How should we face fear? Chrishanthy Sathiyaraj turns to the Old Testament

Two years ago, we went through a difficult time as a church. It brought immense stress on our leadership team, and, ironically, our oppressors were Christians! During this time, a fellow church leader said: ‘I can’t wait till it’s all finished.’ My response was: ‘Problems in our lives are inevitable, but how we view and face them is the most important thing.’

When I was a new Christian, I used to pray for problems to vanish. I naively expected an untroubled life. I learnt through experience that we frequently face different challenges and barriers. However, as Christians, we have the assurance that we can overcome them with God’s grace and peace, which transcends all obstacles.

When challenges come, there are three ways we can react. Imagine you are walking in a jungle and you encounter a lion, what would you do? If you are a mighty person, like Samson, you would fight! If you can’t fight, you might flee. If you are unable to do both, your brain will automatically go into freeze mode.

Sometimes we have to confront our problems: dangerous addictions, temptations, mental struggles that confine us or physical challenges, like an oncoming attack. Imagine what would have happened if David walked away from Goliath? Goliath-like people and situations will challenge us in life, and we may lose heart, like Saul and Israel did (1 Samuel 17:11). When challenges are overwhelming, fear can come and paralyse us. How can we fight?..

Chrishanthy Sathiyaraj is founder of The Life, a Christian outreach charity working with Asian communities. www.the-life.co.uk

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This is an extract from an article published in the September 2020 edition of Reform

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