Overcoming Fear with Faith

by Richard Roberts

Are you struggling with some kind of fear in your life? Is there a fear that torments you and keeps you in bondage?

If so, I want you to know that God has a way for you to be set free from unhealthy, tormenting fear. And He's given you all the faith you need to overcome fear and live free from it forever.

I want to give you four steps that you can take to help overcome fear with your faith:

1. Acknowledge that tormenting fear does not come from God

There are two kinds of fear. One is a normal-natural kind of fear. It's a healthy respect for danger. For example, when you walk across the street, you look both ways. Or when you're walking down the sidewalk, you take a child by the hand so he or she won't dart out in front of a car. That's a normal, healthy respect for the dangers of traffic.

I remember one time when Lindsay and I were holding a crusade in West Virginia. As we left the motel to go to the service, we noticed a small child playing around the edge of an uncovered, empty swimming pool. No one was around, and naturally we became fearful for his safety. Lindsay quickly ran over, picked up the little boy, found his mother, and returned him to her safely. That's also a normal, healthy kind of fear, or respect.

But there's another kind of fear that isn't healthy. It's the kind of fear that torments our minds and tries to control our thoughts and actions. It's the kind of fear that can cause us to lose our faith.

I remember what Job said about fear in Job 3:25. If you remember the story, all of his children had died in a windstorm and he had lost his great fortune almost overnight. He cried out, "The thing I greatly feared has come upon me."

Thank God, there's a way we can keep those fearful thoughts from tormenting us. The first thing we can do is acknowledge that tormenting fear is not from God. Second Timothy 1:7 says, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. We were not born with the kind of fear that torments us. God didn't give it to us at birth or at any other time in our lives. Tormenting fear is a fear that we learn, and I believe it comes from the devil himself.

If you're dealing with an unhealthy, tormenting kind of fear, first of all I encourage you to acknowledge that it did not come from God. Then you can take the next step that I'm going to share with you to help you overcome fear with your faith.

2. Remember that Jesus is with you

When I was a little boy, my family went down to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas where my great-grandparents were living. My little sister, Roberta, and I stayed in the same room while we were there. Roberta was afraid of the dark and was used to sleeping with a night-light. But one night somebody turned out all the lights. She immediately began to cry and turn from one side to the other. I realized I wasn't going to get any sleep, so I put my arm around her and said, "Roberta, go to sleep. Jesus is awake all night." What I said calmed her down. She turned over and went right to sleep.

Without realizing it, I had latched on to one of God's great truths. Roberta needed to remember that Jesus was with her. She needed to know that Jesus was beside her, even in the dark, and that He never goes to sleep on the job (Psalm 121:3,4)!

When fear tries to torment, our minds, we need to remember that when we've trusted in Jesus, He's right beside us with all of His power . I have a story I want to share with you that illustrates that.

In Mark 5:21-42, Jesus was walking down the road, surrounded by a great crowd of people. A man named Jairus, who was a ruler in the Jewish synagogue, walked up to Him and fell down at His feet to worship Him. He asked Jesus to come to his house and heal his little daughter who was near death. And Jesus agreed to go with him.

As they were walking, one of Jairus' servants met them and said, "Jairus, you don't need to trouble Jesus anymore. Your daughter is dead."

Can you imagine the fear that must have struck Jairus' heart? But Jesus turned to him and said, "Fear not, believe only." In other words, He was saying, "Jairus, you don't need to be afraid. I'm right here with you. Just keep on believing for a miracle." And when they reached Jairus' house, Jesus brought healing to his daughter and restored her life!

No matter what kind of fearful situation you may be faced with today, I want you to know that if you've asked Jesus Christ to come into your heart. He is always by your side. He said in Hebrews 13:5 that He will never leave you or forsake you. He has promised to stay by your side and help you overcome fear by encouraging your faith.

But perhaps you don't know the Lord as your personal Savior. Maybe you're not sure whether He's walking by your side or not. If I'm describing the way you feel, I encourage you to pray this prayer from your heart:

Lord Jesus, I ask You to make Yourself real to me. I want to know You as my personal Lord and Savior. I want to know that You're walking by my side.

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Save me.

Cleanse me. Heal me. Forgive my sins.

I promise to honor You all the days of my life. I will lift up Your name and follow You forever. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

I hope you'll let me know if you prayed that prayer with me so I can send you a free copy of my booklet, How To Live Your New Life! I've included our mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address at the end of this booklet so we can stay in touch.

