50 Days of Promises to Overcome Fear

About three years ago, I hit an impasse in what seemed to be a lifelong struggle with fear. I had been reading books on how to overcome fear of the future, fear of man, and fear of persecution, and watching movies about seemingly fearless people like Eric Liddell and Nate Saint, who faced suffering and persecution head-on and came out victoriously, trusting God. I memorized 1 Peter on the certainty of suffering, along with key passages that promised God's protection amid fearful experiences. But nothing seemed to shift in my mind. After a year of sleepless nights, where I would wake up with a myriad of fears staring me in the face, I knew something had to change.

A Flicker of Light

I began asking my husband to pray with me for a breakthrough. His advice as a theologian was simple enough—meditate on and memorize Romans 5-6 and ask the Lord to help me understand my new position in union with Christ. This was a concept that was difficult for me to grasp, but in desperation, I decided to take his advice. Each night throughout much of the summer, I went to bed reading Romans 5 and 6 and asking God the Holy Spirit to open my mind to help me truly believe that I was no longer a slave to fear—something I knew in my head but had not taken to heart. As I came to Romans 6, I began replacing the word "sin" with "fear" each time I encountered it and declared with determination, often out loud, "What shall we say then? Shall we go on living in 'terrifying fear' so that grace may increase? By no means; we died to 'terrifying fear.' How can we live in it any longer?" As I made my way through these verses repeatedly in prayer, something began to change. I saw a flicker of light as my heart was moved in trust that what God promised here about my new position and identity in Christ was true. Instead of reading Romans 6 with the hope that one day I might truly believe I had died with Christ to sin's power and had been raised up with Him and seated with Him, I began to reckon on it by faith that it was absolutely true—God said it, and by faith I believed it.

Reckoning on God's Truth

God used Romans 5 to assure me of my new position in union with Christ as one who had "now" been justified by faith so that I had peace with God (Romans 5:1-5). He spoke to me through His promises in Romans 6, reminding me that I was justified by faith and united with Christ in His death and resurrection so that I no longer had any obligation to obey the sinful desires of my flesh or live in fear. He showed me through these promises that after reckoning on my freedom in union with Christ, I needed to begin actively taking these thoughts "captive to the obedience of Christ," and “[demolishing] arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God" (2 Corinthians 10:5). His Word showed me that the only way to destroy these strongholds of fear, grounded on lies, was by trusting in His promises and allowing them to replace the lies I was believing. This not only meant believing the truth but also getting rid of or casting down the lies so that I would no longer live in double-mindedness—with fear tormenting me alongside God's assurance that He had not given me a spirit of fear (James 1:6).

Taking Thoughts Captive to Christ's Obedience

I lived for decades in a very passive mental state, allowing myself to think and dwell on whatever came to mind and letting thoughts drag me wherever they wanted. For this reason, learning to take thoughts captive was initially a seemingly impossible journey. The idea that God wanted me to come to His promises with expectant hope that His powerful Word and Spirit in prayer would destroy the lies was almost unfathomable to me. The Lord reminded me of passages that showed the power of His Word, which He declared to be like "fire" and a "hammer" with the ability to shatter rocks, and like a "double-edged sword" with supernatural power to discern the innermost parts of a person's heart and soul (Jeremiah 23:29; Hebrews 4:12). The reality began to sink in that the Word was truly this powerful, and the choice was up to me whether I would reckon on it and then stand by faith on His promises or trust my feelings.

Praying God's Promises and Trusting Him to Answer

During this time, my husband and I watched the biography of Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian pastor who was imprisoned for his faith by the Nazis and the Communists in Romania during the war and up to the mid-60s—about 14 years. Wurmbrand was running an underground church and sharing the Gospel with communist officers and knew that his arrest was imminent. Rather than live in terrifying fear, he began meditating on and memorizing passages against fear in the Bible—one for each day of the year. When he was arrested and put in the back of a car on the way to a prison camp, he asked his captors what day it was. They mocked him, not realizing that his only reason to be concerned about the date was so that he could quickly remember the verse he had memorized for that day and meditate on it so that he did not give in to fear.

I realized that I could do something similar by taking a different passage against fear every day, meditating on it, and praying through it that God would work faith in my heart regarding that promise. I went online and copied and pasted 70 days of passages against fear and decided to start there. From what the Lord had been teaching me, I knew it was important to not only know the passage but to understand the context of it, so I decided to read the chapter before and after to get a big-picture view of what was happening. After reading the passage, I tried to summarize it as best as I could and then wrote down a list of things that the person or people had to fear. After this, I wrote out a prayer, repenting of the ways I had given in to fear in these areas and committing my heart to trusting God in place of the fear.

