It was cold and overcast in Washington DC on March 4, 1933, as Franklin Delano Roosevelt prepared to deliver his first inaugural speech. The United States, as well as the rest of the world, was mired in the depths of the Great Depression. Between the day FDR was elected and when he took office, 4,000 banks in the US were forced to close. At the Capitol, Roosevelt braced himself on his son James’ arm and made his way to the podium to deliver hope to the nation. It was at the beginning of this inaugural speech that Roosevelt uttered one of the most famous lines in American history, “…first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” That line stuck in the heart of every woman and man, giving them hope that things could change.
While those words are still inspiring today, they are easier said than done. In the same way listening to the song Don’t Worry, Be Happy doesn’t make all your problems go away, telling yourself (or being told by someone else) not to fear doesn’t always help. Yet from cover to cover in the Bible, God repeatedly says to us, “Don’t be afraid.” There are 365 “do not fear” statements in the Bible—that’s one for every day of the year. Over and over again, in all kinds of situations, God instructs and even commands individuals and groups not to be afraid. These statements aren’t based on the circumstances (“It’s not that big of a deal”) or the ability of the person who’s afraid (“You’ve got this!”). God tells us not to fear because He’s got this, and we can trust Him.
While God tells us repeatedly not to fear, there is actually one type of fear that the Bible tells us to embrace. It’s the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 1:7 tells us, “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” So, what are we supposed to do? Fear not or fear the Lord? The answer: yes.
The key is understanding what the Bible means when it says “fear” the Lord. When that term shows up in the Bible, it’s not talking about an unhealthy fear that is disproportionate to the danger. That’s the kind of fear that makes a mountain out of a molehill and causes us to worry, stress, and give up.
When the Bible talks about fearing the Lord, it is talking about a healthy fear. It means having an understanding of who God is compared to us. It means respect, reverence, awe, and honor. It can even be translated or seen as worship. It’s like the healthy respect we have for our parents. It’s the fear that a good electrician might have for the power of electricity. It doesn’t keep them from doing their work, but their fear of its power causes them to handle it cautiously and respect its power.
Nicky Gumbel, an Anglican pastor in England and the author of the Alpha Course for discipleship, writes, “Fear God and you need not fear anything else or anyone else.” When we have a proper respect for the power and majesty of God, we realize that we don’t have anything else to fear. It is what inspired the Apostle Paul to write in his letter to the Roman church, “If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” (Romans 8:31) Like a child who walks down the street completely unafraid because her father is holding her hand, when we honor and fear the Lord, we don’t have to fear anything else. When we see God for who He really is, our problems get a lot smaller and our fear subsides. The Gallup polling organization demonstrated that first hand in our crazy 2020.
A Gallup Poll released in early December 2020, showed a serious decline in mental health and anxiety among Americans during 2020. Given how crazy 2020 was, it’s not a shock. In the poll they found that every group they surveyed, regardless of gender, political party, race, age, marital status, or income had experienced a decline in mental health of -1 to -15%. Except one. One group had a positive mental health change of +4% in 2020. That group: people who attended religious services on a weekly basis. While they were living in the same circumstances and experiencing the same upheaval as everyone else, they were like salmon swimming upstream against the current when it came to mental health and peace of mind. If you needed another reason to make church a priority this weekend, there you go.
Fear God and don’t need to fear anything else. Allow Him to take on the weight of those things that are stressing you out and making you want to run away and hide. How? A great way to start is by following the instructions that Paul gave to the church in Philippi: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
What can defeat fear? The peace of God. The peace of God exceeds anything we can understand. In other words, God will give you a peace that doesn’t make sense. You should be freaking out, but you aren’t. Everyone else in your social media feed is losing it about the latest crisis in the news, but you’re not. Why? Because God is covering your mind and heart with His peace. He’s got this. You don’t have to be afraid. To paraphrase FDR, “We have nothing to fear but the Lord Himself.” And when we do that, we don’t have to fear anything else.