[transcript] If you have ever felt overwhelmed by your circumstances, worried about the future, or afraid as you face life's challenges, you are not alone. And so today we're going to look at what God's Word has to say about our worry and our fear. Hi friends, welcome to my channel. My name is Sarah, and I love the Word of God. Now, recently, I was going through a season where I was really overwhelmed by fear and anxiety. And this is actually the second video in a series where I'm sharing with you what I have learned in my time studying God's Word, desperate for wisdom and guidance on how to deal with my fear and my worry. You can find the first video in this series linked in the description below, but today, we're going to look at a few of the first instances in Scripture where God specifically addresses fear, and I'm going to show you that God actually gives us four specific things to focus on in our battle with fear and worry.

So, grab your Bibles and let's seek him together. Okay. Before we get into the Scriptures, let's get clear on what we're talking about when we refer to fear or worry.

So the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines fear as an unpleasant, often strong emotion, caused by the anticipation or awareness of danger. Merriam-Webster defines worry this way: to feel or experience concern, anxiety, mental distress, or agitation, resulting from concerns. Usually for something impending or anticipated.

So, do you see the similarities in those two words? Really, what we're talking about is some degree of unpleasant emotion caused by either the experience of, or the anticipation of, something that we view as negative. I point out the similarities in these words because I don't want you to dismiss this lesson because you don't think that you're experiencing fear, which is actually the word that we're going to see referred to in our specific passages. In reality, if you feel concern or worry or any kind of turmoil about something that you're experiencing now or that you anticipate in the future, then I believe that there is something here for you. Now, in order for you to get the significance of all of these passages that we're going to look at, we really need to read through all three of them. Then we'll come back and look at them more closely.

So I'd encourage you, if you have your Bible available, grab your Bible, but grab some Post-it notes or something that you can use as a bookmark to mark each of these passages so that you can easily flip back and forth with me. I need you to bear with me as I read to you. Try not to get distracted. I know it can be hard to pay attention when someone is reading to you, especially if it's online, but remember, what I'm reading is the Word of God, and there's nothing more valuable. I promise, none of these passages are very long. I'm not going to be reading to you for too long.

So, try to follow along either on the screen or in your Bible as I read and watch specifically for how God is telling his children to deal with their fear. The first passage that we're going to look at is Genesis chapter 15, verses 1 through 7. This is what we read.

After these events, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield. Your reward will be very great. But Abram said, "Lord God, what can you give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezar of Damascus?" Abram continued, "Look, you have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house will be my heir. Now the word of the Lord came to him. This one will not be your heir. Instead, one who comes from your own body will be your heir. He took him outside and said, Look at the sky and count the stars if you are able to count them. Then he said to him, "Your offspring will be that numerous." Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. He said to him, I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.

So there's a lot going on here, and it's hard to understand the significance without a little bit of a history lesson. So Abram was called out of the land where he had always lived by God, and he was sent to a land that God was going to lead him to, the promised land. Where God promised to make him the father of many nations, and that all people would be blessed by him. But when we encounter Abram in chapter 15, there's a problem.

You see, Abram did what God called him to do. He followed God to an unknown land full of enemy nations. And there he lived. A foreigner with no power, no control, no rights, and worst of all, no son. Remember, his promise was that he would be the father of many nations, and yet he still had no children at all.

So his circumstances would have been overwhelming and confusing, and his future looked pretty bleak. Now, we don't actually see Abram say that he's afraid, but we can assume that he's afraid because God tells him, "Do not be afraid." And it makes sense, right? We can understand why Abram would have been worried and afraid.

So we're going to come back to this, but now let's look at our next passage, which is Genesis 26:23-24, which actually focuses on Isaac, who is Abram's son, the son that he doesn't yet have in chapter 15 that we just read. So starting in verse 23, it says,

"From there he went up to Beersheba, and the Lord appeared to him that night and said, 'I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your offspring because of my servant Abraham."

Okay, so for our quick history lesson here, we actually have a similar situation. We find Isaac living in the land, waiting for God to fulfill the promise of possession of the land, but he's still an outsider there. And in fact, earlier in chapter 26, you can read about this interesting conflict over wells. Isaac is actually struggling to even provide water for his flocks and his herds because the Philistines who live in that area keep taking possession of the wells that Isaac's servants dig. And so what we have here is a man who is struggling to provide even the most basic needs for his family and his herds. And in the meantime, he's waiting for the fulfillment of the promise of God. Again, we can imagine that this situation would be very overwhelming and frightening. Hang in there with me. I know that we're bouncing from one set of verses to another, and we are going to look more deeply at these, but I want you to see one more set of scriptures first.

So we're going to skip ahead a few more chapters to Genesis chapter 46, and let's look at verses 1 through 4, where we're going to read about Isaac's son Israel, who's named Jacob. And remember, we're watching for what God says specifically about their fear.

So, in Genesis chapter 46 verses 1 through 4, we read,

Israel set out with all that he had and came to Beersheba, and he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. That night, God spoke to Israel in a vision. "Jacob," he said. And Jacob replied, "Here I am. " God said, "I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will bring you back. Joseph will close your eyes when you die."

Now, for the context of this passage, we find Jacob, who is Isaac's son, but this is many years later. Jacob actually has several grown sons, and he's living through a time of very serious famine.

