God's Antidote to Fear

Have you ever felt like God told you to do something? Were you afraid to do it? It’s one thing to feel like God is moving you to have a conversation with someone, or go somewhere, or do something. But what if you’re scared?

A couple months ago, I clearly felt like God showed me something I needed to do. I had some friends of friends who were about to experience the loss of a loved one. They were in a hospital near me with no one to be with them. I easily felt God saying, “You need to go and be with this family. Love them. Minister to them.”

I’ll be honest, I didn’t want to go. I didn’t really know the folks who were going to be there. I wasn’t even sure of all of their names. I felt like I was walking into something blind, and I felt uncomfortable. But I got in my car and I drove to the hospital. I felt a little proud of myself – look at me doing something for God that I don’t really want to do! But then I got there. I parked in the parking lot, and I just sat in my car. I didn’t want to go in. I was afraid. I didn’t know what I was going to say – I didn’t really know how to best love someone I’d never met. So I sat in my car. I thought about leaving. Then my phone buzzed.

I looked down at my phone to see that my 91-year-old grandmother had texted me. “Maw-Maw.” This is a miracle in and of itself because my NINETY-ONE year old grandmother sent me a text message. She just got a smart phone last year. I opened up the text and it simply said this: “For some reason you are on my mind. Praying you are having a good day. Love, Maw Maw.”

Think about that– there I was, afraid to do what God was clearly telling me to do, and I got a text message from another believer (my grandmother) in another state at the exact right moment. Maw Maw said she wasn’t sure why I was on her mind, but I knew exactly why!

Here’s what God was telling me in that moment, through a praying grandmother: “You are not alone. This is not up to you, I am with you.”

Do we recognize this? As God calls us to befriend people who aren’t Christians, parent our children, talk about Jesus, and love our neighbors – we are not alone! Not only are we not alone, but God is working all around us. So many times, we fail to realize that God is not just telling us to do something for Him, but He’s calling us to do something with Him.

God is with us. We gloss over that far too easily sometimes. If we have placed our faith in Jesus, God has put His Spirit inside of us. That’s the very same Spirit that we see moving throughout Scripture. The same God who parted seas, sets up and deposes kings, the same Spirit that leads His people and performs miracles – the same Spirit of God who raises Jesus from the dead is in us!

What do we have to be afraid of?

God’s antidote to fear is the simple truth that we are not alone. God is with us.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord.” 2 Timothy 1:7-8