Welcome to Faith Meets Academia, Biblical Foundations for Scholarly Pursuits. I'm your host, Dr. Adrian Reynolds. Thanks for joining me on this transformational journey where the sacred and the scholarly converge.
As a university professor and ordained minister, I stand at the intersection of educational innovation and biblical wisdom. Are you tired of having to separate your spiritual calling from your academic profession? If so, you've found your community.
In this community, we use biblical principles to illuminate our scholastic endeavors. In this community, we leverage academic concepts and theories to magnify the reach and impact of our spiritual gifts. Yes, your faith and your scholarship can forge a mutually sustaining partnership.
I'm here to help you bridge the gap between your academic work and your spiritual journey.
Hello, everyone, welcome back. Thank you so much for joining me for today's episode, Face Your Fears Through Your Faith, part two. Before I go further, I'd like to make the following disclaimer.
The content of this episode, or any other episode on this podcast, is for informational and educational purposes only. I'm not a therapist or physician. The information discussed should not be taken as professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
If you are experiencing severe fear, anxiety, or any other mental health issues, it is important to seek help from a qualified healthcare professional. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of the content discussed in this or any other episode. If you are in need of immediate assistance, please contact a mental health professional or call your local emergency number.
In this episode, we'll delve deeper into the complex interplay between fear and faith. This episode critically examines the quote, faith over fear slogan, revealing its tendency to divide in times of crisis especially. Together, we'll explore the concept of avoidance coping, where faith might unintentionally serve to bypass addressing your fears directly.
By the end of this episode, you'll be able to differentiate between sudden fear, the spirit of fear, and the fear of the Lord. You'll gain a more nuanced understanding of these kinds of fears. You'll be introduced to scientific terminology related to the different types of fears and have a very basic understanding of what happens in the brain during these experiences.
Let's dive in. I'm certain you've heard the popular slogan, faith over fear, faith over fear. You've probably seen it on t-shirts and displayed in various forms.
This statement has led to diverse interpretations among people of faith, especially in times of crisis. This faith over fear declaration, which lumps all types of fears into the same category and then positions them against faith, tends to divide rather than unite us. Remember COVID-19, those were some rough times, weren't they?
Those who chose to not get vaccinated questioned the faith of those who chose to get vaccinated. And they would ask questions like, where is your faith? And this question in itself seems to suggest that getting vaccinated against COVID means that you have no faith that God will protect you from contracting it.
It's problematic when the word of God is decontextualized or misinterpreted to justify personal decisions. Now remember what 2 Peter 1, 20 and 21 says. I'll read it for you.
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God speak as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. The Faith Over Fear slogan, though it may be one intention, oversimplifies our daily struggles.
Oversimplifies our daily struggles. If only life were that simple, right? Faith Over Fear, Faith Over Fear.
It doesn't quite work like that, unfortunately. In clinical psychology, there is this concept known as avoidance coping. And this refers to an unhealthy coping mechanism or strategy where individuals engage in activities that divert their attention away from whatever is causing them to feel stressed.
So instead of confronting the underlying issue, they engage in activities that prevent them from dealing with it directly. And despite good intentions, the more you repeat and reinforce this Faith Over Fear slogan is the more you're encouraging avoidance coping. Using your faith to consistently avoid confronting your fears can limit the development of healthier coping strategies.
In other words, using faith to overcompensate for doing the work of facing your fears is counterproductive. But hey friends, there's an alternative. You don't have to live like this anymore.
There is a way out. You can face your fears through your faith. We don't have to position one against the other.
You can face your fears through your faith. It is possible. In our daily lives, it seems to me that fear is always a factor, right?
Some may have a fear of heights, a fear of snakes, a fear of the dark, a fear of getting injured or sick. Others may have a fear of failure, a fear of rejection, and the list goes on. I've come to understand, however, that although fear seems to constantly be at play, not all fears are created equal.
Fears may differ in their causes, their intensity or impact, and the coping strategies or mechanisms used to address them. Some fears can be mild, sudden, or acute, and easily managed, while others might be profoundly just debilitating, totally distressing, disrupting one's ability to even function in everyday life. Now, how do we classify these types of fears both from a biblical and scientific perspective?
Let's get into the word. I'm gonna be highlighting a number of biblical references and their scientific counterparts that illustrate the relationship or the interplay or that dance between three specific types of fear, right? Sudden fear, the spirit of fear, and the fear of God, also referred to as the fear of the Lord.
