Overcoming Fear

The last major recession probably created a lot of workaholics for those of us in the career world who survived it and also saw those around us who didn’t. Someone who walks away from a major car accident can still feel their muscles seize up at the sound of a car horn or squealing brakes for years after the fact. Bad relationships we thought we’d left behind can still make us avoid starting any new ones. Basically, fear is an easy takeaway from painful experiences -- and we can try to elevate our own chronic anxiety into wisdom, or even something spiritual, but it’s still just fear.

To call me a workaholic or an anxious person might be an understatement. There are many nights I don’t sleep, and I’ve had the kind of panic attacks that settle in your chest like a deep physical pain. When my wife worries for me and tells me I’m working myself into a heart attack or early death, I used to respond with “then it will be God’s will.” 

 That makes sense, right? I mean, the Lord holds death and life within His hands, and people have fatal heart attacks all the time (about 610,000 deaths per year are related to heart disease, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). So it makes sense that some heart attacks are part of his plan, and if He wanted to prevent that he could defuse the anger of others around me, or help me get home on time and see more of my family, or keep a diet and exercise regimen that doesn’t get so often derailed by work. But of course, this is only the fear talking—not the truth. Ultimately, in these instances I am asking God to improve my circumstances, not my character. And having Him pull your feet from the fire here and there doesn’t mean you overcame your fear of flames. Sooner or later, you have to work on you.

Anxiety, as we heard this week, can have three key fuels: imminent danger, the diet of social and media inputs that you receive, and damage from your interpersonal relationships. And to combat these, you should change how you think, how you talk, and how you work. I could especially appreciate the suggestion Sunday that working too hard can stem from the fear of not having enough, and that what you think is diligence is really just letting fear and anxiety have the upper hand in your life.

Reading the word is also a healthy practice in cutting down anxiety (another helpful suggestion from my wife), so I’m also planning to meditate again on Philippians 4:6-7. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” He is a God of peace, and I’ve been learning that again in prayer and Bible study time. It also wouldn’t hurt to put an emphasis on “every situation,” because just like arterial blockage, the worries you neglect to take to him will build up over time. And sometimes, bringing those situations to Him isn’t about changing them. It’s about changing us.

Written by: Chad Halcom

Edited by: Jenelle Kelly