Fear and the Christian

How are Christians supposed to respond to fear,
especially in the end times? What is Godly fear? What
is worldly fear? As Christians, we need to have these
questions answered. More importantly, we need these
answers to be a foundation in our faith. They need to
be more than intellectual knowledge. They must be in
our hearts. When the world is running on the
adrenaline of fear, as it soon will be, the Christian
needs to be a light of resolve. The fearful will look
to us for strength and answers. We’d better have them.
If our faith is strong, we can take the most
tumultuous of times and turn them into the greatest
witnessing opportunity we have ever had. We must be
grounded in the Word of God and courageous in the face
of evil that is flexing its muscle. We must look to
Jesus Christ. Our Lord. Our King. Our leader as we go
into spiritual battle.

What is worldly fear? It is fear without hope. Those
who are of the world place their faith in the world
and when the world falls into turmoil it will shake
their faith to the core. The end times will produce
terror that will,” cause men’s hearts to fail for
fear”. Christians should not have their hearts fail
for fear. Some Christians who are too vested with
their hearts in the world may also be fearful of the
coming times. We need to be there to water their faith
when they are in need. To lift them up to be partners
in the Kingdom’s cause. When the worldly have their
faith shaken they will be looking for the hope that,
through faith in the world, has eluded them. We must
be there with the hope of Jesus Christ. We must not
rest solely on the hope of the rapture. We must be
about our Father’s business. While the pre-tribulation
rapture is something that many of us, myself included,
believe will be a reality, we must ask ourselves two
questions. First, how bad will things get before we
are raptured? Secondly, what are our responsibilities
until then? As to the first question, the answer will
most likely be; very bad. How bad? If the Biblical
stories of Lot’s rescue and Noah’s rescue are
indicators of foreshadowing of the rapture then things
will be very evil indeed. As to the second question,
our responsibilities will go up proportionally to the
level of fear. We must be prepared to abandon more and
more of the pleasures and cares of this world and
replace that time with work for the Kingdom. And time
is short.

What is Godly fear? It is a fear that guides rather
than engulfs. Let me explain. When we drive our cars
we follow the rules of the road. Why? Why do we stay
within our own lane rather than the oncoming lane? Why
do we not just blow through every stoplight or stop
sign just because we want to? Because we fear
collisions with other vehicles. We fear injury or
death to ourselves, or others, if we fail to obey the
rules of the road. It is not driving ” in fear “, it
is a guiding fear in the backs of our minds. It keeps
us obedient. This is the same type of fear that we
must possess spiritually. Fearing God is not being
fearful of God but being obedient to His commandments
just as we are not fearful of other cars when we drive
but are respectful of the law and other drivers. It is
when we are disobedient of traffic rules that we risk
being in fear when a crash becomes reality. It is when
we are disobedient to God that we risk being in fear
of the coming times. As Christians, our best weapon
against fear is to be obedient to the Word of God.

The end-times are coming. God’s plan is working. His
prophecies will be fulfilled. This should be a time of
rejoicing that our Lord is near, ” even at the door”.
It should be a time of fear only for Satan and his
demons because their time grows short. Our Lord,
Christ Jesus has already won victory on the cross so
it is not up to us to defeat Satan. It is up to us to
be salt and light and to demonstrate the confidence of
Christ in the coming times. When the worldly are
fearful and can clearly see that faith in the world is
futile we must be there, courageously proclaiming the
truth of our Lord and Savior. We must give them a rock
to stand upon. We must give them hope. If we do that,
we can lead untold millions to Jesus, and through Him,
to salvation. So, as our Lord said, ” fear not”. Our
redemption grows near.

David H. Grisham