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

by Edward T. Welch

anxiety is the dizziness of freedom. With freedom come more choices, which mean more opportunities to get it wrong. Freedom or oppression—pick your poison. They

Here is where fear is a door to spiritual reality. It suggests that authentic humanness was never intended to be autonomous and self-reliant. Humans are needy by design.

When the right person speaks these words you might be comforted. Remember, “Do not be afraid” are the words of the one who can match speech with action. He is the sovereign King who really is in control. The efficacy of the words is directly related to the authority, power, and love of the one speaking them.

But there are two different ways of saying, “Don’t be afraid.” one is as an edict to be obeyed, in which case it is a peculiar edict. It sounds like the King actually cares about us. He isn’t ordering us to make bricks without straw. Instead, it sounds as if he wants his people to know peace. So, even when seen as an authoritative command, this reveals something lovely about God. Unlike other kings, at least those who have despotic authority, God knows the concerns of those in his realm and commands things that are in their best interest. That is the most severe way to understand “Do not be afraid.”

Second, whenever Scripture says anything about God hearing, watch out, because you know something is about to happen. When God hears, he acts.

The lesson is clear: He doesn’t hear because of us and the quality of our prayers. He hears because he is the God Who Hears.

Think of this test as a way to expose traitors during wartime. We are the potential traitors and don’t even know it. God tests us because we are so oblivious to the mixed allegiances in our hearts. The purpose of the test is to help us see our hearts and if they are found traitorous, we can turn back to God. God is not playing mind games with us; he is forging a relationship.

The Beautiful One is King, and his children are and will be reflections of his beauty.

When you know that the kingdom is God’s alone (though he gives it to us), that is the only thing that can lead to peace and rest. Owners are the ones who do all the worrying; stewards simply listen to the owner’s desires and work to implement them. Owners are responsible for the outcome; stewards strive to be faithful.

For me, knowing that there is grace for tomorrow has made the most noticeable difference on my own anxieties and fears. The hurdle that was always in front of me was that I couldn’t imagine that grace, which is another way of saying that I limited God to the size of my own imagination.

Meanwhile, worry reveals our allegiances. Fear and worry are not mere emotions; they are expressions of what we hold dear. They reveal the loyalties of our hearts. If we know Christ and have affirmed our allegiance to him, worry is a sign that we are trying to have it both ways. We certainly don’t want to renounce our allegiance to Jesus, but we want to protect what we feel is our own. We are not so sure that the Lord can be trusted with some of these things, so we look for help elsewhere. And if there is no obvious alternate source of help, we worry.

But in the kingdom, lust is silly. It is wanting less than what we already have. It is replacing eternal joys with temporary highs.

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, you will know a resolute peace.

the ordinary done in obedience to Christ is beautiful, inspired, and oftentimes heroic.