Question:

How should we as Christians deal with fear—fear of things happening now or that might happen later?

First, let us distinguish between fear and worry or anxiety.  Fear is our response to very real and present dangers.  For example, it was fear that drove thousands of occupants of the Twin Towers to race down 50 or 100 flights of stairs to safety on 9/11.  Without that fear, many more would have perished.  Anxiety or worry is fear in the absence of present danger—of what might happen in the future, but usually doesn’t.  Real dangers should cause us to depend all the more heavily upon the Lord.  “Yea, though I walk through the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me” (Psalm 23:4).  “Fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me…but I trusted in Thee, O LORD…my times are in Thy hand” (Psalm 31:13-16).  Some people are plagued with unreasonable fears, called phobias.  Being in crowds of people, enclosed places, high places, airplanes, or darkness might produce such fear in them that they try to avoid those situations.  Sometimes real or imagined fears prevent us from doing what God wants us to do, such as pass out gospel tracts or talk to people about their souls.  The following verse applies to such situations: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear” (1 John 4:18).  A certain man once had a bad experience while driving over a bridge—he began to feel dizzy or faint.  From that time on he would drive miles out of the way to avoid having to drive over a bridge.  But when he got a phone call saying his daughter had been in an accident and was at a certain hospital, he drove over four bridges without flinching to get there.  Love for his daughter cast out his unreasoning fear of bridges.

With regard to worry and anxiety, the Lord tells us, “Take no thought [literally, do not worry] for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on…. Take therefore no thought [or don’t worry] for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself” (Matthew 6:25-34).  The apostle Paul adds to this, “Be careful [or full of care or worry or anxiety] for nothing” (Philippians 4:6).  Now, he is not promoting a careless, carefree “Don’t worry, be happy” attitude, but he goes on to give good reason for this admonition: “But in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (4:6,7). Therefore, commit your worries to the Lord in prayer, at the same time remembering with thanksgiving all the times He has brought you through your times of worry without anything drastic happening.