3. Know that you already have faith

I believe one of the most important things I could say to you today is this: You already have the faith you need to overcome fear. Romans 12:3 kjv says that God [has] dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Not long ago I heard from a woman who attended one of my crusades. During the meeting she discovered that she had the faith she needed to be set free from tormenting fear. She told me:

"Richard, I attended one of your services at the municipal auditorium, and I am very glad I did! Ten years of pain and fear went away that night

"Ten years ago I was in a very serious car accident. All the bones in my right hand were crushed and the doctors said I would never write again. I have suffered with terrific pain for all of those years.

"But worse than that, I was in constant fear. I was afraid that my hand would never be completely healed. I actually suffered more from the fear than I did from the pain.

"But the night I went to your meeting, a whole new way of living started for me. During your sermon you said that everyone has faith, and that when we use our faith we can overcome our fears. When you said that, I realized that I really do have faith. Then I felt God's healing power enter my body, mind, and spirit.

"Since that time I haven't had one bit of pain, and I haven't been living in fear. I now have full use of my right hand. Thank God, I am completely healed!

"I want to thank you for teaching me that I have faith, and that I can use my faith to overcome any type of fear. My life hasn't been the same since

Isn't it wonderful to know that you have faith, just like this woman does? You see, faith is something that you use every day, in almost everything you do—even in something as simple as sitting down in a chair. You have faith that the chair is designed in a way that it will support you without falling over. If you didn't have faith, you would have to inspect that chair every time you sat in it. But when you start to sit down in a chair, you feel comfortable and confident that the chair is going to do what it's supposed to do.

Now let me encourage you to take this next very important step so you can overcome fear with your faith.

4. Act on the faith you have

Let's look for a moment at the way Jairus acted on his faith to help him overcome fear. When his servants told him that his daughter was already dead, Jesus said to him, "Don't be afraid. Only believe." That tells me that Jesus wanted Jairus to do something with his faith—to focus his faith on believing for his daughter's healing instead of focusing on the terrible news his servants had brought him. And I believe God wants us to do something with our faith too. He wants us to put our faith to work—to act on our faith—so we can use it to overcome our fears.

You see, fear is a powerful emotion all of us have to deal with. The secret to overcoming unhealthy, tormenting fear is to feed your faith on the Word of God until your faith grows strong enough to drive out the fear. Romans 10:17 says, Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

If you're dealing with fear about a sickness that's attacking your body, you can feed your faith on Scriptures that talk about healing. I believe the more of God's Word on the subject of healing that you get down into your spirit, the less fear you're going to have about your health.

If you're living with fear about not being able to pay your bills, you can feed your faith on what God's Word says about finances. And you can sow your seeds of faith to the Lord, according to Luke 6:38, in order to reap a harvest of miracles. As you act on God's Word, your faith can begin to grow and drive out your fear.

Above all, as you feed your faith on the Word of God, you can get to know the Lord better. And I believe the better you get to know the Lord, the more you will realize that you can trust Him...and the less the devil will be able to torment you with fear.

I want to pray with you

I don't know what kind of fear you may be facing right now, but I do know that you can be delivered from it. Perhaps there's something that isn't the way it should be in your relationship with God and you have great fear or great concern about it. Or maybe you're facing a fear in your family or with a loved one, and it's tearing you apart. Perhaps you're sick and you haven't been able to get well.

Or maybe you feel completely overwhelmed by fear. Maybe you're paralyzed by the fears that are tormenting your mind. I want you to know that Jesus is standing right by your side. Let's turn our faith loose right now as we stand against the fears that are attacking your life:

Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ and in the authority of His name, I cast out the fear. I cast out the torment. I command it to leave and never return again.

And, friend, now I want to speak directly to you:

I pray that you will act on the faith that you have and build up your faith on the Word of God. I'm believing for God to lift you up out of the fear that you face. And I pray that you will be set free from worry and anxiety and stress.

The next time fear comes knocking on your door, begin to stir up your faith and let your faith cast out the fear. Remind yourself of what God said in His Word and refuse to let fear get a grip on you. I stand with you in faith for your complete healing and deliverance. In Jesus’ mighty name I pray. Amen.

Richard Roberts is President and Chief Executive Officer of Oral Roberts University. He holds a Doctor of Ministry degree and has written such faith-inspiring books as He ’s the God of a Second Chance, The Joy of the Lord: Hoiv To Get It and Keep It, and Claim Your Inheritance.

For almost 25 years Richard has conducted healing crusades throughout America and around the world. Through his daily television program, The Hour of Healing, tens of thousands of miracle testimonies have poured into the Oral Roberts Ministries from people who have experienced God’s saving, healing, delivering power.

Richard and his wife, Lindsay, often minister together. They reside in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and have three daughters: Jordan, Olivia, and Chloe.

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