Don’t Dismiss Fear, Get Through It

“The LORD made a covenant with Jacob’s descendants and commanded them, “Do not fear other gods; do not bow in worship to them; do not serve them; do not sacrifice to them. Instead fear the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm. You are to bow down to him, and you are to sacrifice to him.” (2 Kings 17:35-36, CSB)

Even to this day, I get a sense of panic when I get into a bathtub. As a teenager, I made the very unwise decision to watch a scary movie. Let’s just say it involved a clown and a bathtub and I’ve been afraid of clowns and bathtubs ever since. I remember one of my friends said, “Joel, why are you scared? It’s not even real. It’s just a movie. And clowns can’t hurt us. Come on, get over it.” Easy for you to say, I thought. He wasn’t living out the endless what-if scenarios in my brain. And I’ll be honest, I was a little frustrated that his response was basically, “Get over it.”

You may be able to relate. You might have real and legitimate fears. Worries that plague you at night as you stay up way too late trying to figure out how to ease the angst of fear. Well, you’re not alone. This is so real for so many of us, and it was definitely a real issue for the ancient Israelites.

In 2 Kings 17:35-36, we enter an Ancient Near Eastern social context where the fear of the gods of the nations was legitimate. The “false gods of the nations” were false in that they were incomparable to Yahweh, not that they were nonexistent (Deuteronomy 32:17; Ps 138:1). This helps us make sense of this verse and why God commands the Israelites, “Do not fear other gods…” Somewhere around 365 times in the Bible we are told, “do not fear.” Why? Because God is the only one we are to fear! And the type of fear we aim at God is one of reverence, awe, and respect.

So as the Israelites are faced with very real fears, they are taught to confront their fear with faith in God. This is why we have so many verses throughout the Psalms that proclaim the incomparability of Yahweh above and against the “gods” of the nations (Ps. 86:8; 95:3; 96:4; 135:5; 136:2).

I love this because it doesn’t minimize our fears. We aren’t told to simply “get over it” but are taught to get “through it” by fixing our gaze on God. When we do this, it helps us process worries, anxiety, and the unknown in a way that brings them into the light of God’s greatness and grandeur. This is the perfect place to make the bold claim – that in the presence of the power of God, we will not fear. Focusing on God and giving Him reverence brings a calm assurance.

There is another detail in this verse that’s so important for us to grasp. God reminds His people of his past faithfulness. God is the one who brought them out of Egypt. Remember, for the Israelites Egypt had a long and horrific history of fear and pain. The Israelites lived in a constant state of fear under the tyranny of Pharoah who subjugated them as slaves. It was while they were in this desperate situation that God heard their cries and rescued them from Pharaoh. He then led them into the land of promise by the power of His outstretched hand.

Today, if you are facing a fear, no matter what it is, I’d love to invite you to practice a theology of remembrance. Take a moment now to grab your journal or notes app. Write down something in your past where you clearly saw the faithful hand of God in a season of uncertainty or fear. Write about how God met you, how he was faithful to you, and how it made you feel. Now, hold onto the past faithfulness of God as confident assurance that the same God is working and moving now even in your waiting. When experiencing fear, turn back to this moment in your mind and remind yourself, I don’t need to fear this because I’ve placed my faith in God.