The fear that God commands us to master is the fear that a sovereign, good, and loving God is not in complete control of the universe. To fear is to believe your life is dictated, not by Christ, but by your circumstances. That your fate is ultimately determined by the storm that is around you, not the Lord you says, “Fear not, for I am with you in that storm.”

Last year, a university in California conducted a survey to uncover the top ten fears of Americans. Researchers took a random sample of more than 1,000 adults from across the U.S. and asked them to rank their fears from a wide range of topics, including the environment, natural disasters, war, and disease.

For the sixth consecutive year in a row, the findings revealed the number one fear for Americans was government corruption. Second to that was “a loved one dying,” followed by “a loved one catching COVID-19.” Next was “a loved one becoming seriously ill,” “widespread civil unrest,” “a pandemic,” “economic collapse,” “cyber terrorism,” “pollution,” and finally, “biological warfare.”

What the study also revealed was that the top ten fears of Americans were, not only firmly grounded in reality, but they were largely inevitable. People fear, not only what’s likely to happen, but what unavoidably will happen. At least, sooner or later.

Whether we like it or not, life is filled with threats that can trigger our fears or cause us to be anxious about tomorrow. But whether those fears are rational or irrational, they can and often do, have a significant impact on our lives today.

Hasn’t the past two years profoundly demonstrated that to all of us? The fear of COVID turned our lives upside-down. It turned the world upside-down! And it continues to do so in many parts of the world to this day.

And if it’s not enough to have to fear contracting the virus itself, we also have to worry about the measures and lengths the authorities are willing to go to in their vain attempts to “slow the spread,” or achieve unrealistic goals, such as “Covid Zero.”

Without question, for the past two years, fear has been the controlling master over the lives of many. In fact, it’s been the exploitation of fear that has helped to justify some of the worst human rights abuses that many freedom-loving countries have ever known. Fear, when it takes hold, has a tendency to blind us to reality.

In fact, we see this principle in God’s Laws, when the Lord commanded the Israelites in Deuteronomy 22:8, saying:

“When you build a new house, you must build a railing around the edge of its flat roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it.”

In other words, are we enslaved to fear? Many people are. Perhaps most people are. The author of Hebrews tells us of those who, “through fear of death” are made “subject to lifelong slavery” (Heb. 2:15). Fear is a powerful, enslaving force.

It’s no surprise then to find repeated verses throughout the Bible telling is to “fear not.” That’s not just a “cheer-me-up” and “wish-you-well,” either. It’s a command. A divine command. This means to do the opposite of that command is to disobey God Himself, and to disobey God is sin.

Yes, God has commanded us not to murder, not to commit adultery, not to steal, but he’s also commanded us not to fear. In fact, the command to “fear not” is the most frequently issued imperative in all Scripture. It’s said the command appears 365 times!

Why so prevalent? Well, to put it simply, what is fear but the result of failing to do exactly what God has commanded us to do. The reason God so often tells us to fear not is because fear is a product of doubt. We’ve been commanded, not to doubt, but to believe. Or more specifically, to believe the promises of God.

That’s why, when the command to “fear not” is issued, it’s followed by a solid reason, and fixed basis for exactly why it is we should not fear.

A doctor who merely tells a snake bite victim not to worry about it does little to assure his patient that his fears of venom poisoning are misplaced. But the assurance that the snake was non-venomous and that the bite was more of a mild graze anyways leaves little room for the festering of fears.

That’s because the reason quiets the fears, like a child a night afraid of a dark object in the room until the lights are turned on and that threatening object becomes nothing more than a pile of old clothes. The child knows he has no reason to fear a pile of old clothes. The reason why he should not fear mastered the reason why he should fear.

So, it is with God. As often as we’re commanded to “fear not,” we’re told why it is we shouldn’t fear.

“Fear not, for I am with you…” (Gen. 26:24)

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God…” (Isa. 41:10)

“Fear not… I am the one who helps you, declares the LORD.” (Isa. 41:14)

“Fear not, for I am with you…” (Isa. 43:5)

Or as Jesus put it, “Do not fear, only believe” (Mk. 5:36).

In other words, belief is the antithesis of fear of this kind, because fear is a product of non-belief. If we’re fearing, we’re not believing as we ought to. If we’re fearing, it is because we’re believing something we ought not. We’re believing in something other than God.

Oftentimes, fear is simply the belief that God is not really with us, that he doesn’t really care for us, that he’s not working all things according to the counsel of His will (Eph. 1:11), and that he’s not working all things for the good of those who love him (Rom. 8:28).

In short, fear is the belief that our circumstances are not governed by the hand of a sovereign, good, and loving God.

When the Lord assures us, saying, “Fear not, for I am with you,” how often are we left thinking, “Yes, but this particular situation is bigger than you are loving, more powerful than you are sovereign, more painful than you are merciful.”

It’s a trap we all fall into for the simple fact that it’s easier to fear what we see than believe what we can’t see. We can see the cancer. We can see the injury. We can see the bank account. We can see the danger. We can see the virus. We can see the war. We can see the death.

But Immanuel, God with us – that we can’t see. So, in the midst of our trouble and distress, we find ourselves tempted to fix our eyes on what’s seen rather than unseen. But it is then that our circumstances become our fear. It’s then that our situation becomes our dread. And suddenly, before we know it, we’re enslaved.

Do you see now why Paul said we must walk by faith and not sight? That’s what faith is, after all.

“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).

To walk by faith, and not sight is to live your life in such a way that it is controlled by a trust in God, shaped by a conviction and belief in his promises, and not driven about by fear produced by doubt and uncertainty.

To “fear not” is to believe. It is to believe the promises of God over the threats of the enemy, over the circumstances, over the diagnosis, over the storm that is raging all around us.

There’s a perfect illustration of this in the Gospels. In Matthew 14, the Apostle records the well-known account of Jesus walking on water. But Jesus wasn’t the only one to walk on water that night.

Matthew tells us that as the disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee ahead of Jesus, a violent storm hit.

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