his friends. And I’m sorry, but I cannot write this name without grinning and getting distracted, wondering whether Polycarp’s parents loved him or not. Is it okay if I call him PC during this story? I hope so because I’m going to.
PC was a disciple of the Apostle John. I’m going to use him as an example of how faith, and belief in Jesus as Savior, makes it possible to overcome the most fearful circumstances. And then we'll look at common fears and what we can do about them.
The following account is taken from https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/study/module/polycarp
PC was arrested for it being known he didn’t worship the Roman gods. He was taken to the arena where Christians and others were killed for sport.
“Swear,” urged the Proconsul, “reproach Christ, and I will set you free.” “86 years have I have served him,” Polycarp declared, “and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?”
PC was then burned at the stake. According to eyewitnesses, the flames didn’t kill him right away so he was stabbed.
Of course, this is an extreme example of facing fear unto death, but the same Savior PC served unto death in order to remain loyal, is our Savior also.
As far as common fears and phobias go there are numerous ways to face and overcome these. Here are a few examples intended to motivate you to search online and educate yourself about your options:
Exposure therapy – involves facing fear by gradual exposure. The example used on Mayoclinic.com was that of fear of elevators. To start with, thinking about being on an elevator is practiced, to looking at pictures of elevators. Next, you take a one-floor ride, then several floors, then finally when ready ride a crowded elevator.
This method worked in a similar way for me when it came to acute anxiety attacks when testifying in court, which I had to do frequently as a police officer. If I was on the stand for any length of time I began shaking to the point I had to sit on my hands so it wasn’t noticeable.
I would think about my case for several days prior to court. I practiced testifying (this was because officers are not allowed to read directly from their reports and don’t ask me why).
I had to practice breathing slowly while on the stand. This helped keep anxiety lower. With practice over the years, the fear of testifying became much less powerful. This is exposure therapy.
Another is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. The following is a summary of this therapy I found online:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, enables you to manage your fears by helping you gradually change the way you think. It's based on the interconnectedness of thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and behaviors.
CBT also uses exposure therapy at times. When I went through CBT the counselor had me practice several techniques to help me change the way I thought about several things including harmful thoughts about myself. I learned to view court differently and had to face my fear of failure.
Would you believe a fear of failure caused me to perform during SWAT calls in a way that came across as fearlessness? That’s because I feared failure worse than death when going after bad guys. Team members thought I was brave, but no, I was scared. It’s twisted I know.
Summary: We have several ways to help reduce unhealthy fears. There are numerous online sources and there is counseling. GOD does not intend for fear to control us. And even though there are Bible verses encouraging us to not be afraid sometimes we need help overcoming deep fear.
You must take some kind of action, either to get professional help through counseling or educate yourself with online sources defining different fears, their causes and effects… and ways to help manage them.
Action to consider: So what will you do if you are carrying a lot of unhealthy fear? Will you learn how to manage it and maybe even overcome some of your fears? I hope so. I know how miserable unreasonable fear is. I also know from experience how unhealthy fear can lead to other problems concerning our relationships, our work, our health, and our outlook on life in general.
I trust the Mayo Clinic’s online information. It’s a good place to start.
Next week’s devotion: PTSD -