Fear is a powerful force that works in us through things working outside us. One of the worst is fear of the unknown, which can be intrusive unless countered with faith. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble,” wrote the psalmist. “So we will not fear…” (Psalm 46:1-2)
“Fear not.” Jesus said this repeatedly. We attach the word phobia (taken from the NT Greek word “phobios”) to the things we most fear; for instance agoraphobia: fear of open spaces, or arachnophobia: fear of spiders.
The fear of death is to those who don’t know Jesus the most dreaded of all fears (Hebrews 2:15). However, Jesus died and rose again for them as well as those who do know him. In dying and rising again, set us free from the fear of death. We can sleep well at night knowing that should we die in our sleep we will wake up as he did, and with new bodies that will be like his. (Daniel 12:2; John 11:11)
The way to overcome fear of any kind is to face it with faith. As an old saying puts it: “Fear knocked at the door, faith answered, and no one was there.” God does not want us to get the heebie-jeebies when we are faced with the creepy-crawlies, or with other things we fear. Fear is faith in reverse gear. It’s time we rid ourselves of fear of what may be ahead by moving forward and leaving that fear not just behind but out of sight.
Fear is the spider in your hair that isn’t there. The cobweb you just walked through has long been empty of spiders. Jesus cancelled the fear of death by rising back to life, holding in his right hand “the keys of hell and death”! Having unlocked death and the grave, Jesus left them open for us to rise in the Resurrection! No one can close them again because our Lord alone has total authority to do that!
We should rid our thoughts from all threats of death and the grave that would cling to us like cobwebs. Those who are afraid may shudder at the thought of spidery fears, but we who have faith just brush them off with disdain. Like me, they say, Spin your demonic webs of fear elsewhere Satan! They don’t belong around my head — much less in my thoughts!