Fear NOT Fridays #2 - Fear & the HEART
I once heard a preacher say that "do not be afraid" occurs 365 times in the Bible. That's enough for every day of the year, which means that we should never live in fear. I have not yet confirmed that amount of "fear nots" but that sermon inspired this new series:
Fear NOT Fridays.
Once or twice a month I will feature a Bible verse or passage from God's Word proving that we should NOT be afraid.
I do want to clarify one thing before continuing - "fear God" is NOT the same as being afraid. When it says "fear God" in the Bible that means showing reverence, respect and absolute awe of our Heavenly Father. Whereas, fear means - a very unpleasant or disturbing feeling caused by the presence or imminence of danger.
We learn in Ephesians 6:12 (see below) that we, as Christians, are fighting a spiritual battle everyday. What if the entire world is currently in an information war? - a war of the mind? We are constantly being bombarded with things that we should fear, like the current illness/virus or the impending winter storm with dangerous ice. FEAR, Fear, fear on social media, television, computers, smartphones - fear is being broadcast everywhere and all the time. Again, near the end of the verse below we see that our struggle is against the evil forces in the heavenly realms. Well, our fear is what those evil forces feed on - we are making them fat by being afraid. That is why this series will help us rid our lives of fear and thereby starve the evil of this world.
Featured verse: John 14:27
How does fear affect the heart?
(Disclaimer - I am NOT a doctor and I am NOT giving medical advice or any advice of any kind. The information below came from my online research.)
When we are afraid our heart responds in 3 ways:
1. A quickened heartbeat
2. An increase in pulse rate & increased blood pressure
3. A change in breathing patterns (shortness of breath or rapid breathing)
When we study the featured Bible passage we see that Jesus said that we should not allow our HEART to be troubled or afraid. Jesus left us His PEACE through The Holy Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit is inside us all the time, that means His peace is always there to draw from. There will always be situations that will scare us but when we learn how to draw peace from God within, then that access will never go away!
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