And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to
which also you were called in one body.
Col 3.15
A PEACEFUL MIND
The opposite of ‘fear’ is peace, heavenly peace, that is. To win this war, you must learn to keep the mind in peace, for like the high-walled castles built to keep the ‘barbarians’ out, a peaceful mind is a bastion against attacks by ‘fear’. Even when the conscious mind is still uneasy, you can know a ‘rest of soul’
if a peace is ruling the subconscious. Bolstering this bulwark must be a priority for those vulnerable to ‘fear’, so here are some strategies to achieve true peace of mind.
Now, if the battle with fearful thoughts has been long, your desire for a viable solution will be strong. Unfortunately, this is not an easy issue to fix (even when the problem is not long-standing), but the strategies I share make it possible, only not in the short-term. Old patterns of thought are not replaced with new ones overnight. So, if nothing changes to begin with, don’t give up; a concerted effort using the strategies over the ‘long-haul’ wins the day.
KEEP YOUR MIND STAYED
‘You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.’ (Is 26.3) Having a mind at peace largely hinges on its focus. Whereas ‘fear’ forces the mind to focus on the threat and its outcomes, this is thwarted by 113
changing the focus to one drawing in peace. Dwell on the right topic and a divine peace will become a ‘garrison’ (Phil 4.7, Weymouth N.T.) for your mind. Now, this often requires a radical change in focus from the one ‘fear’ has created, so even though it seems simple, it is usually not easy. The good news is: even as other faculties can be trained, the mind can be schooled to think differently. With concerted practice, it can be trained to control what it entertains.
I trust you realize the answer to fearful thoughts is not
‘blanking out the mind’ as new-age meditation techniques promote or the remedy of hypnosis touts. Both are sourced in the occult and the damage from them far outweighs any benefits.
Fearful thoughts get crowded out by filling the mind with fresh ones; hence, the biblical advice to ‘set your mind on things above’ (Col 3.2) and this, ‘ whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things’ (Phil 4.8 NIV) . Anyone can learn to do this with some conscientious effort; so successfully, the peace enjoyed by the ‘God of peace’ becomes theirs (Rom 15.33).
‘Fear’ can’t elbow its way in when the mind’s focus is
‘ stayed on God’ (Is 26.3), that is, ‘transfixed’ on His character and power (for the miraculous). If sublime thoughts like these can be held for any length of time, a peace will gently descend from heaven as an early morning mist does over a cool river gorge. (I once saw that heavenly scene.) Yes, very difficult to do if frantic with the day’s activities, so, start by practicing this during your daily devotional time. Learn to ‘behold’ Him in 114
praise and worship first thing in the morning (preferably) and a heavenly calmness will rule your ‘troubled breast’ throughout the day.
The promises of Scripture also provide topics to focus on, especially those pledging God’s love and care. Take time to meditate (biblically) on their truths, and they too can be powerful agents for the peace of God. Likewise, the promises personally received from the Lord, especially any reassuring you of God’s shepherding care, protection, guidance, and provision.
But to draw in this peace, you must set aside adequate time to
‘stay your mind’ on them.
Last, but not least; maintain the focus no matter how often
‘fear’ tries to distract. Satan will try hard to disrupt, so don’t be discouraged if you stray off-topic numerous times. Overcoming devilish distractions, especially fearful ones, is a ‘battle of attrition’; the one who outlasts their opponent is the winner.
Don’t, then, be the first to give in; keep returning to the focus and the peace you seek is almost guaranteed. But again, the
‘will’ must be engaged if passivity is not to ‘run interference’
and the focus lost. Only, be very patient with getting the ‘will’
in working order—it is not done overnight. Just take every opportunity to master the strategy and the ‘will’ soon becomes
‘muscular’ for its role and you have a habit for life.
PRAYING ABOUT FEAR
‘Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all 115
understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil 4.6,7) In battling ‘fear’ I made the mistake of praying about it a lot; that is, I prayed the wrong way. I’m not saying don’t pray, only make sure your prayers don’t undermine the fight with ‘fear’. In fact, the above text tells us to pray about fearful thoughts if we want peace of mind. But in taking these thoughts to God, I had to learn to do it correctly.
After praying, even pleading for the Lord’s help, I found my fears became worse. Why was this? Because my prayers were focused on the negative, fixated so much on the fears, they filled the room and not the answers I needed. Fortunately, it didn’t take long to realize how unhelpful this was and my prayers would have to change for a better outcome. Now, if I had properly read what Paul said in the text above this mistake would not have been made. His instructions specifically say requests about anxiety and ‘fear’ must include thanksgiving.
This is what mine were missing. If I was to dilute the negativity by bringing my fears before the Lord, the focus had to be more on the giving of thanks—and it worked. Why? Because the Lord in His glory and power was now occupying center stage rather than the fears. With even more praise and adoration, my fears—
now overshadowed by the glory of the Lord—shrunk even further, no longer the enemy looming up to sap any faith I had.
I also made sure my praise proclaimed God’s power and greatness to counter the perception (conscious or otherwise)
‘fear’ was more powerful. This extolling of His mighty omnipotence also meant my ears were no longer hearing what was frightening. (I pray out loud, rarely silently). Hence, the 116
more I continued to magnify God, the more ‘fear’ shrank as a threat. Follow this strategy and you too will know the peace that
' (by) passes all the understanding'— a peace bringing you soundness of mind.
