Fear

Everyone is scared of something. Did you know that? What’s your mom or dad scared of? Or your grandparents? They’re scared of something too! If you don’t know what the adults in your life are scared of, just ask them! You might get some funny answers.

Me, for example, I’m scared of snakes. Any kind of snake. Long ones, skinny ones, short ones, fat ones….snakes are NOT my thing. And yet somehow I always seem to have lots of interactions with snakes. One time a snake even came in to my house when I opened my front door to get a package! Like he wanted to move in with us or something!

Anyway, I’ve learned to live with my fear of snakes because they are all around where we live. In fact, I saw a possum eat one the other day for a morning snack in my backyard! It’s a fear that I can’t get away from. Snakes exist and my fear of snakes exists, so what’s the answer? What gives? 

Think of what you’re scared of. What scares you most? You don’t have to say it out loud but just think about it. Being scared of something is the same as being fearful. So if I’m scared of snakes I can also say I have a fear of snakes. That’s my fear.

Well the Bible has something to say about fear. Listen to 2 Timothy 1:7. It says, “God did not give us a spirit of fear; but of power, love and self control.”

In other words, when we are a child of God we have God’s own Spirit, the Holy Spirit living in us!! This should blow our mind! We have God’s huge power living inside of us – the same power that created our world by just speaking word and it coming to existence. The same power that made hungry lions go to sleep and not eat Daniel. The same power that held back the rushing waters so that God’s people could cross over safely to freedom. The same power that brought Jesus back to life 3 days after he was crucified on the cross.  I could go on and on.

But here’s the deal… if we have THAT sorta power living in us….Why should we ever feel scared of something? Well, we shouldn’t! But….even if we try really hard to not be scared, it always seems to come creeping back, right?

That’s something that we will always deal with while we live on this Earth, but you should know that it’s not from God to feel that way. No. The verse said that God’s Spirit DOES NOT make us weak and fearful. He is no scardey cat! God is the only one who has no fears. And if He gave us His Spirit, like actually part of Himself to live in us, then we too shouldn’t give in to our fears.

 Because He gave us a Spirit of power and love and self control. You see, He doesn’t want you to go through your day and night being scared of this and that. No! He wants to replace your fear with His power, His love, and His ability to help us control our fears.

 We can’t control our fears on our own. No, we need a helper. And that’s just what God WANTS to do for us! He isn’t scared of what you’re scared of. But He doesn’t laugh at your fears and think they are silly or ridiculous. He wants to HELP you with your fears.

 Here are some questions to talk about. You can pause after each question and discuss or just generally review together when it’s over. Oh, and this is important! Listen. There’s no wrong answer to these! The point is to get conversation flowing. So don’t overthink it!

1.     What are you scared of? What’s your fear? 

2.     Do you believe that God can help you with that fear? Can He actually help you to not be afraid of that?

3.     What would be different in your life if you trusted Him to take away your fear and replace it with His power, love and self control?

One last time before we sign off, let’s practice 2 Timothy 1:7 together “God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self control.”

Parents you can check out more resources at BackseatBibleNuggets.com. 
*Music: Forest by Vlad Gluschenko