What are you afraid of? Spiders? Snakes? Close spaces? Speaking in public? Clowns (sorry that right now is not a good time for you)? We are all born with certain innate fears. For me, it’s heights and water. I don’t like being up any higher than a six foot ladder and I don’t want to be in water where I can’t see the bottom or land anywhere around. So put me in a high place over water and I’m done!

We all have fears that are deeper than those innate ones. What is it that produces enough anxiety and worry you have trouble sleeping? Where is it that fear paralyzes you or causes you to make irrational decisions? For many, it’s the fear of failing or not being good enough. For others it’s being rejected or abandoned and left all alone. It could be the fear of addiction or of losing one’s sobriety. Maybe it’s a fear about your marriage, your children, or your health. And I think all of us have a fear about the direction our country is headed and the upcoming election.

Do you know what the single most common command in all of the Bible is? You guessed it, “Do not fear.” Some say the command shows up 365 times –  one for every day of the year!  But ironically, the Bible also tells us to fear. That’s right, over and over it tells us to “fear God.” What exactly does that mean? Are we supposed to be afraid of God?

Think of it this way. What is the opposite of fear? Your initial response might be “courage.” If someone has a fear of spiders, put them in a room full of them until they muster up enough courage to overcome the fear. Right? Wrong! The opposite of fear is not courage – it’s TRUST. You see, it’s not the heights that are the problem. Is that I don’t trust whatever it is that is keeping me up at that height from letting me fall to the ground below. To fear God means to trust Him. And that fear is absolutely necessary because without trust in God we will never be able to overcome any other fear in our life.

So, how do we grow in our trust with God? I’m glad you asked! Two things:

– Know Him (Deuteronomy 6:5-9)

It’s hard to trust someone you don’t know. You’ve got to get to know God in order to trust Him. Spend time in the Bible. Search through it and find promises that speak directly to your fear. Pray. Grow in Him in groups with others. Have conversations with others about how they trust in God. Just get to know God better.

– Remember How Good He Is (Deuteronomy 6:20-23)

Your trust in God grows when you can remember how faithful He has been in your life. Even in the worst of times, you can appreciate God’s goodness. Take some time to make a list on a piece of paper of how God has demonstrated His goodness to you and how how faithful He has been to you. Do it today and I guarantee you will have a greater trust in God.

When my boys were learning how to swim, I would get in the pool with them (in the shallow end of course) and they would jump off the side of the pool into my arms.  They would be tentative at first and so I would stand close to the edge of the pool and gently encourage them. They would jump and I would catch them and then they would hustle back to the edge of the pool to do it again. And this time I would step back a little so they had to jump further out. They would again be a little tentative and would beg me to move closer but I would encourage them and they would eventually jump into my arms that were waiting to catch them. And they would do this over and over with me taking a small step farther out each time.  Why? Because they trusted me. They knew me and realized that even though their tentativeness grew a little each time, I hadn’t let them down before so certainly I would catch them again. And I did. And that’s exactly what God does for us.

Fear is absolutely necessary. Trust God. Get to know Him more and remember how good and faithful He has been to you!

It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Deuteronomy 6:13