During this time, I was going through a trial that was generating new fear in my heart. I woke up each day and went through the process of praying, reading, and meditating on the fear passage only to go into the day feeling somewhat terrified and wondering if there would ever be a breakthrough. I remember telling the students I was teaching at that time about my battle against fear and how I was trusting God to hear my prayers and help me walk in new freedom as I prayed through these passages. Somewhere around the 50th day, something began to shift, and for the first time in my life, a new kind of courage began to swell in my heart. When I thought of the future, God looked bigger than the boogie man of vain speculation and impending doom. When I thought of suffering, I could see God's sovereign presence and help there, along with His assurance that He would be with me like He was with Israel and others like Richard Wurmbrand.

Returning to trust in His Promises

It would be great if we could keep walking in freedom in areas where we've had previous struggles. But the reality of our spiritual lives is very similar to that of our physical ones—if we ignore either, problems will return. I'm learning in a new season of challenges in my life that I need to walk back through the promises of Romans 5-6 and 2 Corinthians 10:5 and pray again through God's commands not to fear. I’m going back through my fear passages starting this week and praying through them each morning. I’ve included a list of the 50 passages below. If you’re also struggling with fear, I hope you’ll join me in this step to finding freedom in Christ. 

50 Verses for Overcoming Fear 

1. Deuteronomy 1:21 – See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

2. Deuteronomy 1:29 – Then I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them.’

3. Deuteronomy 3:2 – The Lord said to me ‘Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon

4. Deuteronomy 3:22 – Do not be afraid of them; the Lord you God himself will fight for you.

5. Deuteronomy 7:18 – But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.

6. Deuteronomy 20:1 – When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. 

7. Deuteronomy 20:3 – He shall say: ‘Hear, Israel: today you are going into battle against your enemies.Do not be faint-hearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them.’

8. Deuteronomy 31:6 – ‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.’

9. Deuteronomy 31:8 – ‘The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.’

10. Joshua 1:9 – ‘Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.’

11. Joshua 8:1 – Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land.’

12. Joshua 10:8 – The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.’

13. Joshua 10:25 – Joshua said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.’

14. Joshua 11:6 – The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them, slain, over to Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots. 

15.   Judges 6:23 – But the Lord said to him, ‘Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.’

16. I Samuel 4:20 – As she was dying the women attending her said, ‘Don’t despair; you have given birth to a son.’ But she did not respond or pay any attention.’

17.  I Samuel 12:20 – ‘Do no be afraid,’ Samuel replied. ‘You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.’

18.  I Samuel 22:23 – Stay with me; don’t be afraid. The man who wants to kill you is trying to kill me too. You will be safe with me.’

19. I Samuel 23:17 – ‘Don’t be afraid,’ he said. ‘My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You shall be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.’

20.   I Samuel 28:13 – The king said to her, ‘Don’t be afraid. What do you see?’

21.  II Samuel 9:7 – ‘Don’t be afraid,’ David said to him, ‘for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and  you will always eat at my table.’

22. I Kings 17:13 – Elijah said to her, ‘Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and make something for yourself and your son.’

23. II Kings 1:15 – The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, ‘Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.’ So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.  

24.   II Kings 6:16 –  ‘Don’t be afraid,’ the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’

25.  II Kings 19:6 – Isaiah said to them, ‘Tell your master, “This is what the Lord says: do not be afraid of what you have heard – those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.”’

26.  II Kings 25:24 – Gedaliah took an oath to reassure them and their men. ‘Do not be afraid of the Babylonian officials, he said. ‘Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go will with you.’

27. I Chronicles 22:13 – Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave to Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged. 

28.  I Chronicles 28:20 – David also said to Solomon his son, ‘Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the tempe of the Lord is finished.’

29.  II Chronicles 20:15 – He said: ‘Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s”’

30. II Chronicles 20:17 – “You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. God out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.”

31.  II Chronicles 32:7 – ‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him.’

32.  Nehemiah 4:14 – After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, ‘Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.’

33.  Job 5:21 – You will be protected from the last of the tongue, and need not fear when destruction comes.

34. Job 11:15 – then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear.

35.   Job 21:9 – Their homes are safe and free from fear; the rod of God is not on them.

36.   Psalm 3:6 – I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.

37. Psalm 4:8 – In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.

38.   Psalm 16:7-9 I will praise the Lord who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure.

39. Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.

40.   Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid? 

41.   Psalm 27:3 – Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.

42.   Psalm 29:11 – The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace. 

43.   Psalm 46:2 – Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.

44.   Psalm 49:16 – Do not be overawed when others grow rich, when the splendour of their houses increases;

45. Psalm 56: 3-4 – When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise – in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? 

46.   Psalm 56:11 – in God I trust and not afraid. What can man do to me? 

47.   Psalm 78:53 – He guided them safely, so they were unafraid; but the sea engulfed their enemies.

48.   Psalm 91:5 – You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,

49. Psalm 94:19 – When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.

50.   Psalm 118:6 — The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?

From Persecution to Preaching, Missions and Discipleship

Jesus is our forerunner who left behind an example for us to follow in his steps (1 Peter 2:21). He taught, preached and lived the Gospel message of the cross showing that in this world we will suffer persecution for righteousness' sake (John 16:33). At the same time, he demonstrated resurrection power that enabled him to continue advancing the Gospel amid great persecution. 

Like the Messiah, the apostle Paul did not allow persecution to shut him down, silence the Gospel or thwart the advancement of the Kingdom of God. He embraced Jesus’ warning about imminent suffering and then passed it on to faithful witnesses wherever he went, declaring that “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). He proclaimed this in sober-mindedness after returning to Lystra, where he had been thrown out of town, stoned and left to die.

The disciples witnessed first-hand the cost of discipleship as they “gathered around him” and encouraged him (Acts 14:20). Likely to their surprise and certainly to ours, he threw off the rocks and returned to the city, showing his determination. Though he didn’t remain there, his return to town testified to the believers and his opponents that he was not afraid of man but lived in the fear and awe of God. What seemed like superhuman strength and resilience was the indwelling Holy Spirit, who upheld him with “the same power that raised Jesus from the dead” (Romans 6:4-5, 8:11).  As he later testified in Philippians 1:28, this was not only a sign of God’s power but a declaration of God’s judgment on his enemies.

From persecution to preaching and missions

It seems sensible that anyone who had narrowly escaped death would take steps to preserve their life. But since Paul’s interest in the Gospel overshadowed his human desire for self-preservation this was not the case. Instead, he declared that “if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord” (Romans 14:8). He considered everything – even his own life – garbage compared to knowing Christ (Philippians 3:8), which enabled him to joyfully and repeatedly take gigantic risks for the sake of the Gospel. The greater goal for Paul was to “finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus [had] given to [him] – the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24).

As a result, Paul left town and went to Derby, where he preached again and “won a large number of disciples” (Acts 14: 21). There, Agabus gave a prophecy concerning his imprisonment and persecution by the Jews in Jerusalem (Acts 21:12), and many of the believers tried to discourage him from continuing his preaching and missionary work. But Paul assured them that the Holy Spirit had already prepared him for this, showing him that “prison and hardships” were ahead (Acts 20:23). Paul knew that this persecution was not a sign of God’s disfavor but instead an indication of his favor and the efficacy of the Gospel as Jesus promised: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven…” (Matthew 5:11-12). 

Over the course of about 35 years of ministry, Paul was imprisoned three times, shipwrecked, beaten, in danger from bandits and fellow Jews, and thrown out of cities. He provides a summary of some of this suffering in 2 Corinthians 11:16-33, showing that it was not an incidental matter but something that marked his entire life as an apostle. At the same time, his accomplishments by the Spirit’s power were immense. He embarked on four missionary journeys over 16 years to about 50 cities, traveling about 10,000 miles and helping to plant at least 14 churches. 

From persecution to teaching and discipleship

In addition to preaching the Gospel and planting growing communities of Christ-followers, he helped them to build healthy leadership by appointing elders, who taught them to fast and pray for wisdom. He discipled many people including Timothy, Mark, Luke, Onesimus and other traveling companions. While in prison he wrote four epistles, using his experiences to encourage and equip the believers to stand strong in their faith and to devote their lives to God. Through those same Epistles he has and will continue to disciple billions of believers around the world. 

