Fear, Worry, and Anxiety: Battling for our Faith

The following is counseling manual derived from Elyse Fitzpatrick's book, Overcoming Fear, Worry, and Anxiety.

1. Definition and Description of Anxiety, Worry and Fear

A. Definition: Fear, which worry and anxiety comprises, is defined as a “felt reaction to a perceived danger.[1]

B. Description: God has created us to respond quickly to danger. When our body feels that danger is imminent, it responds by releasing hormones. This in turn makes our blood pressure rise and our eyesight and hearing become more acute. This reaction gives us the ability to either fight what we are scared of, or flee the situation. However, fear reacts to a perceived danger. The danger that the body reacts to is entirely in the human mind, such as the feeling one has when he wakes up from a nightmare. Fear begins a vicious cycle of runaway thoughts, physical responses, imaginations, and neglected care of the body “that can serve to bring about more fear and heightened physical responses. It’s easy to see how the results of fear may create more fear leading to total slavery.”[2]

C. Development: Fear can become habitual, much like anything in life. Sometimes because of the habitual nature, fear may seem to come out of nowhere. This is called a panic attack. People who have experienced panic attacks report sudden occurrences of intense anxiety that do not seem to have any basis in their thoughts. The experience can be so baffling that the fear of it can easily become a controlling factor in the counselee’s life. Panic attacks are like jumping from the top of a flight of stairs to the bottom. Rather then taking a situation step by step (as we should when walking a staircase), the counselee jumps quickly from his initial thought to full blown panic.[3] This makes the counselee feel that his emotions are out of control or that he is going crazy.

II. Biblical Diagnosis and Explanation

A. Biblical People who Feared

1. Adam and Eve: Fear was first introduced into the human experience in the Garden of Eden. When God came looking for Adam after he and Eve sinned, the two of them were fearful so they tried to hide themselves from their Creator. However, even before this instance, fear played a part. What caused Eve to disobey God by eating the fruit? She may have feared that she was missing out on something better then what she currently enjoyed. We are not sure the exact reason but we do know that she was deceived and as a result sinful fear was introduced to humanity.

2. Abraham: Abraham had been promised by God that he would be the father of a great nation, as well as father of the Savior of mankind. However, as he and his wife Sarah grew in age, Abraham became fearful and his faith in God’s promises diminished. Furthermore, on two different occasions, Abraham lied to the rulers of Egypt about Sarah’s identity when he was passing through calling her his sister for fear that He may lose his life if they knew that she was really his wife. Because of Abraham’s sinful fear, he sinned against his wife, deceived rulers, was a source of trouble to them, and above all, dishonored God. Abraham’s fear was logical, but it was also sinful.

3. Sarah: Despite being promised by God that she would bear a son, as the years went by and her womb became barren, Sarah lost faith and began to be fearful that she would never have an offspring. Sarah gave her maid, Hagar, to her husband so that he might impregnate her and fulfill the promise. This act has become catastrophic as the children of Israel and the child of Hagar, which constitutes Ishmael’s descendents, have warred for centuries. However, despite their fears, God worked in mighty ways through Abraham and Sarah and can do the same for all believers.

4. Moses: As God outlined His plan for Moses to deliver his people, Moses became fearful. Even though God spoke to him from a burning bush and said that He would be with him, Moses still doubted God’s faithfulness by claiming that he was a poor speaker. As Moses considered God’s call he was bombarded with fears that he would be unsuccessful in his ministry. What was God’s response? God did not try to boost Moses self-confidence. Instead, God reminded Moses that he should put his trust in Him. God does not want believers to grow in self-confidence, but rather to grow in God-confidence, or faith in Him.

5. Saul: Saul was a fearful king. One time when Saul went to war against God’s enemies, he grew anxious and didn’t offer prayers and sacrifices for the people’s victory in battle so he broke God’s law and offered them himself. Furthermore, when Saul was anointed king, he was hiding among wagons and carts because he was in much trepidation about his calling. Saul’s main struggle, however, was with the fear of man. It is a common problem that many people face and the apostle Peter is a classic case.

6. Peter: After Jesus was arrested, three different people came to Peter and asked him if he knew Jesus. Afraid of what may happen to him, three times he denied that he knew his Lord and Savior. Many people are just like Saul and Peter. They know that God is there for them, but when the fear of man appears they neglect opportunities to share Christ for fear of what people may think.

Tomorrow, we will look at the sources of fear.

[1] Elyse Fitzpatrick, Overcoming Fear, Worry, and Anxiety, (Eugene OR: Harvest House, 2001), 14.
[2] Ibid., 17.
[3] Ibid, 19.