Silencing Fear When It’s Overwhelming: Bible Verses About Fear

What has you feeling fear? Aside from the deliberate scares we subject ourselves to during Halloween, there are always plenty of things in our lives that make us feel fear. Your fears may center around your work, your future or the future of your children, your health, the economy, the state of our politics and what’s happening globally, and so much more. Each person has their own fears that they have to deal with.

Fear is a powerful primal emotion, one we feel early on in life. We often think of fear as a negative emotion but fear serves an important role in keeping us safe. Fear can mobilize us to cope with potential danger.

The feeling of fear arises when we are threatened with the possibility of harm. That harm can be physical, emotional, or psychological, and it can be real or imagined. Fear activates the fight-or-flight mechanism in our bodies, enabling us to either face the danger head-on or escape it if need be. Fear helps us survive.

While fear isn’t necessarily a negative emotion it can be challenging. When imagined dangers proliferate, we can struggle to get a handle on them. Additionally, fear becomes an issue and can lead to distress and disruption when it is extreme or out of proportion to the actual threat you’re facing.

When you’re feeling fear constantly, or your fear feels overwhelming, you should talk to your doctor so that they can ascertain whether there isn’t an underlying medical condition at work. If your fear is intense and triggered in specific circumstances, you may have a type of anxiety disorder such as a phobia. Effective treatment is available for anxiety disorders.

As part of dealing with your fear, you can turn to the Bible and hear the words of encouragement there. Not only does the Bible help us come to terms with our fears, but it can provide us with tools to cope with fear in day-to-day life.

Bible verses about fear

Many places in the Bible address fear, but there’s probably no better place than the Psalms. The Psalms were the song and prayer book of ancient Israel. These songs and prayers address the whole range of human emotions.

Fear features quite prominently in Psalms. One of the writers of the Psalms was David, who faced many life-threatening situations. And it’s not as though David lacked courage; he was a warrior who didn’t shy away from battle. Yet David still felt fear. The Psalms invite us to disclose and explore our own fears. As we do this, we are reminded of who God is, providing us with what we need to cope with fear.

Psalm 3 in particular is a psalm that speaks of David’s fear. It reads:

 Lord, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
 Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”

But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
 I call out to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.

 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
 I will not fear though tens of thousands
assail me on every side.

 Arise, Lord!
Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.

 From the Lord comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people. – Psalm 3, NIV

The epigraph at the top of the psalm gives us some context. This is when David fled from his son Absalom who had incited a civil war and rebellion against David. The story is in the book of 2 Samuel 15-18. David had thousands pursuing him to kill him, so when he says he has many foes, it’s true.

One of David’s sources of fear comes through in the word many. He repeats it three times in the psalm, highlighting his concern at being outnumbered. David fears the sheer number of those who oppose him.

Not only is David afraid of the number of his opponents, but he is also afraid of the attacks they are launching against him. His life is in danger. Additionally, they are assaulting his sense of safety in God by saying that God won’t deliver David (verse 2).

David sinned by committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering her husband. David was a terrible father who had done nothing when his son Amnon had sexually assaulted his half-sister, Tamar. He failed as a father and as a king. It is no wonder he felt the accusation and suggestion that God won’t deliver him.

The turnaround comes when David recognized a few things. Though likely lamenting his loss of stature because of his failures, he recognizes that his sense of worth comes from God. God is his glory as verse three says; the one who gives him significance. Whether he loses the crown or his life is of no consequence because God is his ultimate reference point.

The fear of losing stature is neutralized when David sees that his stature isn’t his glory, but God is his everything. David refers to Him as the “One who lifts my head high.” (Psalms 3:3, NIV) David also recognizes that the Lord is his shield and the one who protects him (verse 3).

If God is guarding and sustaining you, it doesn’t matter if thousands are trying to kill you. David calls out to God and trusts in God’s promises to hear him. He can lie down and sleep during these challenging circumstances. Even though he is in danger, he leans on what he knows to be true and chooses to not feel fear (verse 6). In provocative language, David utters the outcome he’s hoping for, but ultimately leaves things in God’s hands (verses 7-8).

Danger included – embracing the reality of danger and fear.

When you strap on a shield to go into battle, you do so because you know you’re not walking into a safe situation. When David says the Lord is a shield around him in Psalm 3:3, he is recognizing that he’s going into dangerous territory.

Often, we are caught off guard by danger or trouble because we expect safety. However, if we are mentally prepared for trouble, fear may be present, but it doesn’t overwhelm us. For the Christian, it is wiser to understand that trouble will come and to face the possibility with the knowledge that God is with you through it all.

Another verse that reminds us that a life lived faithfully doesn’t exclude danger is in Deuteronomy: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Believers today aren’t expected or commanded to fight battles to claim territory in the same way, but there are still dangers to navigate. Jesus’ disciples will face persecution, whether that means being ostracized, insulted, or deprived of property, prestige, or even their lives. These hardships will come, as will daily issues of what we will eat and drink.

To His disciples, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Jesus warned them that they will have trouble in this life. He said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Trusting God in the midst of your fear

David overcame his fear trusting God in the midst of it. He was afraid for his life, afraid of his loss of stature, and afraid of losing God’s protection. He laid these things out before God, and we too can similarly lay our fears out plainly before God. Fear gains its power because we don’t trust God the way we should.

To overcome our fears we ought to recognize who God is in relation to them. We do this in several ways, including praying to God and laying our fears out before Him. We can also do it by reminding ourselves of the truth concerning God, as David did in Psalm 3.

The truth about God can help us cope with our fears, and it can disrupt the downward spiral of anxious thoughts that fear inspires. We can see David doing this in his other psalms:

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

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

David recognizes that God is with him, so there is no reason to fear. David also sees that if God is where your ultimate hope lies, no one can take that away from you. Often, our fears are generated by unnamed expectations and hopes.

If your hope and expectation of happiness flow from your job, or someone’s approval, then, of course, you’ll be afraid if your job is in danger or if you earn the ire of the people you admire. However, if God is where your glory lies, if He is your hope and what your life is about, shifting circumstances aren’t going to strike fear in you because they won’t strike at the core of who you are.

Getting help

Fear is a powerful emotion that can overwhelm us. These Bible verses about fear can help us not only anticipate the things that cause us to fear but cope well with them when they come. God walks with His people and while they face challenges, they need not fear. Even with this knowledge, it is possible for fear to still get the best of us. When that happens it’s important to walk with others that can help overcome fear.

If you’re looking for additional support beyond these Bible verses about fear, a Christian counselor in Beverly Hills can help you understand the roots of your fears, whether that is experiences in your past or unnamed things you cling to for meaning and significance and are afraid of losing.

Your counselor will apply the wisdom from the Bible and evidence-based therapeutic techniques such as systematic desensitization or cognitive behavioral therapy which helps you discern negative thoughts and behavioral patterns, to help you cope with and overcome fear. If fear is an overwhelming reality for you, don’t hesitate to consult with a Christian counselor at Beverly Hills Christian Counseling to begin conquering your fears.