Fear of the Unknown

By Joe Keim

July 1, 2019

Fear is not fun to live with. It steals our sleep, our peace, our joy, and our courage from us. Fear is the opposite of faith and trust. It is a tormentor! People fear losing their jobs, dying early, the dark, illness, disease, not being able to pay their bills, and on and on. Sometimes fear is short lived; other times fear goes on for days, sometimes years.

Recently a friend of mine asked: Joe, have you ever feared something so much for so long that suddenly you realized the very thing you feared actually happened?

I wanted to say yes. As strange as it may sound, I believe I’ve fallen victim to my own fears.

As believers, we all know the story of Job in the Old Testament. He had everything; but then, just like that, he lost everything—all his fortune, all his earthly possessions, and all his servants and children. I’ve thought that if I weren't a believer in the One True and Living God and His Word, I would read Job’s testimony and think it was a fairy tale – it is that bizarre of a story.

As we consider our subject of fear and the story of Job, I find it very interesting that Job said in chapter 3, verse 25, “for the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.” From this one statement, it appears that (1) Job lived with a lot of fear, and (2) his fears eventually came true.

What does that say about us? Do our fears sometimes turn into reality?

The Bible says: There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love (1 John 4:18).

In summary, fear can be cast out only by the perfect love of God. The more we know of God's love and care and the more we love other people, the more fear is conquered in our lives.

We can trust God rather than be afraid.

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