Okay, so let's set the stage here for the rest of this discussion. Let's start with sudden fear, right? So the scripture uses the term sudden fear.
We see that mentioned at least twice in the Bible. Sudden fear, the scientific term for that would be acute stress response, right? That would be the scientific term for sudden fear.
Acute stress response. You'll see all this information in the show notes. And it's a rapid and intense fear in response to some immediate threat or surprise.
What happens in the brain when we experience sudden fear? Well, when you encounter sudden danger, your brain's, that part of your brain called the amygdala activates, and it triggers an instant release of stress hormones like adrenaline, preparing your body to either fight the threat or flee from it, right? That fight or flight response mechanism, all right?
Okay, the spirit of fear, what's that about? The scientific term for the spirit of fear would be anxiety disorder, if you will, right? That would be the scientific name for what the Bible refers to as the spirit of fear, right?
And we could describe that as ongoing and excessive fear or anxiety about situations or events. So the spirit of fear is related to sustained high activity levels in brain regions, such as the amygdala, the prefrontal cortex, leading to prolonged feelings of worry or anxiety, and often without any clear or immediate external threat. And then we have the fear of the Lord or the fear of God, which you might label as a reverential fear, right?
A deep respect for submission to divine authority. And what happens from a neurobiological standpoint, this type of fear involves higher brain functions in the prefrontal cortex that's responsible for moral, reasoning and ethical decision making, fostering a sense of awe and respect towards higher powers or principles. Now, here's the problem.
We lump all these types of fears under the spirit of fear, and then we use 2 Timothy 1.7 to justify it. 2 Timothy 1.7, which says, for God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. And we'll get deeper into this a little bit later, but I would like to highlight a specific instance where the term sudden fear is used.
And we'd like to dissect this for deeper understanding. Let's take a look at Proverbs 3.25, which says, be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. I would like for us to understand that sudden fear is our immediate and instinctive reaction to a perceived threat or danger.
Sudden fear, again, as I'd mentioned before, is the activation of our flight response system. It's that physiological reaction that prepares us to either confront the threat or the danger, or escape from it. Sudden fear is our secret survival weapon, right?
So if you're headed south on the highway and you see a truck headed north toward you in the southbound lane, sudden fear would kick in. Yeah, yes, it would. And you'd probably move a little bit either to the left or move to the right in an attempt to save your life.
One thing you probably would not do is keep driving straight ahead while quoting the scripture, God has not given us the spirit of fear. You probably wouldn't do that, right? You know, and I believe every word of God is true, right?
But in this instance, not being afraid of sudden fear means that you allow it to run its course since it's your God-given armor to either confront or flee from danger. Understand this. God designed us to be able to feel sudden fear.
It's just a natural reaction, right? This is why Solomon says in Proverbs 325, be not afraid of sudden fear, all right? Now, let's dig deeper.
We're going to go to the book of Job, and we're going to really see how sudden fear, the spirit of fear, and the fear of God all show up, right, through the story of Job. Let's look at the 22nd chapter of Job, Job the 22nd chapter, verses 1, 9, and 10.
Then Eliphaz the Timonite answered and said, Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken. Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear, here we see another instance of, you know, the mentioning of the term sudden fear, troubleth thee. In this case, of course, Eliphaz the Timonite, one of Job's three friends, is suggesting that Job's sufferings and trials and misfortunes, his illness, are all as a result of these alleged sins, I mean, none of which were true.
He was being falsely accused as a result of these wrongs that he had committed, and hence has fallen victim to sudden fear. Again, you know, so-called friend, false accusations. So here we see, you know, sudden fear mentioned.
There is another instance of sudden fear, though the term sudden fear isn't used, but the way it's based on the way it's described, we can safely assume that Job is experiencing sudden fear. Job 4 verses 13 and 14, it says there, in thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, fear came upon me and trembling, which made all my bones to shake. Then we can go to Job 7 verses 14 through 16, where we see both sudden fear and the spirit of fear appearing together.
So starting at the 14th verse, then you scare me with dreams and terrify me with visions, right? Sudden fear. So that my soul chooses strangling and death rather than my body.
Spirit of fear. Now we're talking about something that's more persistent, something that's deeper than just a one-time, acute reaction to an event. We're talking about choosing death over life, right?
I loathe my life. So that type of language really represents what the spirit of fear would lead one to think or say. Job goes on to say, I would not live forever.
Let me alone for my days are but a breath, right? Yeah, so Job 7, 14 through 16, and in verse 14 of the seventh chapter of Job, that reference to being scared by dreams and terrified by visions is definitely related to sudden fear. These are acute reactions, intense experiences of fear that, you know, that he experienced unexpectedly in the night.
