I was reading through different old topics. I came across one begun by Catherine in which she explained how she wanted to believe in UR but just found herself unable at the time. In one of the responses i saw mentioning of how asking people to give up long-held beliefs, especially regarding God and all that goes with it, can raise an abundance of fear in people. I have been around various forums across the years, and many people express fear in one way or another. Throughout the Bible there are MANY references which could induce a fear response, especially any speaking of eternal judgment or Gods wrath. Especially in Hebrews where it says, it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the Living God

Fear is far more emotional/monrational and we are by and large much more comfortable, handling things from a rational/intellectual position. How have you found fear lessen over your life?? Do you think fear can ever be 100% removed? I find it ironic often i see the critique of non-UR believers coming from a place of fear, but the tenor of the critique can come across as making any who struggle with fear feel afraid or ashamed to even have the struggle. Letting go of fear seems to me as i recall so so many people I have seen struggle with it to be one of those mystery areas which leaves a lot to consider. All thoughts welcome

Robert

Robert, I think you have presented a very good topic for discussion and food for thought. I think that we should all fear God in some way or another. Looking at the world around me, I think that some need a little more of the fear of God struck in them and some a little less. When I have some more time, I will elaborate on this further.

The injunction, “Fear not” occurs thirteen times in the New Testament—enjoined by the Father, by Jesus, and by angels:

Matthew 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. {conceived: Gr. begotten }
Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 28:5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
Luke 1:13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
Luke 1:30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
Luke 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
Luke 5:10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
Luke 8:50 But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.
Luke 12:7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
John 12:15 Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt.
Acts 27:24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.
Revelation 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

LLC- thank you brother. I have a background in psychology, ministry and pastoral counseling, so i have dealt with many many people who have fear issues. I have seen so many comments throughout my time on the internet over the years, as well as from pulpits and journals, that come across like anyone who has fear is failing God and lacking faith and just less than anyone because they should NOT fear I know all too well all the verses Paidion listed as does anyone who follows jesus yet still struggles with fear. The 2 prooftect verses most used are perfect love casts out fear and God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love power and self control or close to that lol I am a highly sensitive person, I think i was genetically wired that way. I feel things in a hypersensitive way often. When i read those verses, or hear a preacher or teacher expound on them in a loud voice saying DON"T FEAR GOD DOESNT WANT YOU TO FEAR!!! It just kicks in my warning signal and makes me fear because i HAVE fear!!! On a personal note, i was raised by a grandma who was an alcoholic and extremely overprotective. She radiated and modeled fear to me as i was around her. My dad died when i was 8 from cancer. my parents didn’t tell me he was going to die so it came as a shock and made me feel/think I was eligible or my mom was also to suddenly die. I learned rationally that death happens to us all and Jesus conquered death of course by His resurrection. However, emotionally it has been a constant shadow, even as i went to Bible College, Seminary and was ordained.

All those verses say not to fear, but the apostles had fear. paul was afraid at times during his missionary journeys. Paul tells us to work out oue salvation with fear & trembling. Jesus seemed to have fear at Gethsemane as He pondered the Cross. It seems most people shy away from emotional issues theologically. Most sermones or answers I have heard usually focus on intellect and logic. Believe me if i could overcome this by those means i would have done it long ago!! I am a world champion second-guesser!!! I just would like to hear from anyone who has similar thoughts or experiences as well as just overall ideas on how to manage fear as you plan to give LLC. Thanks everyone and thank you Paidion for responding

Robert, I apologize for taking so long to get back to your post, but here are some of my thoughts.
Humans are not invincible or infallible. We are mortal, and so we fear because we live in a world that poses threats to our physical and spiritual
well-being. This is a part of our human make-up. All living things have been given life for a purpose and have natural defenses that aid in their own survival. We should come to fear and respect that, giving way to life because our own lives depend on this as well. We can not go around thinking that we are all powerful, trampling on everything else with no fear of consequences. This humbles us in a way because we realize that even very small things have great power. On the other hand, God doesn’t want us to be overcome with fear, where we are afraid of anything and everything. Fear should be balanced. We need to fear the things that need to be feared and be less afraid of others. Basically saying, we should put fear in it’s proper place.
Luke 12:4-6 says this: “And I say to you my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who after he has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes I say to you fear him!”
I think the point Jesus was making is that we should fear evil having power and control over our lives more than we fear standing up and speaking the truth. If we fail to do anything at all because we are afraid of being killed for speaking the truth, we become prisoners held captive and lose the spirit of life as well. What kind of life do we have then, truthfully, none at all because evil eventually destroys everything in it’s path.

