We live in a crazy world! We hear about war, terrorism, school shootings, a communicable disease with no known cure and often no known cause. Our children are faced with situations we never dreamed of in our childhoods and those situations lead to fear.
Fear is a noun and means:
a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc.,whether the threat is real or imagined.
FEAR, also known as False Evidence Appearing Real, is something that comes upon everyone, but children in particular because they may not be able to distinguish between what is real and unreal. That’s why children are afraid of monsters at night.
FEAR strips us of confidence, erodes our contentment and turns us into control freaks. But most importantly, fear destroys our ability to trust God, You see, when we are fearful, we don’t trust God.
2 Timothy 1:7 states “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and of a sound mind.
We can teach our children not to be fearful; to recognize that fear is stealing their joy and taking away their peace of mind. But first, we must look at ourselves. Are we fearful? If the answer is yes, we need to believe that love drives out all fear and that his love can and does drive out all fear. I John 4:8 (paraphrased). Once we accept that in our own lives, then we can help our children.
We as parents can become prayer advocates for our children. We can pray over them and God will calm them. Pray for freedom from fear for your children. Ask God to flood them with his love and to help them to rely on you for their strength. Some good scriptures to pray over them are:
- Isaiah 41:10 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.
- Psalm 91:4-6 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. - John 14:1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me.
- 1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety (fear) on him because he cares for you.
- 1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
Did you know Jesus encouraged us 21 times in the Gospels not to be afraid? He told us ,”Do not fear.” He loves us and does not want us to be afraid.
When I moved into my first apartment, when I went to bed the first night and heard every noise, both real and imaginable. Up to that point, I had not been fearful, but I was that night. As I lay in bed my heart started pounding and I became anxious. And then I remember:
2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind
and began to quote it to myself. I started out fearfully having difficulty saying the words. But each time I quoted the scripture, the fear began to subside little by little. And before I knew it, the fear was gone, I slept soundly that night and was never afraid again.
And we can teach our children to do the same. We begin by praying with them and as they get older, they will learn to pray for themselves.
What a wonderful promise, that we can live free from fear. So my friends, when fear first appears in your life, start praying scripture over it and it has to leave.