What do you fear?
Romans 8:31-39
“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
What do you fear?
Failure? Being alone? Political upheaval? Illness? Losing your income? Physical danger?
I’m sure the list can go on.
But over and over again, God tells us not to fear. How do we do that? These verses in Romans 8, although they don’t specifically mention fear, are an antidote to fear.
“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (vs. 31) Sometimes we need a perspective shift. I certainly do! It’s so easy to focus our attention on all the things right in front of us, just like Peter focused on the storm while he was walking on water. (Matthew 14:22-33) Yes, the world can look mighty scary! But the reality is that God is for us and He rules over all the chaos, even though the chaos is right in front of our faces.
Throughout these verses, we are reminded that nothing can separate is from God’s love.
NOTHING.
And yet we still fear…
Many times the source of our fear is a lie.
Do you fear failure? Perhaps you believe the lie that your worth is based on your performance.
Do you fear being alone? Perhaps you don’t believe that God is always with you and He will provide human fellowship and community for you.
Do you fear political upheaval? Maybe you don’t believe that the “king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord…” (Proverbs 21:1) Or that “dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over nations”. (Psalm 22:28)
Do you fear illness? God is our Healer. If He doesn’t heal us on this side of eternity, He will heal us on the other side.
I don’t at all intend to downplay our fears. I have plenty of them myself. And just saying that we should “have more faith” or “just believe this and you’ll be all better” is… less than helpful.
However, I do believe that what we feel (fear, in this case) does stem from what we’re thinking about. What we’re thinking about comes from what we believe to be true. (Not what we necessarily SAY we believe, but what we actually believe.) God’s Word is true. When we renew our minds with that truth, over time it’s going to change what we’re thinking about and then what we feel.
If you struggle with fear, I would encourage you try using this process that has worked so well for me. It’s based on the word “BUILD” - as in, building your house on solid ground (Matthew 7:24-27).
Be present - Pay attention to yourself and name what it is that you fear. Ask God to give you wisdom as you seek to understand what you’re struggling with and why.
Uncover the lie - Journal and ask yourself some questions. Why do you fear _____? Is there a deeper fear underneath? Is that core fear based on a lie? What is that lie?
Investigate the source - Where did that lie come from? From the enemy, yes, but how did it get ingrained into your soul? Sometimes it just comes from our own sinful nature or ways of coping with life when we were younger. Sometimes it came from a person - either what they explicitly told you or what you interpreted from their life. It’s not always necessary to know where a lie came from, but I’ve found that it can be helpful in understanding how I came to struggle in this area. It also provides the opportunity to choose to forgive the person who was the source of that lie.
Lay the true foundation - What is the truth from God’s Word that counters that lie? This week’s passages from Romans 8 provide many truths that counter our fears. This is where spiritual disciplines come in. Memorize those verses. Meditate on them. When you feel fear welling up inside, take a “pause” and step outside, take a deep breath, and pray through the verses. Ask God to impress them upon your soul. Choose to embrace their truth.
Do what is right - The next time that fear rears its head, fight it off with the verses you’ve been memorizing and focusing on. Choose peace with God over fear.
I’ll be going into these steps in greater detail in the weeks to come. Walking through this process has been incredibly helpful for me in dealing with baggage from my past and in the journey of becoming more like Jesus. It’s not a quick fix, but it is a process that works.
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
To read other perspectives on these verses in Romans, check out these blogs: