The Fear Series Includes: What Fear Does and How to Conquer Fear and Develop Courage.

What Fear Does:
A truth that the Bible makes very clear is that we do not have to fear man. In fact, “The fear of man bringeth a snare.” Fear causes us to focus on negative things rather than positive things - on what we can't do for God instead of on what we can do. Fear also causes us to exaggerate the negative. The children of Israel said they were like grasshoppers in comparison to the Canaanites. No man is a grasshopper compared to any other man, but their fear caused the Israelites to spend forty years wandering in the wilderness when they could have conquered the land of Canaan. Worse yet, fear causes us to act irrationally. When fearful leaders do not confront sin, then the hearts of followers get hardened by their sin. The one healthy fear is the fear of the Lord.

How to Conquer Fear and Develop Courage:

Since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden there has never been an absence of fear for man. In fact, God does not mean for us to be totally without fear. We either have the right kind of fear or the wrong kind of ear. The wrong kind of fear is a powerful, negative, potentially destructive force. The right kind of fear is a powerful, positive, energizing, motivating force. The key to conquering destructive fear (in all its varied forms) is to replace the fear of man with the fear of God. The fear of God: gives wisdom and knowledge; prolongs days; delivers from evil; gives confidence; protects from danger; and is a treasure and a choice!