Paralyzing Fear vs. The Fear of God: Part 2

Autumn Path
My completed painting from the Watercolor Secrets Tutorial

“You don’t assume fear is your destination.
Fear is your tour guide that takes you to the place of truth,
for you to be able to discern if that fear is godly or not.”
~ Jennifer Rothschild

My Autumn Path painting illustrates how I feel on this journey of understanding "fear." My own forebodings create a longing for God's perspective. In the quest for knowledge I search through the Bible passages containing the word. It is a winding trail with surprising twists and turns. I'm taken to dark and unknown places but God's Spirit is beginning to illuminate the truth in His Word.

The irrationality of my imagination is discounted when specific fears are spoken aloud with words; but the feeling of fear can overwhelm rational thought in any given moment. The spoken word or a distraction cannot quell the inner storm.

At a calm or neutral time I began to study what the Bible has to say about fear. If I want to recall truth during a wave of irrational fear, I must have it already stored up. In the past I attempted to placate my fears with a quick prayer or a distraction.


A Faulty Statement?
The first winding turn in my path needs to address a faulty assumption stated by some Christians:

“My fear
(brought on by an uncontrollable circumstance)
is proof of a weak faith.”

They may mean the worries of the future are getting the better of them and they quote:

“do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, (Philippians 4:6-7 ESV).”

I would agree with this but I would not classify my worry as fear or my lack of trust as a weak faith. They need to climb the high tower of who God is in his sovereignty and find refuge there (Part 1); rather than making a definitive statement to their soul that keeps them stuck in fear and with a small, faulty view of God.

However, there are others who will quote the following passages to prove the statement: “feelings of fear equal a weak faith.”

“for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control, (2 Timothy 1:7 ESV).”

What is this "spirit of fear" the apostle Paul is writing about? Such a question can only be interpreted correctly by understanding the context of the passage (read above and below a given verse to get the author's flow of thought).

Paul urging Timothy to live out his spiritual gift and not to be afraid of speaking the gospel or the sufferings that may come when you do so. Paul is not stating anything about fear being equal to a weak faith. He is identifying the fact that we feel fear. He is encouraging us not to fear man or the consequences of sharing the truth.

The other passage:

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, (1 John 4:18a ESV).”

Only half of the verse is quoted and the second half begins to explain what John means, “For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love, (1 John 4:18b ESV).” The punishment mentioned is eternal punishment.

The ESV Study Bible Note says: “Here John speaks of fear of final judgment (cf 1 John 4:17). God's perfect love for believers casts out the fear of wrath and eternal punishment."


Listening to my spirit, rather than listening to God’s:

This twist in my path on the study of fear makes me take a step back on how these Christians approach the Bible when they have a specific question.

No one wants to believe a fallacy but many stumble onto them due to the way they study the Bible. I can bring my own presupposition to a Bible passage, like the statement: fear equals a weak faith, and conform the meaning of the verse to prove it. This is what my husband means when he says, I’m “listening to my own spirit or remaining in my own mental space,” in a recent article he wrote (Good Books, Good Readers).

To be open to what God has to say on the subject I need to be ready for God to not only change my presuppositions but to also change my question.

I would like to see the Bible eradicate and completely abolish my fears. However, if I do not want to impose a human idea on the Bible and run into error, I must hold that desire with an open hand for God to change it if necessary.

The statement about my fears proving a weak faith is a human idea that does not stand up in Scripture. We need to be willing to “follow an author’s flow of thought” (another phrase my teaching husband loves to use) to understand what God says about a given topic.

Jennifer Rothschild said, “Fear is your tour guide that takes you to the place of truth, for you to be able to discern if that fear is godly or not.” The discernment process begins when we read God’s Word for what He means in each passage.

I can’t wait to share with you the astounding things I found that God has to say about “fear.” He has indeed changed my presuppositions and given me a greater awe for himself and how he made humanity.