Fear is the root of nearly every problem you face.

Think about it.

I’m in a relationship where I’m constantly fearing that I won’t be pretty enough for him.  I worry that he’ll betray me for another woman.  I withdraw.  I question him constantly.  I make accusations based on my perceptions.  I become controlling.  I push him away.

Fear.  In some instances, the fear of betrayal (resulting in withdrawn love and control) may actually cause him to essentially betray me for someone whose love is not based on fear.

My family has a history of a particular disease.  Let’s say it’s breast cancer.  My whole life, I hear about that disease.  It’s a buzz word and anytime I hear it on the news or in a book or in conversation, my ears perk up.  When I reach the age that my family member was when they were diagnosed, I start doing what the world calls “smart”.  I go in every six months for a mammogram.  I eat the right things.  I do self-exams.  I schedule blood tests.  Really, I’m bracing myself for sickness.  I’m expecting it.  I’m fearing it.  I hear its name and I tremble.  I pray that I won’t get it, but all my prayers are rooted in fear.

Fear.  Did that last sentence catch off-guard?  Perhaps you didn’t realize that it mattered if prayers were rooted in fear (rather than faith).  It matters.  Jesus said that the prayer offered in faith would make the sick person well.  In the book of Job, it says that what Job feared the most came upon him (sickness and disease, the loss of his family, the loss of his reputation and livelihood).  Fear and faith both get results.

At work, I have a large share of stock in my company.  I become fearful when I hear reports of the economy falling and stocks plummeting.  I withdraw my money.  Because I pull out my stocks, many of my co-workers follow suit and do the same.  After six months, 50% of our staff has been laid off.  After a year, our company is bankrupt.

Why?  Fear.

I crave love.  I feel as if I’m constantly being mistreated.  When I make a new friend, I come up with a list of reasons of why they don’t like me.  Eventually, they stop talking to me and then the inevitable is proved: I am unlovable.  I am friendless, because I am unworthy of being in a relationship with those who love and respect me.

Fear.  Fear of rejection.  They didn’t reject me.  I pushed them away, out of fear, until they finally gave me what I wanted: freedom to return back to my isolation (fear).

The command that God gave more than any other throughout the Bible is Fear not.  It makes sense that satan, our enemy, would try to lead us right into the pit that God told us to stay out of.

God told me not to fear.  I’m thinking of all the problems (or what I perceive as problems) in my life and I can say this: If I obeyed God’s command to not fear, all my problems would be gone!

Have you ever looked at your life (your problems) and said: “God must really be testing me.”  I have.  I’ve looked at my problems and thought they were tools from God to test and prune me, when really, those problems were nothing more than offspring of my fears.  And yes, God used those things (because He can use even what satan does for our good) to test and mold my character, but they were not sent of Him.

Satan uses fear.  God uses love.  The two cannot coexist.

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. -1 John 4:18 NIV

Tags: 1 John 4:18, afraid, fear, loss, love, rejection, relationships, root of every problem

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