I Proved
You Can Be
Free from Fear
The Biblical Strategies I Used to Win the War JOHN CORIN
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations in this book are taken from the New King James Version, Holy Bible.
Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc.
Publishers. Used by permission.
Copyright © 2022 by John Corin
All rights reserved under International Copyright Law.
Contents and/or cover may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any form without the express written consent of the publisher.
1
PREFACE
Who has not felt afraid, even very afraid? On some level, this disquieting emotion affects us all. It may be only butterflies in the stomach at the thought of giving a speech, restless sleep over an upcoming important event, or the sick feeling when faced with a fierce dog blocking the pathway, but the emotion is common to fallen humanity. However, a growing number are finding it more than unpleasant or occasional; too many either now suffer chronic anxiety, are incapacitated with tension headaches, or find their heart gripped by the icy fingers of a
‘panic attack’. Millions more seek relief in comfort food, medications, cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs from nagging worry.
If fear is your constant companion, something you can’t shake off, this book has viable answers. It was written out of my own battle with fear and the doable solutions I employed. It may not give all the answers you seek, whether it be for low-grade worry, unnerving anxiety, or even a crippling phobia, but it will assist in a sizable way. It will also help with dysfunctional behavior induced by fear, and as a bonus, resolve certain health issues with their roots often in fear— e.g., high blood pressure, stomach ulcers, asthma, eczema, and skin and gut problems.
As we head into this twenty-first century, fear is undoubtedly impacting more and more people; a development hard to understand with the ‘high tech’ security systems we now have or the other safety measures and investments hedging against a financial downturn. What, then, is making us more afraid?
Some blame it on the prospect of terrorism or the viral 2
‘pandemic’, while others will point the finger at the general degradation within society—the corruption and breakdown of its fundamental unit, the family. Activists will ‘finger’ the environment, seeing toxic pollution and the ‘warming of the climate’ as triggers, but whatever the cause, more people are feeling anxious and fearful—and it is not just unbelievers.
Indeed, as a believer, you may feel ashamed of how fear controls, restricting your freedom to serve the Lord. Don’t be! I certainly don’t condemn you, nor will I tell you to have more faith, or rebuke you saying worry is a sin. Neither will I use the Bible to beat you over the head as I have walked in your shoes and have only empathy for anyone battling this enemy of personal peace. My only goal is to encourage and inspire with the hope of an answer; namely, the practical strategies I used to beat fear more than fifty years ago. As long as you are willing to pay the price for victory, what worked for me can work for you.
I am confident what I share will help you find a new degree of freedom from the curse of fear.
Now, the basic answer to fear (as it is for sin, sickness, loneliness, etc.) is in the salvation Jesus Christ purchased on the Cross of Calvary. By laying claim to that work of atonement, we reap its saving benefits. Every adverse outcome humanity suffered from the original fall into sin ultimately finds its solution in the Cross, and fear is one outcome of our sinful condition. Realizing what Christ paid and purchased for you on the Cross is the first answer to freedom from fear. God, then, has done His part; is up to you to appropriate by faith the liberty in Christ you have from the ‘law of sin and death’ (Rom 8.2).
3
Any strategy, therefore, to beat fear (be assured, it is an enemy) must have the redemption from sin purchased at Calvary as its basis. We overcome every enemy, first, by claiming in faith what ‘the blood of the Lamb’ (Rev 12.11) paid for.
However, we have further instructions for waging this war in the
‘manual for living’ (the Bible), strategies to employ for victory over this formidable foe of fear. And God will teach your ‘hands to wage war’ with them but will not do what He has asked you to do. So, it boils down to this; are you ready to do all that is required to win the war? Yes, success ultimately depends upon fighting in the strength and with the leading of God’s Spirit, yet the resolve to wage this war must also be there—it is key to winning.
The psalmist said, ‘ I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears’. (Ps 34.4). While this verse gives every hope this war is winnable, the psalmist didn’t say his deliverance was necessarily instantaneous. To win this war takes time, and it will be the same for you. Victory is rarely by
‘a knockout in the first round’, so don’t fret over the length of it, whether short or long. Your freedom is assured as you win each minor battle, one encounter at a time until the final one decides the war.
If you are sick and tired of fear’s torment, then despair no longer. Study the strategies I share and continue to practice them until success is yours. Now, this effort to become free will meet with resistance (counter-attacks), so the main thing is not to give up whatever happens. In truth, expect a fierce fight, even a ‘dirty one’, but if you meditate on the strategies to gain understanding 4
and seek divine grace in applying them, they will do for you what they did for me.