A HUMBLE MIND
‘Yes…be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God... casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.’ (1Pet 5.5-7) Here is one more strategy for freedom from ‘fear’—it couldn’t be clearer. Worry, anxiety, and fear ( ‘cares’ in the above verse) lessen when the mind is clothed with humility. A dynamic at work because God actively ‘resists the proud’, and surely no one doubts the proud are more prone to fear. When pride makes us self-sufficient, relying on the fallible (the ‘arm of flesh’) rather than on God, no one should doubt it. ‘Fear’ cannot but increase when an independent stance alienates from the grace of God, the best ‘pest control’ for those anxious thoughts harassing like summer flies (Cf. Jam 4.6).
Make sure you reject pride.
Proud self-sufficiency also makes us reluctant to
‘cast…(our) cares’ on the Lord; it is seen as a sign of weakness leading to self-doubt. Instead, we say ‘I can handle it’, but foolish when it robs us of the very thing (grace) we need. Sad, but true, especially for the proud: by embracing an attitude of self-sufficiency to bolster self-worth, they pay a hefty price.
When trust is in fallible, fallen human nature, no one welcomes it more than ‘fear’. By contrast, the humble understand how counter-productive this is and offload their worries.
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‘Stinking pride’ (I call it that) does more. It fosters harmful self-righteousness, the mindset of trying to walk a life of holiness by the strength of ‘will’ or a super-disciplined mentality. But to achieve righteousness like this always means failure, and as these pile-up, so does the anxiety about meeting the standards along with apprehension of the judgment awaiting.
But there is more. In order to bolster low self-esteem, pride sets exaggerated behavioral goals, standards so high (even higher than God requires) it is impossible to meet them consistently.
The psyche instinctively knows this and hence the ‘fear’ of not attaining them. Of course, any failure to meet the standards compounds the existing anxiety and dysfunction, and this only increases when threats arise to reaching the standards. Even minor ones, like a tight schedule, pressure to meet a KPI target, tiredness, sickness, etc..
The proud have one answer to all this — repentance. The work of grace able to plow up the heart to bring the required depth of humility. And since pride is notoriously stubborn to shift, a work that will often need to continue for weeks, even months. The proud also must recognize the responsibility to repent is theirs, not God’s; when the text states, ‘ Humble yourself’ (v6), it couldn’t be clearer. Now, if pride is your
'Achilles Heel’, by all means cry out for the grace to change, but make sure to also humble yourself. Indeed, don’t put off turning away from this ‘devilish’ enemy to a sound mind and your freedom from fear.
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AN UNSELFISH MIND
‘They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb…by the word of their testimony and they did not love their lives to the death.’
(Rev 12.11) Does anyone doubt selfish egocentricity—'loving our life’—also leaves us more vulnerable to ‘fear’? It makes no difference if the self-serving desires are for greater wealth, a grander house, or some other prized possession—all can make us more vulnerable to ‘fear’. Even to insist a legitimate need be satisfied can do it as I found out in counseling a lady with a fear of rejection. While her craving for acceptance was legitimate, it was self-centered enough for her to demand others accept her, and all it did was increase the ‘fear’ of it being met.
‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross…For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.’ (Luke 9.23,24) Jesus is warning us here not to let a legitimate need become a ‘right’ so it must be met. Whether it is comfort, pleasure, success, prosperity, privacy, or even freedom, it can grow far too easily into a selfish demand so we ‘save our life’
(‘ soul’ Grk). Hence, His follow-up saying of those “who seek to save their life will lose it” (Lk 17.33). Prize something more than is healthy and you ‘lose it’ by becoming fearful anytime a situation or person threatens it.
Fortunately, this same passage has the remedy for ‘fear’
rooted in selfishness—it is to ‘ lose our life’ for His sake. And by this Jesus means a life of self-denial, one willing to relinquish any ‘rights’ held onto tightly. No more, really, than the life of self-abnegation every disciple is called to embrace and what 119
Christ exemplified in His life and death and embodied in His prayer of ‘ not my will but yours be done’ (Lk 22.42). Every disciple is called to take up this same ‘cross’ of death-to-self.
For some, the supreme cost of self-sacrifice in martyrdom, but for most, a ‘cross’ formed by taking the self-ego (the ‘I’ that wants to rule) and with a stroke (—) canceling it out. A simple act, yet critical to know freedom from the tyrant of ‘self’ and excessive selfishness. This giving up of ‘rights’ previously insisted on also removes the ‘handles’ ‘fear’ loves to grab onto.
‘Needs’ are no longer a demanding master but the servants God intended.
‘Death to self’ is usually a crisis experience, initially faced up to in a dramatic surrender to Christ as Lord of our life. But as Jesus said, a decision that needs to be renewed every day (Luk 9.23) if the selfish, egocentric mindset is not to reassert itself and prolong the battle with ‘fear’. Doubly necessary if the selfishness is deeply ingrained, possibly from indulgence by parents during childhood. Does this life of self-abnegation mean others are now free to trample on personal rights and legitimate needs — rest, privacy, etc.? As a rule, no!, Yes, from time to time others will ‘despitefully use’ us, but this is not an expectation to be embraced with fatalistic resignation. The Lord never forgets the needs of His children and takes great care to meet them.
(Matt 6.32.33).
The bottom line: refusing to be a self-serving person releases from a number of anxieties — meeting strangers, stock market fluctuations and investments, noisy neighbors, mercenary salespeople, etc.. It can even help with a phobia; for instance, 120
dying to the ‘right to freedom’ undermines the root cause of the fear of enclosed spaces (claustrophobia). If you want a sound mind, don’t underestimate the importance of dealing with selfishness.
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