A few years ago, during the battle for my life, a friend sent me a precious gift to encourage me in the fight. The gift was a bracelet with the word FEARLESS spelled out in big bold letters. It came with a sweet note and the Bible verse from 2 Timothy 1:7, God has not given you a spirit of fear, but POWER, LOVE and a STRONG MIND.
My friend is an encourager, and she often sees things in people that they don’t see in themselves. But, me? FEARLESS?
The word cancer breeds fear. Words like surgery, chemo and especially bald, grew the fear to the size of Goliath.
Nevertheless, I wore the bracelet daily to remind me to engage in the battle against fear. I used the words of my Heavenly Father to exchange my fear for faith.
Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand
Psalm 27:1
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?
Isaiah 41:13
For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
Psalm 56:3-4
When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?
Psalm 34:4
I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.
“Do not be afraid.” It can be a quick spiritual platitude to speak over someone that is struggling with fear. But what strikes me about those verses is that God found it necessary to say, because He knew it would be our natural human response. Fear is real and it is natural, but it can be overcome. It must be overcome if we are to live the full and abundant life that God has planned for us. The only way to do so is to engage in the fight. The battle is essential. Choosing not to engage will result in captivity in the dark and hopeless prison of fear.
In all honestly, some days my bracelet had a big gap between the R and the L. The best I could was to FEAR LESS.
While having less fear is not being without fear, it was still a sign that I was engaged in the fight. Choosing to combat fear day after day, eventually resulted in fear’s defeat and the triumph of faith.
While my battle with cancer is behind me, the battle with fear never really is. Today, I find myself battling a new fear-producing enemy. These verses act as my defense and simultaneously instill peace and faith in the One who called me to this new journey.
What are you afraid of today? How can I pray for you as you battle fear?