Now, before I share further, I need to expose this enemy you are up against. Many Christians are unaware of what is behind their fear—what it is all about. And it is not what most think!
What I convey next, then, is vital to your success, and it is this—‘fear’ (I have personified it) is not only a natural physiological response to a threat but also the outcome of dark forces at work. It means ‘fear’ is not your friend (except in a very limited way) but a sworn enemy with malicious intent toward you and the church; a sober reality you must be convinced is true. When we see how it prevents so many believers from witnessing to their faith, taking up the vocation of a missionary, or some other avenue of ministry in service for the Lord, by no stretch of the imagination can ‘fear’ be seen as a blessing. It is a curse God wants you liberated from, both for His honor and so you can enjoy a greater quality of life. After reading what I have written, my prayer is you too will ‘ stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made (you) free’. (Gal 5.1).
In an act of faith, why not begin to proclaim your freedom even now. That is, speak to the spiritual powers fueling your
‘fear’ and announce a ‘declaration of independence’. Start your military campaign by telling these dark forces you are determined to wage war against their tyranny and will fight on past disappointments and reversals until free from every tormenting thought and debilitating emotion. Don’t let ‘fear’
scare you with thoughts of repercussions for such a declaration.
5
God is on your side and He will fight for you. Be brave and hesitate no longer. The alternative, surely, it is to continue suffering fear’s torment and become even more physically and emotionally dysfunctional. I pray you will not delay but decide to fight for freedom. I do not promise you glory without ‘guts’, but any sacrifice and effort you make will be worth it. May the Lord bless you in the battle.
6
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
I will never forget as a 10-year-old boy the day I found a steeply descending hill while out looking for adventure on my push-bike. It was an opportunity for a thrill I couldn’t miss!
Impulsively, I launched the bike down the slope and within fifty meters had gathered enough speed to race toward the bottom of the hill still somewhat hidden in shadow. What more could I ask for—I raced towards the bottom my fingers tightly gripping the handlebars, the wind stinging my face and a heart beating faster and faster. About halfway down the hill was when I realized what had escaped my attention in those shadows, the road took an unexpected turn, much sharper than I could safely navigate at speed. If I did not apply the brakes immediately I was headed for disaster. The problem was, the time to do this safely had passed. Besides, I never intended to use the brakes, they only spoiled an adventure!
This was when terror dug its icy claws into my heart and there formed in my imagination an awful scene of my fast-approaching future. In my mind’s eye, I saw a twisted bike spread over the road along with parts of my anatomy and copious amounts of blood. The imagined scene had to do with what I stumbled upon as a young child, a gruesome motorbike accident that had only just happened. (It still had blood spread all over the road, and it haunted me for years.) The end of my adventure was not going to be pretty and undoubtedly painful.
7
Fortunately, the conclusion was not the disaster imagined.
Despite the panic and a mind frozen with ‘fear’, I managed by sheer willpower and physical force to make the bike lean in the direction of the bend in the road. Little by little, it veered where it needed to go, so when I did strike the raised curb with a jarring jolt it was more of a glancing blow. After wobbling for a few seconds, I toppled off the bike and sprawled on the road with only moderate force. The outcome was more a loss of face than skin or blood. In a few weeks, the gravel grazes and cuts to my arms and legs healed, even if my pride hadn’t.
Perhaps terror has not seized you like this, but for me, it was a traumatic experience, one I will never forget (although it no longer causes emotional distress). But if traumatized from ‘fear’, then you know it to be a powerful and debilitating emotion, one able to torment the mind, distress the emotions, and exhaust the body. Possibly, nothing affects us as much as ‘fear’ does. True, it has the redeeming feature of galvanizing into action when faced with danger, but the harmful effects far outweigh any benefit it provides. It is more a hostile enemy than any welcome friend.
While the sheer panic of the episode described was new to me, ‘fear’ was not. From early infancy, it had been my companion, a buffeting adversary never leaving me alone for long. Only at seventeen years of age when I was converted (‘born again’) did I find the relief I craved, and then only after discovering the solutions shared in this book. Praise God, from a life plagued with worry, nervousness, and anxiety, it changed (over time) to one of peace and joy. Yes, not all change was 8
immediate, but the ‘fear’ continued to recede as I diligently applied the truths I was shown.
Why did ‘fear’ impact me so much in those formative years?