God's unstoppable servants and message

Like Jesus and the apostle Paul, we may experience intense opposition and persecution from proclaiming the Gospel and calling people to repentant faith in Jesus Christ. But we do not need to shrink back in fear or leave our calling because of this (Hebrews 10:39). As we follow the Lord’s and the apostle Paul’s examples, we will be encouraged and empowered by the Spirit to patiently endure. Like Paul, we will be able to declare, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.  We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10). God the Holy Spirit will strengthen us with his resurrection power in our hardships and weaknesses so that we can throw off the stones of rejection, abuse and slander and continue teaching, preaching and making disciples. God has promised he’s with us and will not forsake us and that the very gates of hell not prevail against us in the advancement of the Gospel (Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 16:17-19). 

Personal reflection

I still remember the peaceful face of the student who responded to my sober reminder that we would have to suffer great persecution and hardships to enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). Her reply came quickly and was both simple and true, “It’s hard, but he’s worth it!” While no one, including the Lord Jesus or the apostle Paul, enjoys pain, suffering and rejection, we can endure it knowing it’s for the cause of Christ and his Kingdom. As Paul reminds us “our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17). And there will come a day very soon when “He will wipe every tear from [our] eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Until that time, we need to heed Christ’s call to put our hands to the Gospel plow and press on with patient endurance, “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:2). The same joy that was set before him and propelled him onward is available to us as we yield our very lives to Christ, trusting and following him wherever he calls us to go. 

“… fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmrTvDoqvMM

From Praise to Persecution

The Word of God reminds us that “the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9). During Jesus’ ministry, when many expressed belief in him because of the miracles he performed, he refused to entrust himself to them because he knew the condition of the human heart (John 2:24). What began as praise among the people could quickly shift to persecution. We witness this in Luke 4:22-30 when the crowd, who were praising Jesus, became infuriated by the truth and “drove him out of town,” seeking to throw him off a cliff.

Similarly, the apostles Paul and Barnabas experienced this quick transformation from favor to rejection while on a mission in Lystra and Derbe. After healing a man who had been crippled from birth, the people began to worship them rather than God, shouting, “The gods have come down to us in human form” (Acts 14:11-12). To stop them, the apostles declared their own mortality and testified to the Gospel – that God alone was worthy of worship as the sovereign creator. This truth encounter, along with the slander of Jewish people, laid the groundwork for persecution. The crowd quickly morphed from worship to murderous rage as they listened to lies spread about the apostles.

Seeking to destroy

The shift in their attitude is hard to understand since it happened so quickly – maybe within hours or days. It reveals not only the true nature of man but the power of the tongue to stir up strife. The slander, along with the apostle’s rebuke, so infuriated the people that they stoned Paul, dragging him “outside the city” to die (Acts 14:19). The scenario is disturbingly similar to Jesus’ interaction with the crowd in Luke 4, where they quickly moved from praise to an attempt to end his life – revealing the true condition of their hearts.

Different crowds; same problem

The crowds that sought to kill the apostles and the Lord Jesus had different group dynamics -- one was made up of Jewish people, and the other was primarily Gentile. But they shared a common problem. Though they appeared to desire to worship Jesus and the apostles, their real motivation was to make an idol that they could manipulate and control. Their worship was self-centered and flowed from a commitment to their own glory, bearing evil fruit (Matthew 7:17-20). When confronted with the truth by Jesus and the apostles – who called them to repent and worship God alone – this false adoration quickly transformed into persecution. In essence, their hearts were hostile to God and all that he stood for. True worship would have yielded to God’s Word and given glory to Jesus as King -- as the crowd did in Acts 2:37 when they sought repentance.

Warning from Jesus

Jesus knew that the disciples and followers of Christ would encounter similar opposition, so he warned about it throughout his ministry. In John 15:20, he promised that, “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.” He explained that the source of this persecution and opposition was a person’s hardened heart toward God and his truth (John 15:21). “But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matthew 15:18-19). Those living in this darkness despise the light because it exposes their inner wickedness and convicts them of their evil works (John 3:19). Since they cannot and will not change, their only choice is to attempt to extinguish the light.

What can we learn from this?

Jesus told us that in the world, we will have trouble and tribulations, but not to fear, because he has overcome the world (John 16:33). Paul, echoing his warning, said that we would have to go through much persecution to enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). Often, this comes suddenly on the heels of praise as it did for Jesus and his disciples. While we cannot predict the unreliable shifting of the human heart and emotions, we can be certain of the unmoving Rock – who is Christ. He urges us to put our hope in him alone and assures us that his heart does not change like shifting shadows. He will uphold us in trouble, shield us by his power, give us his wisdom, and enable us to continue advancing with the Good News despite great opposition.

“You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition” (1 Thessalonians 2:2).