I’m Really Afraid!

The angel of the LORD

encamps around those who fear him,

and he delivers them.

(Psalm 34:7)

Last year, one of my back teeth started hurting — again. And quite honestly, I just didn’t want to deal with it. This tooth had been a complete pain. Literally.

I’d had not one, not two, but three crowns done on the same tooth. The first one broke. The second one broke. And although it initially seemed the third one would finally work, the tooth started aching again. Ugggh.

The dentist informed me that the only thing to do at this point was to have a root canal. I’m okay with the word root. And I’m okay with the word canal. But when he put those two words together, a wild fear whipped its tentacles around my heart and squeezed the life right out of me. I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t bring myself to schedule the procedure.

So I dealt with the throbbing pain. For a whole year, I didn’t chew on that side of my mouth. I didn’t let cold drinks leak over to that side. And I took ibuprofen when the throbbing got the best of me. A year!

When the pain grew bigger than my fear, I’d finally had enough and made the appointment for the dreaded root canal.

And you know what? I survived! Not only did I survive, but I honestly found the whole root canal ordeal to be no big deal. The fear of it was so much worse than actually having the procedure.

Fear often plays out that way. Many times, living in fear of what might be causes more stress and anxiety than actually facing what we fear.

I love this reassuring promise: “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them” (Psalm 34:7). To fear the Lord means to honor Him and magnify Him most of all in my heart. When I magnify my fears instead, they become all I can think about. So I’ve learned to focus on God by doing three things:

I love this promise so much—it comforts me, reassures me, and challenges me to live like I really believe it’s true.

Is there something you’ve been avoiding because you’re afraid? An everyday fear that’s holding you back? Perhaps it’s initiating a really hard conversation that needs to happen with a friend or family member, or owning up to an explosive reaction that occurred in a moment of unglued panic, or dealing with a medical diagnosis you just received. Maybe you’re fearful of a root canal.

When you feel fear, focus on God by crying out to Him in prayer. Align your reactions with His truth. Then pray with the reassurance of His presence. When you know the Lord is with you, you can face your fears without coming unglued.