Several factors contributed but the first was the circumstances of my birth. Along with a twin brother, I was born during the Second World War to a sensitive ‘nervy’ mother struggling already to cope with three other children, an unhelpful husband, and the stress of the world conflict. And because we were premature babies, our birth proved too much and she suffered a nervous breakdown. Both of us had to be taken away and cared for by a professional baby nurse; this tearing from my ‘mooring’
in the early months of life left a deep impact. The one person was not there who could give me (a highly strung and sensitive child) the security and love I needed. It didn’t take long before
‘fear’ began to wrap its tentacles around my tender heart to make me the anxious child I became.
We were returned to our mother’s care some months later but the damage was done. The fertile soil from the trauma of separation soon had feelings of inferiority, insecurity, and lack of identity take root within my heart. When the sibling rivalry for my mother’s affection was added, those roots sprouted to make me a nervous, timid child. First evidenced by my wetting the bed at night until late in infancy and later when I began to chew my fingernails and suffer from painful shyness forcing me to run and hide if strangers visited the house. But the real angst came in my pre-teens when the anxiety broke out in a psychosomatic disorder. I would arrive home most days from school doubled over in excruciating pain; severe stomach 9
cramps that inexplicably stopped after being examined by a doctor and specialist (both found no organic cause for the pain).
However, any relief was short-lived. Soon after this, I was stricken with a speech impediment, an embarrassing stutter which plagued for six or more years. As an extremely sensitive teenager, this only magnified my fear, especially when day after day it meant humiliation at high school. To say my name at class roll time was almost impossible, and to give any kind of public speech was out of the question. Now, this might sound silly, but even more traumatic was if I needed to use a telephone. A disability, as I saw it, that could only mean a bleak future, one of ostracism and with little prospect of succeeding in a career and marriage.
Thankfully, my life radically changed soon after my first year of pharmacy studies (but with genuine concern if I could function in such a role) when I became a Christian and found the salvation offered in Jesus Christ. What I will be eternally grateful for; not only heaven’s forgiveness but also for the freedom from the ‘fear’ and stuttering that had caused so much grief and emotional pain.
The first sign of my freedom from ‘fear’ was when the nervous habit of nail-biting stopped (virtually overnight)—so quickly, it impressed my mother. Other victories followed at a slower pace, with complete freedom from all stuttering only achieved over several years. But to my delight, Jesus Christ and the Bible—the written Word of God—had the answers I needed.
I didn’t have to attend expensive sessions with a speech 10
therapist or some other ‘professional’ offering a possibly dubious cure. In fact, I completed my professional studies and for fifteen years practiced as a retail pharmacist before entering full-time Christian ministry to serve churches and Bible Colleges in two nations.
Now, I admit, this victory over ‘fear’ required real effort and much patience on my part. At times, the fight was fierce and
‘bloody’ and demanded the consistent application of the strategies, especially if I had to battle past setbacks and disappointments. In my lowest moments, I even wondered if it was worth it all. But once free from all stuttering and not having to avoid social interaction, an insignificant cost compared to what I had endured for so many years. Now, anxiety can still rear its ugly head these many years later if I am tired or stressed, but once again victory is mine when I make the effort to use the strategies. So, I recognize no one can altogether avoid feeling afraid; none of us escape the emotion if faced with a terrorist attack or other traumatic situation beyond our control. I also acknowledge having concerns about fulfilling responsibilities provides us with a healthy motivation, but no one should have to suffer ‘fear’ at a level where they become stressed, sick, and dysfunctional.
Now, before going further, I need to be upfront about the approach I share on how to beat fear. It is unashamedly based on the Bible. Hence, you will not find any ‘new age’ techniques or those from modern psychology—even if some may be helpful.
This approach, therefore, may be too narrow and restrictive for some, but in my defense, it was always my intention to share the 11
insights I was given, not what others advocate. Yes, some secular answers can be helpful, but I stayed clear of them because of the unexpected ‘side effects’ they can have, much like those with medicinal remedies (they can be worse than the condition)! However, I am not against consulting professional help or taking prescribed medication where necessary to cope with severe fear (temporarily hopefully).
What I offer is a suite of strategies based on this single text of Scripture, ‘for God has NOT given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind’ ( 2Tim 1.7) . It was the battle plan Paul gave to Timothy his fearful ‘son in the faith’, and importantly, the source of the one truth I needed to win the battle. The crucial fact that ‘fear’ almost always has a spiritual component to it. But the verse also gave me the divine antidotes of power, love, and a sound mind I needed to win the war.
Each of these ‘medicines’ the heavenly ‘Physician’ has prescribed will be looked at in-depth along with the strategies to apply them. Persist with these and what worked for me will do the same for you.
Now, I realize the level of fear some suffer may be more extreme than the examples I give. But their success is also assured by following the plan, only it will take longer and may call for extra help, including Christian counseling.
12