7 Verses That Encourage Us to Have Faith over Fear
Micah MaddoxAuthor, speaker
June 12, 2023
Fear isn’t something new we are dealing with in our lifetime. We can trace fear all the way back to the very beginning, when the evil one tempted Eve in the garden. At his sly request of questioning God’s truth, fear was ignited in Eve’s heart, and she took the bite of fruit, believing the devil was right. Fear is sneaky, quick, and sometimes debilitating.
The hope we have is that God’s Word gives us everything we need to fight against the fears that seem to come at us at the most inconvenient times. We do not have to live riddled with anxious thoughts, heart-pumping doubts, and mind-racing possibilities. We can live at peace with ourselves and with God, but we have to practice using our faith muscle. It does not mean we try to do more good than bad, or try to check every box of our holiness checklists in hopes that we out-do someone less holy than us.
It means we turn to God’s Word over and over again and we receive the truth and the promises He gives us when fear threatens to take us down. Here are seven verses to help us fight the battle of turning to faith over fear.
1. Deuteronomy 3:22
This verse was given to Israel in a time when they needed to remember the truth. Moses knew they would face enemies, but He also knew God would win the battle. We too face enemies. Sometimes we are even our own enemy. When we cling to the truth that God fights our battles, we can get out of the way. When we get out of the way, we choose faith over fear and watch God fight the battle. It’s not about giving up, it’s about turning over control to the one who controls it all.
2. Deuteronomy 31:6
Moses is older in years now and is about to hand over his leadership to Joshua. As he prepares for the transition, he declares truth about who God is over the people, reminding them success is not about human leadership. Men will come and go. Men will let you down and leave. But God never fails. He is always with you and He never leaves, lets go, or quits on you. When we trust God’s presence over man’s, we can make it through the ebbs and flows of leadership changes, family dysfunction, and other struggles knowing God is our never changing leader. This is where our faith finds focus.
3. Psalm 34:4
Faith over fear is a decision we make before the struggles hit. It’s seeking the Lord knowing He hears, and trusting Him knowing He will deliver and help. Sometimes we forget He helps. We forget He is the deliverer. So we wrestle with trying to figure everything out on our own. All along God is waiting and ready to hear our cry and our prayer.
4. Psalm 56:3
Choosing faith is choosing to trust God no matter what. It’s not that everything will be perfect or that everything will work out great. It’s in the moment of fear, we know where to turn. It’s not to Google, to a three-step process, a book, a mentor, or even a friend. It’s knowing when we are afraid to turn to Jesus because He is the one who can calm our anxious hearts.
5. Psalm 23:4
Sometimes we face the hardest, the darkest, the scariest of all trials. It might look like sudden tragedy, a diagnosis we never imagined, or a family crisis we didn’t see coming. But even in the darkest of times, God is able to guard and carry us through it. When we feel like God is absent or like He doesn’t seem to care, we can rest in the truth of the psalmist that even then, even in the dark, even in the shadow of death – God is there. He is near. Reach out and take hold of His mighty hand. He’s not so far that we can’t feel or sense Him. He is there in the middle of the darkest night with comfort. With you.
6. Isaiah 41:10
God’s hand is a beautiful picture we find in Scripture. When we talk about having faith in God and in God’s hand in each situation, there is an instruction that often precedes the idea of trust. It is “fear not.” It’s easy to say but difficult to live out. But over and over God’s Word says, “Fear not.” The question we might follow up with is, but how? How do we fear not when everything around us calls us to questions, fear, and doubt? The answer is found in focusing our hearts and minds on what is true about God and about God’s promises. God is with us. God gives strength. God gives help. God holds us. His hand is not clenched closed seeing if we will survive. He is stretching out His hand to lift us up, hold us, and make sure we are going to make it.
7. Isaiah 41:13
Just like a child needs a hand to hold to cross the street, God reaches forth His hand to help us cross the difficult paths of life. Not only that, this verse gives us the sweet reminder that He speaks to us with reassuring words as we go. He isn’t silent with lips closed tightly, never giving His advice or wisdom. He gives that common command, “Fear not.” And it is followed by the beautiful promise, “I will help you.”
Fear isn’t something that is going away anytime soon. It’s a battle we will face each day as we go through this life, but it is a battle we can win with God. The way we do that is by clinging to the promises God offers in His Word. It might look like putting the words of one of these verses in plain sight to see throughout the day, or taking a few minutes alone to dwell on and meditate on one of the promises you know about who God is and what He can do. It might mean you memorize one of these verses to hold tightly in your heart in the moment fear grips you.
No matter what we go through, God is able to help us through. Choosing faith over fear isn’t about doing more to overcome, it’s about believing God to help us overcome. Faith is knowing God can, believing God can, and walking through each day reminding yourself of the truth that God knows and sees the bigger picture. Fear not. God is with you.