So God has told Jacob to go to Egypt. Now there's a lot more going on with this story, and Jacob is going to be reunited with a long-lost son. But this is actually a very big deal, leaving his home because he's being called away from the promised land. And so again, what we have here is a man who is faced with the unknown, faced with great need, great heartache, and certainly great confusion about what God is doing. But certainly, Jacob was facing fear that would seem reasonable to us.

So let's make a couple of important observations. We just looked at three generations of men, and these are three of what we refer to as the patriarchs. These are the fathers of the Jewish nation. First, we have Abram, who's going to be renamed Abraham, and then we have his son Isaac, and last, we looked at Isaac's son Jacob, who is called Israel. Now, there are decades of time between each of these passages, and lots of life has happened. But there are some really significant similarities in each of these situations that were really impactful to me as I was studying, and I discovered them. And so that's what I want to show you.

So we're going to really focus in on what God says to each of these men. And this is what totally blew me away. Because God is talking directly to them about the fear that they're experiencing. And while they're in the midst of these overwhelming circumstances, God has words to say to them about their fear. And I think for myself how frequently I wish that God would just tell me what to do, or just give me tools for how to deal with the emotions and the things that are going on in my head. And that's what he does here. He goes to these men and he tells them what to do about their fear.

So, flip back with me to chapter 15 and let's break down what God says. The first thing he says is, "Do not be afraid." Now, this is a clear instruction to Abram not to be afraid. And we actually see those instructions in all three of our passages. But then, in his graciousness, God tells Abram why he doesn't need to be afraid. He tells Abram, "I am your shield." And so he is promising to be the source of protection for Abraham. And God is actually identifying himself as Abram's shield. Then he goes on to reassure him that he intends to keep his promise of giving him numerous offspring. Again, this is actually something that we see in all three passages, a renewal of the promise. And he finishes by reminding Abram of who he is and what he's done in the past. There in verse 7, he says, "I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess."

So he says, I am God, and I called you to this land. Now, let's look at what God said in chapter 26 and really try to pay attention to the similarities that you're going to see.

So remember we're in verses 23 through 24. And he starts by reminding Isaac of who he is. He says, "I am the God of your father Abraham." Then he tells him, "Do not be afraid." Remember, we saw that in the last passage. And now he actually adds this promise of his presence. "Do not be afraid, for I am with you." And then he renews the promise by saying, "I will bless you and multiply your offspring because of my servant Abraham." So he says, "Just like I promised your father Abraham, I am going to multiply your offspring." We have this renewal of the promise.

So are you beginning to see a pattern? So let's look at our last passage in chapter 46. Here we see God tell Jacob, "I am the God of your father." Now he's reminding him of who he is. Then he says, "Don't be afraid to go down to Egypt." I will make you into a great nation. And there he says, "I will go down with you to Egypt and I will bring you back."

So here we see again a promise of God's presence and the renewal of a promise to make him into a great nation. So there's a lot of repetition in these passages. And anytime something is repeated in scripture, we want to take notice. It's not a coincidence. It's there for a reason. And it makes a point. And what's really fascinating is that we're looking at these first few instances where God specifically addresses fear. And He says a lot of the same things to each of these men. He tells them, "Do not be afraid." Then God reminds them of who He is and what he's done in the past.

And then he reassures them that he intends to keep the promises that he's made and reminds them that he is with them. So, did you see the four things that he tells them to focus on? Instead of their fear, he says that they should focus on who God is, where God is, which is with them, what God has promised, and what God has done. Now, I want to point out something really important here. In order to combat their fear, God tells them who he is, and he tells them that he is with them. But it's really important that we recognize that the fact that God is with us will mean nothing to us if we do not know and believe who God is. We cannot find comfort in the presence of God if we do not know and believe who God is. I'm going to say it one more time because it's so important. We cannot find comfort in God's presence if we do not know and believe that God is who he says he is.

So if you have ever found yourself in a season where you were afraid or worried, and you were trying to comfort yourself by saying, I don't need to be afraid, God is with me, but you don't actually find that comfort. Then I want to suggest that perhaps you do not believe that God is who he says he is. Or maybe you don't even really know who God says that he is. But the good news is that this book right here is all about who God is. The Bible gives us a clear picture of the character of God. This is where you learn who God is, and that is how you can find comfort in the knowledge of his presence in the midst of your challenging circumstances. And so we see that God's solution in these scriptures for fear in the midst of overwhelming circumstances and challenges and very real threats is to remember these four things. Who God is, where God is, what God has done, and what God has promised. And doing this, what we've been doing here, studying God's word. This is exactly how we learn and remind ourselves of these things. We don't need to come up with a new strategy for dealing with our fear and our worry. God has given us one right here in these passages. And so now you can know that when you're faced with fear and worry, the solution is to be in God's word, allowing the Holy Spirit and his word to remind you of who your God is. As you study God's word, you are reminding yourself of the character of God and of the amazing things that he has done. Because our God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. That means that the same God that you saw working in your life five or ten years ago, the same God that you read about doing amazing things in the scriptures, is the same God who is with you today. Friend, do not be afraid. Your God is great. He is good. He is mighty. He loves you and he is with you. Lean into that. To watch the next video in this series, you can click this link here, where we're going to look at what Jesus himself had to say about worry. Or you can click this link to see the first video in this series, where we learned that our God has no limit to his strength or his understanding. In the meantime, keep seeking the Lord. He is so worth knowing.