Fearless

Joshua De Gracia

Part I of the “Fearless” series

Feel free to answer and e-mail us your answer to this question: “what do you fear?” –KnowGodknowlove808@gmail.com

A phobia, (from Greek “fear”), is an abnormal, persistent fear of situations, objects, activities, of persons. The main symptom of this disorder is the excessive, unreasonable desire to avoid the feared subject.

The term phobia is also used in a non-medical sense for aversions of all sorts and types of fobias and fears. A number of neologisms have appeared with the suffix -phobia, which are not phobias in the clinical sense, but rather describe a negative attitude towards something.

There are well over 1,000 different types of fears in the world. Let’s take a look at a few: Angrophobia is the fear of anger, Gamophobia is the fear of marriage, Tropophobia is the fear of moving or making changes, Scolionophobia is the fear of school and Anuptaphobia is the fear of being/staying single.

In the definition of “phobia,” its main symptom was an obsessive desire to avoid the feared object. In a spiritual sense, this is the goal of the devil as he brings fear into our lives. F.E.A.R. means “False Evidence Appearing Real.” Like it says in Jeremiah 29:11, God has a plan and a purpose for our lives and Satan will do whatever it takes for us to fall out of that purpose, no matter what it may be.

Suicide is a major tragedy that is happening in our world as we speak. Last year, statistics showed that an individual took their life in the United States every 30 minutes. You do the math and it comes out to 48 people a day. The sad reality of it is suicide is a sin and the Bible says that if we sin without repenting, we will not be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

On the topic of suicides, what would cause someone to take their own life? It could be lost purpose, gave up on living, different stresses amounted and the list could go on and on.

We weren’t made to be alone, however, there are times in which the enemy makes us feel like we have nothing to live for and no one to turn to but death itself.

God’s answer:

Deuteronomy 31:6

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

For those of you who feel like you have no sense of purpose in life. Let me be the first to tell you that God has a plan for your life, no matter how much you think your are dealing with. Don’t give into the lies of the enemy who wants to oppress your life. You were made in God’s image and be assured that no matter where you go and what you do in life, God is always right there by your side. Fight that fear with faith.

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Krinda Joy Carlson

Part II of the “Fearless” series

The English dictionary is too small! In our modern language, we lose the depth of meaning which so many words were meant to impart, and the word “fear” suffers the same misunderstanding. When speaking of fear and the fear of the Lord in Biblical terms, we must consider the origin of this word to fully comprehend this concept.

Original Origin of Biblical “Fear”

Since the Old Testament’s original text was Hebrew, let’s embark on a mini Hebraic lesson. First off, when looking up the word “fear” in Hebrew, you will not find one word, but about a million! (Ok, so it seems like a million). However, the one most commonly used in the Bible, especially in reference to the Lord, is yir’ah, or ya’re in verb form. Psalm 33:8 gives an example: “Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere Him.” This verse actually defines for us what fear meant for the Jewish community – it meant actual fear, combined with “awe” or fear at the awesomeness of someone/something!

I have heard many times that the “fear of the Lord” simply means respect, but in actuality, one who fears the Lord really does possess a form of dread. For to have true respect and awe for God means we contain some form of understanding that His judgment is to be feared if we turn against Him. After all, even our Webster’s Dictionary defines “awe” as “an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime.” Thus, we must understand that He is THE ONE whom we should concern ourselves with, for His authority deserves both our honor and our dread; we are to live in fearful awe of Him simply because He is God – the sacred and sublime not for His actions, but because He is Alpha and Omega. This is true fear of the Lord.

Re-Defining Fear in English

Now! Unless we compare the Hebrew definition of fear with our modern definition, the above paragraph could hinder the intimate relationship we are meant to have with the Lord. Our, understanding of “fear” and “dread” is misconstrued because the origin for our word comes from the old English word synonymous with “calamity, disaster”; and, the Germanic verb meaning, “to terrify, take by surprise.” Thus, today when we think of fear, it involves an event which inspires the emotion of fear. It is the exterior world working upon our mind and body in a way that causes disaster to us either physically or emotionally. This is the type of fear God commands us NOT to have, when He says, “fear not.” And, THIS IS NOT THE WAY WE ARE TO FEAR GOD.

The fear of the Lord must be understood from the Hebraic origin so that we can truly have life, and life abundant as God promises. To ya’re God is to have an inherent awe, dread, and wonder in who He is, and realizes He is supreme over all things! It’s not about events, actions, or “punishment” He can invoke, for that misrepresents God’s heart and causes us to run from Him, not to Him. For example, when we have a healthy fear of our parents, we understand that they have the power to affect our lives so we obey and honor them, but we know they act only out of love to ensure good flows into our lives. This is a relationship mixed with respect. (I understand that, sadly, all parents do not posses this type of love intended by God, but it is the model).

We are to approach God with this same attitude! “I will give them singleness of heart and action so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me” (Jeremiah 32:39-40). Living fearless is to not have fear by modern day definition, it is to have a “ya’re-fear” of the Lord, because with it, we understand that He will “never stop doing good” to us! This releases us to love and live in confidence, and no longer tremble at the disasters and calamities of the world!