Is fear hereditary? I grew up around a lot of concern and trepidation.

   At times, my grandmother stayed with us. Although she had little formal education, her daily ritual involved haltingly reading the headlines of horror, disaster, and mayhem to us as we got ready for school.

   As a small child, growing up in the church, I developed quite a few misconceptions. I thought fear was just part of being a Christian. Fear the world. Fear the devil. Years later I began to question some of my beliefs and discovered many were not Bible based.

   We are supposed to resist the devil and He will flee. While compromise is not an option, we are directed to be salt, light, and life to a bland, dark, and dying world.

   One day, while almost through reading the Bible, from cover to cover, God got my attention.

“He that overcometh shall inherit all things;

and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.   

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable,

and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers,

and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part

in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone:

which is the second death” (Revelations 21:7-8).

   I shuttered as I read about the fire, brimstone, and second death and thanked God that I was not—and I looked back at the list, just to be sure I was okay. My eyes fell on the word fearful.   

   Unbelievable! Before the abominable, murderers, whoremongers, sorcerers, idolaters, and liars was listed the fearful. Now, I had always known that liars, murderers, and promiscuous people were sinners, but the fearful?   

   Isn’t fear a natural, normal reaction when we are threatened? I rationalized the many valid reasons to fear. God was patient as I explained to Him the reality of life on planet earth. He didn’t budge. I wanted Him to direct me to another Scripture that would clarify such a harsh, hard statement. He didn’t do that either.

   As I prayed about my tendency to be fearful and studied God’s Word, I realized that fear could be handled the same way other temptations are controlled. Someone once said, “You can’t keep a bird from flying overhead, but you can keep it from building a nest there!”

   Thoughts of hate, lust, rebellion, dishonesty, strife, and even fear will sometimes fill our minds. Thank God for God! He always provides a way of escape.

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

   Perhaps God despises fearfulness because it signifies our lack of trust in Him. When we focus on Him, who He is, and what He can do, we grasp something awesome! The battle is not ours, but His!

“Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hears and minds through Christ Jesus”
(Philippians 4:6-7).