The only time I fear God is when I have strayed away from Him. Perfect love casts out fear. At the cross Christ removed God’s wrath from my vision and secured His future blood bought promises. God is in control and when my faith is in an all-powerful, all loving God who promises to work all my circumstances together for my good anxiety and fear are uprooted. Faith is future oriented but is experienced in the present. Not that my faith is always perfect but I try to follow in the footsteps of Jesus who by the joy set before Him He endured the cross. I think it’s okay to feel a little fear sometimes but today I am more motivated by love. I don’t take care of myself or love my mom (for instance) because I fear what the law will do to me if I don’t. I love her because of her person. Ultimately it pleases and glorifies God and brings me and my mom joy.

We can say that love motivates us to do things, but I think fear also plays a role as well. If we didn’t love anything or anyone, we wouldn’t care what happens to them. But because we love, we also fear. Do love and fear go hand in hand? I do many things for my children because I love them,but I also do things because I fear for their safety and well-being. This is why I am up at 2am checking on them when they are sick. It’s why they were always bundled in 15 layers of clothing when they’d go out to play in the snow, and why I’d always be at the school waiting to pick them up. I too take care of myself for several reasons. Not only does it make me feel good, but I don’t want to kill over from a heart attack and leave my kids stranded without a parent. I always want to be there for them when they need me. I don’t mind saying that I fear for the ones I love. It all sounds good that perfect love casts out fear, but we don’t live in a perfect world. So then, in this world is it possible to love and not fear?

If you read what I wrote I said I do feel fear at times but it’s nothing like it use to be. Today I’m more motivated by love. I use to couldn’t speak or look people in the eye. I guess when I say fear I’m speaking of an unhealthy fear.

Robert, may I ask, is there anything in particular that you fear, such as life after death, or is it just a general fear of things? The only reason I ask is so that I can possibly point out some verses in the bible that may help.

Hi LLC & Michael- Thanks so much for your responses, very helpful and very cool to hear your persoanl experiences!!! LLC- it both a fear of what death will feel like & an overall generalized sense of fear. I think my fear of what death will be like is intertwined with the pain and loss of my father to cancer when i was 8. I didnt know he had it or was sick, he and my mom chose not to tell me, so it was a real shock. The overall fear i think comes from being highly sensitive and overly analytical. I can second guess everything lol I fear because when I read verses like some of the ones shared on here, I see where i am failing or lacking and so disappointing God because my faith and love is not where itr should be. This is a fluid type thing because of course alot i can acccept His love and grace but the shadow of fear lingers around alot if that makes sense.

Richard Beck has done some interesting work from a Hebrews 2 perspective on the fear of death.

amazon.com/Slavery-Death-Ric … bc?ie=UTF8

He’s also a guess poster on here from time to time.

www.experimentaltheology.blogspot.com

I grew up very fearful, due to family issues. I walked in fear every moment.

I always had a strong faith in God, since my earliest memories, but it wasn’t until about 16 years ago, when I began to learn to trust God, with my life, that fear began to dissipate. I can say that, at this point in my life, my fear is so much less.

It is only through my learning to trust God, and my prayer life, that fear was brought under control. Learning to give God your life; the practice of surrender; walking with Him daily, and throughout the day, was the vehicle to give me courage. He has shown me, through my trust, how faithful He is, and I in turn trust increasingly.

Do I fear God? Not really. I honor Him, respect HIm, love HIm, but I really don’t think I ever feared Him. He has been my best friend since my childhood.

Do I want the results of not being in His will? Absolutely not. I do ‘fear’ being in the darkness of this world, as opposed to being in His light.

I think that death is a fear for many people. Even as I believe in God, I don’t necessarily fear where I’ll be after death, but the thought of how and when I’ll get there can be scary. I also think there is fear in love. It may be a remote fear for some, but fear none the less. For we don’t want to do anything that causes a break in our relationships. In this we fear a loss of respect, trust, joy etc. that these relationships bring to our lives. Even if it may be only a temporary loss, we still feel the pain. Looking at the life of Christ and following His example, there are several things that we can do to put fear behind us. Praying is always good. We know that God hears us and is always there in Spirit to guide us. Also, John 5:17 says this "But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” I find that when I keep my mind occupied with things of the Lord and busy myself with good works, these fears go to the very back of my mind.

Fears go away when you meditate. This is the same thing as faith (trust)

Thanks everyone!!! I appreciate all the comments and hearing about your experiences and thoughts. One thing I realized in reading through what all of you wrote was that my experience of fear has greatly lessened over time. I have always had this all or nothing strugglwe i think, to get to a point where i had no fear at all ever. This is really crazy and i am sure God has been smiling seeking to help me get it I think when situations arise God provides His love,grace & peace to meet it whatever it may be. I know He has done that when i had an angioplasty, cardioversions and melanoma cancer. Thank you for helping me to get past the fog in dealing with this

Robert

It’s my pleasure Robert!