In better words than my own, my hope for you is this:
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication" (Ephesians 6:10-18, emphasis added).
What God's Word has to say about who/what NOT to fear:
"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evil doers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident" (Psalm 27:1-3).
"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28).
"Now who is here to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled" (1 Peter 3:13-14).
"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love" (1 John 4:18).
What God's Word has to say about Who/What to fear:
"It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you - for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God - lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth" (Deuteronomy 6:13-15).
"And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good" (Deuteronomy 10:12-13)?
"Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the lord" (Joshua 24:14).
"Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling" (Psalm 2:11).
"...Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man" (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
My conclusions based on these and many other verses:
- These are just a few of the verses I found on the subject, but what surprised me was how many verses there are about Who/What to fear than there are about who/what not to fear. This helped point out a mistake I've been making in combating fear. I so often think about the thing I'm afraid of and pick it apart to tell myself why I shouldn't be afraid of this thing. But all this I do in relation to the thing itself. What I should be thinking upon to combat the fear is Who I should fear. I should focus more on the eternal instead of trying to break down the circumstantial and temporal.
- God gives amazing reasons and promises why we should not fear the things we should not fear: He will not leave or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6); He is with us, is our God, will strengthen us, will help us, and will uphold us (Isaiah 41:10); He gave us a spirit of power, love, and self control (2 Timothy 1:7); if we suffer for righteousness' sake, we will be blessed (1 Peter 3:13-14); Christ will be honored in our bodies by life or death (Philippians 1:20); the Lord our God is with us wherever we go (Joshua 1:9).
- God gives us reasons why we should fear/hold in awe/revere Him: He is a jealous God and has the power to destroy us off the face of the earth (Deuteronomy 6:13-15) <- This should stir in us a good fear, not a bad fear - that it is His good pleasure to reconcile us to Himself though we sin; His commandments are for our good (Deuteronomy 10:12-13); "The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether" (Psalm 19:9); "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever" (Psalm 111:10)! "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction" (Proverbs 1:7); "The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm" (Proverbs 19:23) <- This does not mean we won't suffer, it just means that we will see how God turns evil to good and can trust that He works for the good of those who love Him.
- I ask myself if there's any action/response to the situation that needs to be done. If there is an action that has to be decided upon, I commit to bringing it before the Lord and leaving it as His feet in exchange for a lighter burden as promised in Matthew 11:29-30, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." If there is no action that has to be decided upon, then I let myself know my worrying does not do any good to spend energy on and that my energy should be redirected. "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:34).
- I ask myself that even if I could change anything, do I know what is good? God sees the whole picture; He knows what is good. As a kid, I thought candy was totally good, but my parents knew that after a certain point or time it ceased to be good. They could see a bigger picture than I could, and though it seemed cruel or unfair to me sometimes, I trust that they were acting for my good. How much more does a perfect Father work toward our good?! So what do I know for sure IS good? Let's ask the Lord. How would He answer? Well He has answered! "And he said to him, 'Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments" (Matthew 19:17).
- I remind myself of all the times of trials, suffering, and uncertainty where the Lord proved Himself faithful both to those historically in the Bible and to me personally.
- So if worrying does me no good and I already know What/Who is good, what do I do with my energy and resources now? How do I go about focusing on things above instead of myself and circumstances? That's when I remind myself of the commands in Deuteronomy 10:12-13, Joshua 24:14, and Ecclesiastes 12:13 above. Through them, the Lord directs my steps. It takes enough work and energy and resources to submit to God in those verses that there should be no room left for fear. And more than that even, time spent in this eternal manner tends to stir up genuine love. And perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18)!
- Whatever feelings of anxiety, worry, or fear that remain, I confess them and ask God to fight them. I recognize that in the end, only He can turn my heart. So I wait on the Lord. "Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord" (Psalm 27:14).
- Finally, I memorize either exact or generally some of these verses above so I can use them for battle.
Additional Resources:
http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelical-dictionary/fear.html
