Who/what do you fear?

Psalm 27:1 (NIV)

The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the defense of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?  

Psalm 118:6 (NIV)

The Lord is with me, I will not be afraid, what can man do to me? 

The Bible speaks a lot about fear (also including feared, fearful, fearfully, fearing, fears, feareth, fearest, fearfulness).  Words related to fear are used 403 times in the Old Testament (my count from Strong’s Concordance) and 117 times in the New Testament.  Fear is used either relating to God or relating to man or the things of man.  Basically, you should always fear God and never fear man or the things of man.  Whenever the Bible speaks of fearing man or the things of man, it also assures you that God is present to help you deal those kinds of fears.  The two Psalms above are good examples. 

There are at least 20 different Hebrew words that are translated as fear in the Old Testament and perhaps 10 different Greek words translated as fear in the New Testament.  The most common Hebrew words are:

1.   Yare’ (also yir’ah)--translated as “reverence” or “awe”.  Hundreds of verses in the Old Testament use this word to describe how we are to reverence and honor God.  Some of the best are Gen 15:1 (fear not, Abraham), Exo 20:20 (people, fear not), Ps 23:4 (fear no evil); Ps 139:14 (fearfully and wonderfully made), Prov 1:7 (fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge), Eccles 12:13 (the conclusion is, fear God), Isa 41:10 (do not fear for I am with you), Dan 1:10 (I fear my Lord) and many other examples including the two verses above).  

2.   Pachad—translated as “terror” or “dread”.  Examples include Gen 31:53, Deut 11:25, Ps 36:1, and Jer:33:9, all referring to fear or terror where and when God is absent.   

The most common Greek words are:

1.   Phobeo—translated as “reverence”—Matt 10:26, 28, Luke 12:32, I Pet 2:17, Rev 1:17, etc refer to reverence and awe of God.   

2.   Phobos—translated as “terror”—Matt 14:26, Luke 21:26, Rom 3:18, I John 4:18, Heb 12:21, Rev 11:11, etc all related to human fears apart from God.

There are also two other Greek words related to fear worth noting:

1.   Eulabeia—translated as utmost respect and awe—Heb 12:28

2.   Deilia—translated as timidity—II Tim1:7 (God has not given you a spirit of timidity).

Christian people are not to fear anything or anyone on this earth.  You are only to fear (reverence) God.  Fear is a consequence of sin (Gen 3:10).  You accumulate fears when you are young and do not know the Lord personally and then have to fight them the rest of your life.  Fear (and worry) is a result of a lack of faith.  Fear of others especially can be debilitating.  Proverbs 29:25 says that the “fear of man brings a snare”.  You need to ask the Lord to help you everything to overcome the fears you have, especially any fear of any other human being.   

Perhaps you fear other people because of strict parents, especially if one/both of them were abusive.  Perhaps you were a victim of bullying as a child.  Perhaps you were never strong or big or brave enough to stand up to others.  Perhaps a teacher or coach or other person in authority overstepped that authority and mistreated you to the point that you fear anyone in authority.  Whatever the root cause of your fear of other people, such fear is unbiblical and as a believer in God, you must go to Him in prayer and as a result of His promises to hear your prayers, you can trust Him to help you overcome your fear of others, whoever they are in your life.  Jesus said that you are never to fear (phobeo) other men, even those who can kill you.  He is present in your life to protect you against such fear.  You simply have to trust Him and His promises to be with you and help you overcome your fears.      

Here is a closing thought on overcoming fear from http://www.incourage.me/emily.html---I am Afraid, I hear myself say. And in the saying, I practice the presence of Fear, rather than rest in the safety of God. Jesus says His Spirit within me is one of power, love, and a sound mind. But He whispers while Fear is loud. Fear screams for me to run. But God beckons me, Come. Fear pushes me to produce protection. But God whispers I have already overcome.  And so I stand on rock and watch as the sand sinks swiftly down. To be love-led rather than fear-driven is to stand on the rock underneath.  Where have you placed your feet today?