The fear here is not just the lingering anxiety, but, you know, profound terror that strikes suddenly and overwhelmingly, right? And yeah, when we look at verses 15 and 16, we see a different type of fear, the spirit of fear, where Job's continuous suffering and the terror of his dreams lead him to prefer death over life. And this verse shows a deeper, ongoing despair and dread indicating something that's pervasive and an enduring state of fear and hopelessness that affects Job's desire to continue living.
And if you're having those thoughts or those feelings about just, you know, not feeling like you want to continue living anymore, I encourage you, as I mentioned in the disclaimer, to seek professional medical help, whether it's therapy, counseling, reach out to a health care professional or dial your local emergency number. I want to make that crystal clear, right? Yes, I will.
I'm praying for you. You're not alone. You can get through this.
I would want for you to seek the professional help that you need. We see another instance of the Spirit of Fear in Job 3, verses 25 and 26, where Job says, For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet.
I have no rest, for trouble comes. As a result of the unimaginable loss he had experienced, Job was depressed. He was chronically stressed, disillusioned, confused, filled with emotional turmoil.
All these sudden unexpected calamities that had befallen him sparked sudden fear, of course, which then turned into the Spirit of Fear. Job for sure experienced sudden fear, the Spirit of Fear, and definitely he did have the fear of the Lord. He had all three types of fear.
Job, the first chapter, in the very first chapter, the first verse, it says, There was a man of the land of Uz, whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, blameless, perfect and upright, and one that feared God and shunned evil. He was perfect, but he did experience sudden fear, the spirit of fear, and he had the fear of the Lord. Here's what we have failed to realize in this well-known story.
The faithfulness of Job, you see, is revealed through the work of relentlessly confronting his fears using what we call in educational psychology. Yep, of course, Faith Meets Academia.
Here it is.
In educational psychology, we call it dialogic inquiry. It's basically learning through dialogue, through conversation, and I call this the work of faith. Yeah, the faithfulness of Job is revealed through the work of relentlessly confronting his fears using dialogic inquiry.
And let me just define, you know, don't be intimidated by these terms. It's a learning experience, right? It's a learning experience for you if you're not familiar with the scientific terms.
Remember, part of the premise of this podcast is to highlight and illustrate the mutually informing connections between these scientific or academic terms and the scriptures. So, dialogic inquiry refers to a form of learning and understanding that occurs through dialogue or conversation. It's a process where knowledge and insight are developed through the exchange of ideas, questions and perspective.
This approach is grounded in the belief that understanding and meaning are constructed collaboratively, rather than being transmitted from one individual to another, as in the case sometimes of your traditional lecture. It encourages open-ended questioning, critical thinking, reflective dialogue, where we are actively engaging with each other's viewpoints. As is the case in, let's say, problem-based learning or team-based learning or case-based learning.
The theorist whose work is most closely aligned with this concept of dialogic inquiry is Mikhail Bakhtin. You can check the show notes for further learning on that. To get back to the case of Job, Job was a perfect man with human questions.
He was a perfect man with human questions. He had questions about suffering and justice. He had questions about human mortality and existence.
He had questions about the afterlife. He had questions about the source of wisdom and on and on and on and on. I mean, any question you could think of asking in regard to just life, I mean, Job had them.
And as a result of these faithful dialogues with God, this work of faith, it was like Job was having a therapy session with God. And through this dialogue, Job was able to confidently declare Job 13.15, Though he slay me, yet will I trust him, even so I will defend mine own ways before him. Through the work of faith, Job says in chapter 27 of his writing, verses 3 through 6, As long as my breath is in me and the breath of God in my nostrils, my lips will not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.
Far be it from me that I should say, You are right, till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. Yeah, he's speaking to his hypocritical friends like, You're not right. You ain't right, man.
You're not right. All the stuff you're saying about me, that ain't cool. You're not right.
I will not put away my integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast and will not let it go. My heart shall not reproach me as long as I live.
Job vows to maintain his integrity, refuse to speak deceitfully, and uphold his righteousness despite all that his friends, so-called friends, had to say. Job, he was just adamant in declaring his innocence and maintaining his moral character through his trials. He faced his fears through his faith.
Now, let's look at the case of Jonah.
When God commands Jonah to go to Nineveh and prophesy against its wickedness, Jonah's immediate reaction is to flee in the opposite direction. He took a ship to Tarshish. This could be seen as a response of sudden fear.
He fled. Immediate visceral reaction to this daunting task. The thought of going to a hostile city and delivering a message of impending doom triggered, I imagine, a fear response in Jonah, leading to his abrupt decision to escape.
He allowed sudden fear to take its course, but afterwards allowed the fear of the Lord to take charge. After being delivered from the belly of the whale, Jonah went to Nineveh, proclaiming God's warning that the city would be overthrown because of its wickedness and if the people did not repent. The people of Nineveh, from the king down to the everyday ordinary people, believed Jonah's message and repented of their sins, ultimately.
And as a result, God relented and did not bring the predicted destruction upon Nineveh. How do we protect ourselves against the spirit of fear? The fear of the Lord through your faith is a key element to overcoming the spirit of fear.
He fled. Immediate visceral reaction to this daunting task. The thought of going to a hostile city and delivering a message of impending doom triggered, I imagine, a fear response in Jonah, leading to his abrupt decision to escape.
He allowed sudden fear to take its course, but afterwards allowed the fear of the Lord to take charge. After being delivered from the belly of the whale, Jonah went to Nineveh, proclaiming God's warning that the city would be overthrown because of its wickedness and if the people did not repent. The people of Nineveh, from the king down to the everyday ordinary people, believed Jonah's message and repented of their sins, ultimately.
And as a result, God relented and did not bring the predicted destruction upon Nineveh. How do we protect ourselves against the spirit of fear? The fear of the Lord through your faith is a key element to overcoming the spirit of fear.
Proverbs 9 and 10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy is understanding. Proverbs 1 and 7.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Psalm 111, verse 10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
A good understanding of all they that do his commandments, his praise, endureth for ever. Proverbs 10, 27. The fear of the Lord prolongeth days but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.
Proverbs 23, 17. Let not thine heart envy sinners but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long. Want more?
Psalms 34, 9. O fear the Lord, ye saints, for there is no want to them that fear him. Proverbs 14, 26.
In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence and his children shall have a place of refuge. Yes, yes, you can protect yourself or respond to the spirit of fear through the fear of the Lord. Let's look at another case.
Noah.
By faith.
Right? We see this in Hebrews 11, verse 7. It says, By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house, by which he condemned the world and became ear of the righteousness, which is by faith.
The fear of the Lord here involves a deep respect, awe for God's power and faithfulness, motivating Noah to take the necessary actions to save his family and by following God's instructions. Even when the threat of the flood was not immediately visible. I imagine he must have thought to himself, I don't want to know how God would hold me accountable.
If I refuse to follow his command, I have so much reverence for his divine will and authority that I will carry out his instructions. Finally, let's look at the case of Jesus, our Lord and Savior as he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. Even Jesus himself, understand this, even Jesus himself experienced sudden fear.
Let's read together St. Matthew 26 verses 36 through 39. Then Jesus came with them, his disciples, to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, Sit here while I go and pray over there. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and he began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.
Then he said to them, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with me. He was going through a deep sense of emotional and spiritual turmoil, grappling with this impending suffering and agony.
My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with me. He went a little further and fell on his face and prayed, saying, Oh, my father, if it be possible, this is the sudden fear kicking in now, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.
Then now, the fear of the Lord steps in and says, Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. So you see in this just in one verse, sudden fear and then the fear of the Lord. Here's a point that I would like to highlight.
Sudden fear activates your vision. The fear of the Lord implements it, but the spirit of fear can block it. Once again, sudden fear activates your vision.
The fear of the Lord implements it, but the spirit of fear can block it. If your vision doesn't scare you initially, then you really don't have a vision. You just have an idea.
Yeah, if your vision doesn't scare you initially, you don't have a vision. You just have an idea. It's time to resurrect the visionary in you.
Face your fears through your faith.
Hebrews 11, verses 8, 11, 17, 20, 23, 28, and 30. By faith, or through faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance, and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith, Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
By faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son. By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob in Esau concerning things to come.
Face your fears through your faith.
“By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents because they saw he was a beautiful child and they were not afraid of the king's command. By faith, he, Moses, kept the Passover, somebody say Passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down. Are there some walls in your life that need to crumble in this very moment?
By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled, after they marched around those walls for seven days.
Face your fears through your faith.
If this episode has been a blessing to you, write a review through your preferred podcast app. FMA is on all major podcast platforms. Share this message with others who might also find inspiration.
Thank you so much for listening. God bless and stay safe.