"Unfounded Fears"

 

“Unfounded Fears”

 

Many people are plagued by phobias, defined as unfounded or abnormal fears, which can have great impact on their lives. The possibilities for phobias are virtually unlimited and in extreme cases professional intervention is needed to provide what Rabbi Edwin Friedman calls “a non-anxious presence”. On a personal level people like you and me can fulfill this role in less serious cases (“Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.”—Proverbs 12:25, NLT).

Some common phobias include claustrophobia (fear of small or closed places), glossophobia (fear of speaking in public or before a group) and ophidiophobia (fear of snakes—I qualify here). Less common ones are aerophobia (fear of flying), acrophobia (fear of heights), trypanophobia (fear of needles), ornithophobia (fear of birds) and gephyrophobia (fear of crossing bridges). In my pastoral and chaplain roles I’ve known of people afflicted with each of these and other conditions which can cause great anxiety and hinder their quality of life and relationships.

There’s certainly a place for legitimate fears in our lives (e.g. of uncontrolled fire, an approaching tsunami and especially God’s judgment of sin {“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”—Hebrews 10:31, NKJV}) but God doesn’t want us to live in unfounded fear. Someone has pointed out that the phrase “Do not be afraid” or an equivalent appears 365 times in Scripture. Why is it repeated so often? So people like me will get it eventually! An anonymous psalmist wrote, “When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.” (Psalm 94:19).

In 2 Timothy 1:7 Paul encourages his co-worker, “…God did not give us a spirit of timidity (other translations say fear), but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” So if we’re dealing with unfounded fears they don’t come from God but are distractions from our archenemy to minimize our effectiveness in what He has for us to do, Rather, let’s hold onto His promise given through His prophet: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10, emphasis added). That’s God’s way of dealing with our unfounded fears—trust Him to keep His word.

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan