Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest

by Edward T. Welch

“Be still, and know that I am God;

He will be the Redeemer and Deliverer or he will be the Judge of those who oppose him. Either way, he will be exalted and he will bring peace.

Anxieties and fears need an alternative. They need something bigger and better that will make the provoking events seem insignificant in comparison. Here is something bigger. Here is a conclusion that leads us into the fear of the Lord. While it might look like the other forces are winning, they are not. God will be exalted, and we will be amazed.

This peace—shalom—is the polar opposite of fear and anxiety. We know we don’t want fear, worry, and anxiety—at least the unnecessary ones. But that goal is so elusive that we rarely consider what it is we really want. What we want is shalom. We want everything to be right in the world.

The breach in shalom came as a result of our sin.

Having been created for the kingdom of God, our desire for peace is innate.

Therefore, when confronted with worries and fears, we should encourage our instincts to look at our own sin so that we can be people who make peace rather than break it.

What looked like defeat was actually the place where righteousness and peace kissed (Ps. 85:10).

For he himself is our peace,

Without forgiveness of sins, there can be no peace in our relationship with God, and when there is no peace with God, we will have no peace.

If you are finding peace elusive, either you still don’t believe you are forgiven or you don’t really care that you are.

If you know that sin is your most profound problem, more critical than anything else that worries you, y...

Sin and guilt are where we are most susceptible to Sa...

Jesus himself is our peace (Eph. 2:14).

I want to be an activist who participates in the reign of the Prince of Peace.

If you want peace, you must pursue peace.

if we have known peace, we will be peacemakers.

Do you want to know peace? Study the Peace-giver and make peace.

Reconciliation is a high priority in the kingdom. It announces that we have been reconciled to Christ, and it announces the reign of Jesus Christ while it invites people to live under that reign.

Justice and peace are intimate companions. The one implies the other. If there is justice, you will find people at peace. If there is peace, you will find people who act justly. Both are included in shalom.

Are they? Sometimes mustn’t you learn to find peace even when there are I justices?

The goal is not the alleviation of anxiety so much as it is the pursuit of God’s purposes. If God’s ways mean an increase in fear and anxiety, so be it, but, of course, the opposite is true. As we apply the gospel of peace, we will know peace.

As Emmi Bonhoeffer states, “From the very moment one feels called to act is born the strength to bear whatever horror one will feel or see. In some inexplicable way, terror loses its overwhelming power when it becomes a task that must be faced.”

when we experience past difficulties as uncontrollable and unpredictable, we are more likely to carry and accumulate fears and worries.

If we knew the details about our pasts and were creative in making links between the past and the present, we could probably find some inciting event for our present state of high alert. When we find one, at least we realize that there is a logic to our fears. But making a connection, accurate or not, doesn’t eliminate the fear. Only faith can loosen our ...

Fear relates to God and our relationship with him.

When you know that the story will end well, it is almost impossible to be afraid.

Faith, instead, is a shift of confidence and trust to one who has always proven faithful.

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you shalom.” (Num. 6:24—26)