Some years back, a friend of mine and I were traveling by car one winter night. Actually, it was a lot of years back. We were both in our twenties and in the Army. Mark began to wax eloquent about how our temperature sensitivity was more mental than physical. He said that no matter how cold the temperature, if we could convince our minds that we were warm, we would be. So, to test this theory at 70 mph or so, we rolled down the windows with sub-freezing temps outside. The whole time we simply claimed aloud, “This is warm, this is warm, this is warm.” 

By the way, my shivering body never got the message and apparently, no matter how loudly we said it or how many times we repeated it, we still felt cold. 

You may think, “How silly. Who thinks they can change circumstances by simply declaring their opposite?” Actually, a lot of well-meaning Christians. 

I have met folks who have said, “Christians don’t grieve at the grave because we have the truth about heaven.” Or, “Take your fears captive and choose to not be afraid.” Interestingly, these mental exercises are often more in line with some Eastern philosophies than the Scriptures. After all, Paul tells us that we should not grieve like those who have no hope but comfort one another with the hope we share in Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:14, 18). We do grieve loss, just not in the same way as those without Christ, or who think they can change the temperature by declaring it is warm. Any cursory read of the Psalms reveals time and again, that a man who killed lions, bears, and a bully named Goliath, was fearful of his opponents. The Bible’s prescription to combat fear is to place our faith in someone bigger. 

⁴I sought the Lord, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears.

⁵They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces will never be ashamed. 

⁶This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him And saved him out of all his troubles. 

⁷The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them. 

⁸O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! 

⁹O fear the Lord, you His saints; For to those who fear Him there is no want. 

Psalm 34:4–9 (NASB95) 

David experienced fear, even though he was one of the most accomplished warrior kings in history. He also directed those fears to God, in faith, and found freedom. 

When we fear man, we subtly imply that man, our circumstances, or our opponents are more powerful than the Lord. In some sense, we have more faith in the triumph of our enemies than the Sovereign power of our God. So, is there a better way? Yes! Three actions to combat controlling fears. 

1. See the Person of the Lord. Notice v.4. David sought God and God delivered him from his fears. 
2. Rehearse the Provision of the Lord. “Preach” to yourself the ways that God provided for you in the past. How He did not abandon you in your troubles. God was always “in time” and “on time.”
3. Choose the promise of the Lord. It is a choice to sleep well because the Angel of the Lord protects us (v.7). It is also a choice to worry that our enemies can get through His protective barrier. Either God is the Refuge we run to (v.8), or He is the one we run by on our way to something else. Either He is our Provider (v.9), or He has a starring role in some form of fictional story in our mind. 

Confronting the difficulties and pressures of this life is not a matter of trying to pretend it doesn’t happen. The battle is one of faith. Choose to place faith in the one who stills the seas, overcame death, and sets enemies to flight.