Some seven years ago, I was sitting in an Economics class just like any typical college student would. All of a sudden, a not-so-usual pain creeped into my chest. I'd never felt that kind of sharp pain before; it seemed to feel quite deeper than regular chest pain.
At that moment, I got scared, and it was that fear that drove me to get off my seat and go to the hospital. Without that fear, I would have never found out that half of my lung had collapsed and I'm not sure I'd still be here today.
Isaiah 41:10 says, "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" (NIV). Doe the Bible really tell us not to fear? So should I have just died at that moment instead of responding to fear?
The problem really begins in misunderstanding all fear as being the same. The Bible actually talks about different kinds of fear. Proverbs 9:10 tells us of the fear of the Lord saying, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight" (ESV). The fear of God is actually a good thing and is something that God calls us to. The fear of the Lord is a healthy fear that makes us afraid, not necessarily of His wrath, but of being in bad standing with God relationally.
When I am afraid of being in bad standing with my wife relationally, I make sure that I do not say anything or do anything to hurt her. It's not that I'm afraid of my wife, but that I am afraid of destroying her trust for me.
God has no problem with fear. The problem actually lies on what motivates that fear. When fear is motivated by a lie that tells us that God is not enough—that He can't provide for us, take care of us and protect us—fear becomes a problem. When fear is motivated by anxiety and a trust of the self over a trust of God, fear becomes a problem.
1 John 4:18b tells us that "...perfect love casts out fear" (ESV). The fear that is cast out of us when Christ comes along is the kind of fear that does not align with the perfect love of God. But the perfect love of God can also cause us to have healthy fears. When we come into the fullness of God's love, we start fearing God, we start fearing the possibility of us causing injustice towards others, and we start fearing what life would be like without that perfect love.
The perfect love of Jesus casts out all fear that is motivated by selfish and sinful flesh, but also produces fear that drives us to godly and spirit-led living.
