"...through fear...were all their lifetime subject to bondage." I must confess that in the flesh I am one such person. I do not know if it's because of my natural temperament, bringing up, or both. But it is something I have had to fight all my life. I have a dear friend who is paralyzed from the waist down. As a result, she can neither feel, move, or use her legs. So it is with fear; it paralyzes. Whenever you find fear, you'll find a person frozen in his or her steps.
To be sure, where there is fear, there is no faith. We need to come to the realization that "God hath not given us the spirit of fear." Fearful Timothy had to be reminded of this. True, fear has a basis, at times; but, generally, it is something intangible, or a nameless dread that grips and numbs us. Some of us fear everything— people, past, and future. We live in fear of the unknown, and the result is, "Fear hath torment." That is, a life of agony!
Is there any cure for this plague of the soul? Thankfully, there is. The writer of Hebrews lets us in on his secret for overcoming fear. "The Lord is my helper...I will not fear." Two things are required: first, a confidence in the Lord's presence, and secondly, a determination of my will.
Jesus’ oft repeated words, "Fear not," only prove most of His followers were given to fear. We’re told, "As they followed, they were afraid" (Mark 10:32). The wise man tells us to, “Be not afraid of sudden fear.” Like the man said, “There is nothing to fear, but fear itself.”
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