In the Face of Crisis, Fear the Lord

Written by Christina Fox | Fear. It’s an emotion we all know well, and in recent weeks, it’s one that has asserted itself in our minds and hearts. We fear both ourselves and loved ones catching the virus. We fear what will happen to our finances because of lost wages. We fear how long our life will be put on hold. We fear all the unknowns that lie ahead. And all these fears are exacerbated every time we turn on the news or scroll through social media. Fear, it seems, has spread as far and wide as the virus itself.

In the face of this crisis, how can we as Christians respond to our fears? It’s helpful to first identify the three types of fear found in Scripture, one of which is not like the others.

Three Kinds of Fear

The Puritan, John Flavel, describes these three kinds of fear in his book, Triumphing Over Sinful Fear. The first is natural fear. It’s the fear we feel in the face of danger, such as hearing a tornado warning on the news, coming upon a bear on the mountain trail, or learning of a viral pandemic spreading across the nation. Such fear is a natural and human response to harm. It’s what gets us to leave a building ablaze with fire. Flavel wrote,

“Everyone experiences natural fear. It is the trouble or agitation of mind that arises when we perceive approaching evil or impending danger. It is not always sinful, but it is always the fruit and consequence of sin.”[1]