Fear is one emotion that can look different in every situation. We often associate it with our own personal fears and try our best to avoid these to the best of our ability. Yet sometimes we seek the joy and entertainment that comes with fear, When we experience it, sometimes we get tunnel vision & only focus on the fear at hand. As Christians, we can always trust that the Bible will guide us when we reach these moments.
As I researched this topic, I realized one phrase repeated itself quite often. The phrase “Do not be afraid” is reportedly repeated 365 times throughout the bible. While it may be in different forms, the message still stands. This means there’s one bible verse about not being afraid per day! One of the most well-known verses of fear is 2 Timothy 1:7 which tells us that God has not given us a spirit of fear. If this is true, we can rightfully assume the spirit of fear is from the enemy and made to tear us away from God.
We’ve all heard the phrase “we love because he first loved us” 1 John 4:18-19 this tells us this, saying perfect love casts out fear. The love of ourselves, each other, and God can help us overcome fear. It’s comforting to know that not only can his love help us overcome our fear, but also that he will be with us through it. This is how Moses eased the fear of Joshua and the Israelites. Deuteronomy 31 tells the story of when Moses is handing over the reins to Joshua. Now, Moses had led the Israelites for many years, so both they and Joshua were afraid of the future without Moses. Moses speaks to all of them in verse 6 saying ” Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”. From this, we can remind ourselves whenever we’re feeling fear that our God is always with us and we can move on with courage that he will walk us through that fear.
Jumping ahead to the book of Psalms, the author writes “I sought the Lord, and he answered and delivered me from my fears…” I feel like this goes great with the story in Matthew when the disciples were at sea with Jesus. As Jesus slept, a great storm raged, tossing the boat around. Being struck with fear, they woke Jesus up afraid they were going to perish. Jesus arose and calmed the wind and sea with his hand. (Matthew 8:25-27) These verses remind us that when we are afraid, we can hand over our fears to Jesus and he will deliver us from them.
As I went through my Abnormal Psychology class, they taught us the most common fear is public speaking, followed closely by the fear of death. This is one fear we can put to rest because, assuming we have accepted Jesus as our savior and have committed our lives to Him, we know where we are going when our earthly life ends. One of the most famous Psalms talks about this. Psalm 23:4 says “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and staff, they comfort me.”. We can take comfort in, even in the face of death, our savior will be with us.
Going back to what I said earlier, God did not give us a spirit of fear. If this is the case, what does that mean for us when we get scared through horror movies and haunted houses, or when we participate in paranormal communication?
Before I begin this section, I want to make this clear. These are general verses that could fit anything. My convictions are not yours, nor are yours mine. That being said, these are just my thoughts. If you have convictions while reading this, take them to heart. If not, do let these verses speak to you in other areas the Lord may want you to change. Remember, Jesus doesn’t want perfect, he wants obedience.
I feel like the most fitting verse for this is Psalm 101:3-4. This verse says “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.”. Most horror movies and haunted houses incorporate evil topics or objects, many of which serve no purpose to us. According to this verse in relation to Christianity, we should set ourselves apart from these things. An earlier verse (11:5) tells us the Lord hates the wicked and those who love violence. Since a lot of horror movies include deranged maniacs and blood & gore, how can we say this is something “okay” for us to watch? Shouldn’t we want to watch stuff that is appealing to the Lord?
In a few letters Paul wrote to the Ephesians and Thessalonians, he addresses evil subject matter. In Ephesians 4:27, he tells the Ephesians to give no opportunity to the devil. Hearing this, I think of paranormal communications (i.e: our boards, ghost hunting). These things may seem “fun” or “harmless” but it allows satan to communicate with you. In the next chapter, he tells them to “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them”(Ephesians 5:11). We should not participate in these activities, but rather call out the deceit we see among these things. Although this may seem unorthodox, we are to deny our flesh in obedience to God. To the Thessalonians, he writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 to abstain from every form of evil. Now, this itself could mean so much since anything against God could be labeled as “evil” but for the sake of this blog, we’ll reference it to the aforementioned topics. Using this verse, again, tells us we should refrain from seeking these things.
Fear is quite a unique emotion. It’s an emotion we avoid, yet sometimes seek for joy and entertainment. While experiencing it, we can find comfort in God’s love and move forward with courage knowing he will guide the way. Although horror movies, haunted houses, and paranormal conversations might be fun, we should be cautious about what they entail. We should not be setting our eyes upon evil things, nor giving them our time of day. When in doubt, give your concerns to the Lord and trust he will lead you to it, or from it.
Tattooed Faith 