Fear, Worry, Anxiety: The One Who Conquered!

A rapidly beating heart is a fear reaction. This means there is generally fear, worry and anxiety in a person continuously. The person may be depressed and feels as if a load is crushing him/her down. The person has no peace in his body, that is the body feels as if it is in constant distress. This is painful emotion and life seem to have no light at the end of the tunnel and without hope.

Theologian Loui Berkhof writes: “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, …. full of truth,” Jn. 1:14. The grace of God works in the redemption of any sinner and has several distinctions which must be borne in mind. For the church, the teachings of Scripture respect the grace of God stress the fact that God distributes His blessings to men in a free and sovereign manner, and not in consideration of any inherent merit of men.[1]

J. E Adams, on “Helping those who fear” writes, “Why contrast love and fear as you have? Why not fear and peace, or fear and security, or fear and serenity?” The answer to that question is found in 1 John 4: 17, 18, where John himself sets fear and love over against each other as mutually exclusive. The enemy of fear is love; the way to put off fear then is to put on love.[2]

In one of the conferences I have attended, the professor (name kept confidential) mentioned the following strategy for the control of fear. 

[Disorders for fear dysregulation: current treatment

Pharmacological: Serotonergic agents-SSRI’s- increase serotonin functioning- increase tolerance to aversion, decrease stress/fear response, tropic action, e.g. fluoxetine, (es)-citalopram, sertraline, paroxetine.

Noradrenergic and mixed SSRI/SNRI agents- corrected dysregulated NE system, with similar changes as above, e.g. reboxetine, duloxetine, venlafaxine.

Benzodiazepines- possibly helpful short-term, poor long-term likely due to worsening extinction, e.g. clonazepam, alprazolam, lorazepam.

CBT/exposure therapy

Fist line treatment. These disorders all share resistance to extinction. Significantly complicated by avoidance phenomena.

Principles of exposure therapy are affective regulation (relaxation, training, coping with stress techniques), while being progressively exposed to the fearful stimulus (phobic stimulus, PTSD memories, agoraphobic situations]. 

Scripture points us to God who took on human flesh as the One who conquered fear, worry and anxiety. God’s Word says, “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:15-18.

Matthew Henry asserts our dependency on God in prayer and thanksgiving as “We must join thanksgiving with our prayers and supplications and not only seek supplies of good but acknowledge the receipts of mercy. Grateful acknowledgement of what we received shows a right disposition of the mind and are prevailing motives for further blessings. Prayer is the offering up of our desires to God or making them known to Him,” (Phil. 4:6).[3]

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[1] Louis Berkhof. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996. p. 426-428.

This redemptive grace is the most fundamental sense of the word. It’s the ultimate cause of God’s elective purpose, of the sinner’s justification, and of his spiritual renewal; and the prolific source of all spiritual and eternal blessings.

That men owe all the blessings of life to a beneficent, forbearing, and longsuffering God; especially all the blessings of the work of salvation are freely given of God and are in no way determined by supposed merits of men.  

[2] J.E. Adams. The Christian Counselor’s Manual. The Practice of Nouthetic Counseling. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1973.p. 413-414.

Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love, 1 John 4:17-18.

The fear of God is the one fear that removes all others. Counselors who recognize this basic fact are on their way toward reaching Biblical solution to many problems connected with fear, including what have been called the phobias.   

[3] Mathew Henry Study Bible., p. 2017.

  Not that God needs to be told either our wants or desires, for He knows them better than we can tell Him. But He desires to know them from us, and have us show our regards and concern, express our value of the mercy and our sense of dependence on Him. 

The psychosomatic effects of sin are more readily seen in, “I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart. LORD, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee” (Psa. 38:8-9). David said that he felt as though he was benumbed and thoroughly bruised. These symptoms all can be the effects of anxiety upon the body.