"Lack of religion would have us believe that we are orphans cast into the terrifying immensities of space in a universe that is without purpose or intelligence.  Such a view drains courage and exhausts ...energies." Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I admit we live in a fearful world. People have a lot of fear—fear that manifests as insecurity and mental torment of every kind. A fearful person worries and is anxious about many things, such as the past, the future, finances, what people think. These constant companions literally bring torment. The King James Version of 1 John 4:18 certainly describes fear accurately when it says that …fear has torment…. And when people are truly scared, they’re willing to do almost anything to make that feeling go away.

Out of fear, people become controlling. They are fearful of being hurt or taken advantage of. They have not learned that perfect love casts out fear. Our fears concerning people—being hurt and disappointed by them—would end. Because the emotional pain of rejection, judgment, betrayal, criticism is very real and devastating, we naturally avoid it once we have experienced it. It seems people fall into one of two categories: they either withdraw in fear and live lonely lives, or they want relationships but are never really able to develop proper ones because of all their fears.

Fear tends to make us focus inwards. A way out of fear is open your awareness to include everything around you. If you notice anxious thoughts, open you mind and listen to sounds around you. Maybe you can hear birds singing, or children playing or the wind in the trees. This should give a calming effect.

The dictionary describes Fear as an uneasiness of the mind, upon the thought of future danger likely to befall us.

Paul Meyer told this story in Vanguard, 1981:  Several generations ago, during one of the most turbulent of the desert wars in the Middle East, a spy was captured and sentenced to death by a general of the Persian army. The general, a man of intelligence and compassion, had adopted a strange and unusual custom in such cases. He permitted the condemned person to make a choice. The prisoner could either face the firing squad or pass through the Black Door.

As the moment of the execution drew near, the general ordered the spy to be brought before him for a short, final interview, the primary purpose of which was to receive the answer of the doomed man to the query: "What shall it be – the firing squad or the Black Door?" This was not an easy decision and the prisoner hesitated, but soon made it known that he much preferred the firing squad to the unknown horrors that might await him behind the ominous and mysterious door.

Not long after, a volley of shots announced that the grim sentence had been fulfilled. The general, staring at his boots, said to his aide, "You see how it is with men; they will always prefer the known way to the unknown. It is characteristic of people to be afraid of the undefined. Yet I gave him his choice."

"What lies behind the Black Door?" asked the aide. "Freedom," replied the general, "and I’ve known only a few brave enough to take it."

So how can we rid ourselves of fears that threaten to paralyze us? The answers are given to us in the pages of the Bible.

The Bible tells us that perfect love eliminates fear. The word perfect (from the Greek teleios, Strong’s 5046) has the meaning of something with complete character, mental and moral, full of age. In other words, it is mature love. Mature love is not afraid. Most of us do not have this kind of love…it is a process…this growing in love…love toward God and love toward our brother.

Read Psalm 91: The rich promises of this whole chapter are dependent upon one's meeting the conditions of the first two verses. And for further encouragement always read the twenty-third Psalm.

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out all fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because HE (God) first loved us" (1 John 4:20).

Perfect love is gentle and teachable, kind and easy to be entreated. It enters the school of Christ, as a pupil, not as a master, realizing how much is yet to be learned, rather than how much has been attained.

The Apostle Paul tells us, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,   "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.  What can man do to me?" Hebrews (13: 5, 6).

I love the realization that I am now a rich child of a rich God. I love, use, and express the talents and abilities with which I have been endowed. Love casts out the fear of failure. I love the opportunities that are mine. I love the challenges that stir me to deeper thought and greater effort. I love the spirit of faith and courage that refuses to let fear dominate me. I love the feeling of spiritual power—the power of Christ within me—that is mine when I act courageously and dare to step out in faith. Now I can fearlessly meet life and love God, knowing that God loves me and that nothing and no one can separate me from the love of God. (Romans 8:35-39) (Psalm 27:1) (Psalm 46:1,2)

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control" (2 Timothy 1:7 Amplified). Put God first and don’t worry – (Matthew 6:33-34)

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his sermon Antidotes for Fear said, "Religion endows us with the conviction that we are not alone in this vast, uncertain universe....

Man is not a wisp of smoke from a limitless smoldering,
    but a child of God created 'a little lower than the angels.'
Above the manyness of time stands the one eternal God,
    with wisdom to guide us, strength to protect us, and love to keep us.
(God's) boundless love supports and contains us as a mighty ocean
    contains and supports the tiny drops of every wave.
With a surging fullness (God) is forever moving toward us,
    seeking to fill the little creeks and bays of our lives with unlimited
resources.

"This faith transforms the whirlwind of despair into a warm and reviving breeze of hope. The words of a motto which a generation ago were commonly found on the wall in the homes of devout persons need to be etched on our
hearts:
        Fear knocked at the door.
        Faith answered.
        There was no one there."

When the fear is gone we will know we are right with God because fear evaporates in the presence of love.