Week 1 - Victims of Fear
Welcome to Week 1 of Fear study! This is Erin Peters and Sue Molitor, and we have teamed up to write
this study for you. We are so glad you have joined us on this journey of digging deeper into what the Bible has to teach us about fear. This week we are going to look at being a victim of fear and bring
out some Biblical examples of those who were fearful/doubtful.
Fear is the opposite of faith and since God says that without faith it is impossible to please God, we can see how important gaining victory over fear is to God. There are over 300 times in scripture that the command "do not be afraid" appears. I think He's trying to tell us something!
We have a choice to make. We can choose one of two trains of thoughts. The one we choose will
determine our destination. One destination ends in success, the other ends in failure. Hmmm…which
train do you want to choose? Together, let’s choose the one of faith and ride it all the way to freedom
and our destiny in Christ!
The train of thought of faith: belief-faith-courage-action-success.
The train of thought of fear: Unbelief-doubt-fear-inaction-failure.
First, we wanted to share a little about why we wanted to write this study. We have both been
victims of fear in the past, and so we can relate to whatever struggle you have; we knew God would
speak not only through us, but to us as we wrote this study. We pray that God will speak to you as you go through it.
If you can't see Erin's video above, click here to view it on YouTube
If you cannot view this Sue's video, click here to view it on You Tube
in and conquer fear and kick that bully to the curb!
Assignment 1
Fear. Just that single word can send a list of things running through your head. I don't know what your list
looks like, but I have one in my head, too. Most of my fears boil down to control. I want to control the
situation and I doubt God can really handle the situation. In the light of day, it seems ridiculous, but in
those moments of fear-soaked panic, I hold on pretty tight to being in charge.
Fear is a tool that Satan uses to try and control our lives. And control it he does. How many times have
you thought you heard a noise at night, but did not want to get out of your bed just in case a burglar
might be in your house so you hide under your covers in fear? Okay, maybe that's just me, but the point
is that fear can be something that cripples us. We can become so blind to our fears, that we cannot see
the work of God in our lives or what He wants to do. Just think of how many people suffer from the fear
of public speaking who could be sharing the work of God with others in their lives. Or how many people suffer from
the fear of rejection, so they avoid inviting their neighbor to church because they can't handle being told
no.
Free Tools: (clickable links)
- Bible Gateway (offers tools, as well as various Bible translations)
- Study Light (go to Bible Study Tools tab)
- Online Bible Study Tools (TONS of good study tools like a commentary from Matthew Henry.)
- Blue Letter Bible (More excellent study tools, including commentary from Martin Luther.)
- fear
- faith
- wisdom
- doubt
- courage
- trust
What connections did you find between these words? Did you discover clarification on these things in your own life? Does this change the way you look at your own fears? Did you feel God speaking to you through these verses in regards to your own fears?
Assignment 2
Use verse mapping to see how God speaks to you in these verses: Proverbs 3:5-6, Philippians 4:13,
2 Timothy 1:7, Joshua 1:9, Isaiah 41:10, Deuteronomy 31:6, and then share what God showed you in one
of the verses and/or post a picture of your verse mapping!
Assignment 3
Fear is something that goes as far back as the Garden of Eden. In Genesis Chapter 3, we see the first
recorded instance of fear. The first person to experience fear was Eve. What exactly did she fear? In Genesis Chapter 3, we read about Eve being tempted and falling. God told her not to eat of that tree. Instead of trusting God, she chose to believe the lie of the enemy and feared that God was keeping something from her. The second instance of fear was when Adam took the fruit and ate.Maybe he feared losing his wife, so he followed her in sin. Then, in Genesis 3:7, we see the third instance of fear recorded. Because Adam and Eve had sinned, they hid in fear from God. Fear begets sin and sin begets fear.
Pardon my pun, but the apple didn’t fall far from the tree, because just a chapter later in Genesis 4, we
see the story of Cain and Abel. Read Genesis 4. God rejected Cain’s offering and in anger, Cain sinned
and killed his brother.
Was Cain’s sin rooted in fear? What was his motivation for not offering his best to begin with? Did he fear he would be losing his best crops and provision instead of trusting God to provide? Did he then fear further rejection from God? Fear of rejection causes us to take our eyes off of trusting God and loving others and puts them onto ourselves. Fear begets sin.
Now that we have looked at the first family in the Bible and their struggles with fear, let’s jump ahead to
another group of people who oozed with fear--the Israelites. I am fascinated with this group of people
because they saw miracles and signs and wonders that make our mouths hang open. Yet they lived in
fear and doubted God consistently. Let’s look more closely at the Israelites and see how their lack of faith and unbelief kept them in the wilderness for 40 years and, ultimately, led to their death.
Read Numbers 13 and 14. How did the Israelites choose doubt and fear over trust and faith? What did
it cost them? (Numbers 14: 30-33).
How did Adam and Eve, Cain, and the Israelites use the fear train of thought?
Unbelief-doubt-fear-inaction-failure
What does fear cost us when we choose fear over faith in God and His Word? What is one scripture you found this week that will help you overcome fear?
However tempted I may be to judge our Old Testament friends, I am reminded that we, too, are guilty of the same. God has done so much for me and yet there are times when I find myself in fear instead of trusting God. Sweet friends, we can conquer fear and trust our God. He is good. He is faithful. We can trust in His provision. We can trust in His love and care.
Blog Hop Topics:
Watch for the Blog Hop post on Saturday and add your links there!
1. What fear(s) are you kicking to the curb? What scares you
about doing this?
2. What fear do you have? What control does it hold on you?
How does it affect your relationship
with God and others?
3. What did you learn from your verse mapping this week?
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