I don’t know about you, but I struggle with fear and anxiety on a regular basis.
Fear can come in many forms – anxiety, nervousness, uneasiness, worry and even outright terror.
When we allow fear to take over our mind and our thoughts, life can feel overwhelming and we feel unable to move forward – whether just to get through this one day, or to move forward with the next stage of our life.
*** Click on the image at the end of the post to watch the You Tube video: 56 Bible verses about fear
Fear can also lead to disorders such as Generalised Anxiety Disorder, OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and panic attacks.
I have suffered with anxiety and OCD since I was a nine year old child, but through reading the promises of God day by day, I have gained significant healing (more about that verse 10 below).
When I draw near to God and read His promises to us in the Bible, I feel at peace again and able to take the next step in life’s journey.
I hope these Bible promises about fear will speak to you as much as they have to me. Each promise has a link to the Bible, so you can read the promises in God’s Word for yourself.
God is for you. He will never leave you or forsake you. He is trustworthy. He is in control of the future and He loves you deeply.
Enjoy these 21 Bible promises that help us not to be afraid.
1. God hears us when we call out to Him and He takes away our fears.
“I sought the Lord and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4
When we are afraid and we call out to God, He promises that He will answer us and take away our fears. Fear is the opposite of faith and trust. When we remember God’s promises and choose to put our faith and trust back in God, our fear is lessened or taken away completely.
2. When are are afraid and we call out to God, He comes close to us and whispers ‘Don’t be afraid. I am with you’.
“You came near when I called you, and you said ‘Do not fear'”. Lamentations 3:57
3. God sends His angels to take care of us
“The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and He delivers him”. Psalm 34:7
God gives each one of us a guardian angel to watch over and protect us. We are not often aware that angels are surrounding us because we cannot see them.
In the Bible, in 2 Kings 6, it tells us about a story where an army was sent to capture and kill the prophet Elisha. His servant got up in the morning and opened the door and there was a huge army surrounding them. Understandably, he was terrified.
But Elisha was not afraid. He knew that God’s guardian angels were surrounding them in much greater numbers and power than any human army. Elisha asks God to ‘open his servant’s eyes’ so that he can see the angels. God opened the servant’s eyes and he could see the hills ‘full of chariots and fire’.
Elisha said ‘those who are with us are more than those who are with them’. 2 Kings 6: 15 – 17.
So next time you feel afraid, ask God to send his angels to protect you and remember this story – even if you can’t see them with your natural eyes, God’s angels are there, in far greater numbers than any army or any problem you might face.
2 Kings 6
Verse 15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.
Verse 16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
Verse 17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
4. Choose not to fear rule your life. Choose to trust God instead.
“Don’t give in to fear.” 1 Peter 3:6
While this may look like a simplistic Bibe text, it is actually very powerful. It says ‘don’t give in to fear’. This means that we actually have a choice about whether we ‘give in’ to the feeling of fear or whether we resist the feeling.
We have a choice about how we respond to every situation.
Are you allowing yourself to be afraid when you could choose to trust God instead?
5. When we are trusting God, we don’t need to be afraid of bad news.
“They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.” Psalm 112:7
At the time of writing, the world is in the grip of Coronavirus. When you read a newspaper, watch TV or go on social media, it is full of bad news. God tells us that we don’t need to be afraid of bad news. We know what’s going on in the world around us, but we put our trust fully in God and rest in His promises to take care of us.
6. God is always with us to help when we have trouble
“God is our refuge and strength; an ever-present help in trouble; therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” Psalm 46: 1-3
7. God calms our nerves
“Do not tremble with fear; do not be afraid.” Isaiah 44:8
8. God holds our hand and says ‘Do not fear, I will help you’
“For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.'” Isaiah 41:13
9. God is a personal God – He will help us himself
“Do not be afraid…do not fear…for I, myself will help you, declares the Lord.” Isaiah 41.14
God’s love and protection for us is personal. He promises that He, Himself, will help us. He will take us by the hand and walk by our side, no matter what we are going through.
He will “never leave us nor forsake us“. Deuteronomy 31:6
Although He is Almighty God, He is also our Heavenly Father, who loves us deeply. His love drives away all fear.
10. God has not designed us to be anxious. He has given us a ‘sound mind’
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and a sound mind.”
2 Timothy 1:7
As I said above, I have had Generalised Anxiety Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) since I was a nine year old child. I was a very frightened child and the OCD caused me to do many repetitive behaviors.
I knew they were ‘crazy’, but my anxiety was so high, I did not ‘dare’ not to do the behaviors in case something bad happened.
The amazing thing is that when I was fifteen years old, after six years of these debilitating repetitive behaviors, I walked out into my back year on a beautiful sunny day and looked up to heaven and said to God ‘You are in control. All this ‘good luck’ ‘bad luck’ stuff isn’t real – You are in control of everything. I literally gave control of my life over to God and STOPPED DOING THE BEHAVIORS!
Years later, when I was seeing a Psychiatrist who didn’t believe in God and I told him about this, he was shocked – he couldn’t believe it and had never heard of anyone doing this before.
This is the power of putting our faith and trust completely in God. It restores the ‘sound mind’ that He created us to have.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that mental health issues can all be magically cured by trusting in God, but it certainly helps. It alleviates anxiety and fear and gives us back a sense of peace.
I wasn’t 100% cured when I was 15, but I was 90% healed. I was 90% well, 90% of the time, which was much more manageable.
11. God created us uniquely ourselves and He calls us by name as His very own
“But now this is what the Lord says, He who created you, He who formed you, ‘Do not fear for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1
12. God is with us and he strengthens us
“So do not fear for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God; I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
13. God will not disappoint us
“Do not be afraid or discouraged. You won’t be disappointed.” Isaiah 54:4
14. God will provide for us and our families
“Don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” Genesis 50:21
15. God comforts us
“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4
16. God will keep us safe and give us a long, full life
“The Lord says ‘I will save the one who loves me. I will keep him safe because He trusts in me. He will call out to me and I will answer him. I will be with him in times of trouble. I will save him and honor him. I will give him a long and full life. I will save him’.” Psalm 91: 14 – 16
17. God will help us sleep
“When you lie down you will not be afraid; when you lie down your sleep will be sweet.”
Proverbs 3:24
18. God will keep us safe and give us hope
“So do not be afraid, declares the Lord. Don’t lose hope. I will deliver you. My people will again be safe and sound.” Jeremiah 30:10
19. We don’t need to be afraid of anyone
“The Lord is my light and my salvation – who shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid.” Psalm 27:1
20. We don’t need to be afraid of disasters
“Have no fear of sudden disaster, or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared.” Proverbs 3: 25-26
21. You will have no fear and no worries
“No-one will trouble you, abuse you or oppress you. You have know no fear and have no worries.” Isaiah 54:14
