Fear When There’s Nothing to Fear

John 14:27 ESV

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Sometimes all of us feel fear. Our hearts are troubled and we have allowed our fear to rob us of our peace. How easy it is to work up a sense of terror over even the most insignificant life circumstance. To be sure, there are circumstances that cannot help but make us fearful . . . illness, the loss of a loved one, the ability to provide and care for ourselves. All of these cause real fear.

But mostly we suffer from imagined fear that can bring us to our knees over things that have not occurred and probably won’t occur. We can so easily imagine ourselves to be in grave danger, and then comes the onslaught of fear.

Last night, the Fourth of July, was loud, very loud. We heard a constant barrage of fireworks coming from neighborhoods all around us. My nephew puppy, Crosby, was in sheer terror at the booming sounds. In times like last night, the precious pup can be inconsolable. It matters not that what he is terrified of cannot hurt him. Though he is safe in his house, he still has great fear.

Aren’t we like that too? Afraid of things that are not going to hurt us?

There is One who left us with sage advice about fear . . .”Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. I have given you peace.”