3 Tips for Overcoming Fear

Every human being experiences fear; even the Lord Jesus felt fear when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. If we see someone who seems unafraid of anything, perhaps that person is not without fear, but has learned how to overcome it. One interesting thing is that even adults can become afraid, panic, or even get angry because of small things. Yet from another person’s point of view, those things may not be frightening at all. This shows that fear is truly subjective, depending on each individual person and not on the object itself.

This is what happened when Jesus and His disciples were sailing on the Sea of Galilee. A fierce windstorm threatened the boat they were in.

Then His disciples came and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us, we are perishing.” 26 He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea, and the sea became perfectly calm. Matthew 8:25-26 ITB

Most of those in the boat were fishermen. Of course they were already very familiar with the sea and with storms that could come at any time. But that storm must have been so extreme that they became very afraid and thought they were going to perish. Remarkably, Jesus was able to sleep in the middle of such a terrible storm. This is what should happen to us who have become disciples of Jesus. Even when great troubles come roaring at us, we will remain calm and not panic.

From the story of the Lord Jesus sleeping soundly in a boat being rocked by storm waves, we can draw 3 lessons on how to overcome our fear:

1. Turn Your Eyes from the Problem to God

What the disciples did when the storm struck was right: they came to the Lord Jesus. Even though they came in panic rather than with confidence that Jesus would help and deliver them. They had already become terrified and thought that their lives were about to end. Turning our eyes away from the problem and then looking to God will enable us to overcome our fear. What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) is a principle we can apply in life. If what we see is the problem, then we will surely get trouble. But if what we see is God, then we will be strengthened and receive extraordinary spiritual encouragement that can overcome everything.

Whenever trouble comes to swallow us up, make sure our view of God is not covered or distorted. Whatever the problem may be, as long as we can still see God clearly, we will surely be able to face it rightly.

 But if what we see is God, then we will be strengthened and receive extraordinary spiritual encouragement that can overcome everything.

2. Trust in God

A statement that seems too normative or theoretical for some people is “we cannot pay bills with faith, but with money”. This is the argument of people who do not believe or who believe too little, just like the disciples in the boat. They did not come by affirming their trust in God, but to ‘put God on trial,’ arguing that He did not care and that they were certainly going to perish. The Lord Jesus called them ‘of little faith,’ and Jesus clearly emphasized that it was their unbelief that made them afraid. If we believe, fear will have no place in us.

Trust in God is truly powerful. If we do not think so, then we need to learn again from the most basic foundation of our trust in God. We can pay our debts by first believing, we can go through various crises by trusting in God, and face every problem if we become believing and not afraid. The one who believes has everything, but the one who is afraid has nothing. The one who believes will be able to think creatively and logically, but the one who is afraid will panic and weaken himself. Therefore, believe!

3. It Must Be Faced!

This principle is very important! If we do not face our fear, then that fear is still in a position of victory over us. No one can run from fear, because we ourselves carry that fear. We cannot be separated from it. Nor can we hide from our fear, because the source of fear is within, and wherever we go it will surely be there too. Therefore we must strengthen and steady our hearts to face it. Pray and ask the Lord for strength. With a right heart, overcoming fear is not as complicated as we think. Believe and face it!

Adapted from Pastor Togar Sianturi’s blog article