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With more than 600 diagnosable fears to choose from, we have become a nation of fearful people who must try to resolve our fears on our own. We’ve learned to suck it up, be tough, and fight fear with positive thinking. We’ve learned the best antidote for fear is to avoid it all together. Here’s how you and I can stay safe and avoid those fearful/life-threatening situations:

1. Avoid riding in automobiles because they are responsible for 20
    percent of all fatal accidents.
2. Do not stay home because 17 percent of all accidents occur in the
    home.
3. Avoid walking on streets or sidewalks because 14 percent of all
    accidents occur to pedestrians.
4. Avoid traveling by air, rail, or water because 16 percent of all
    accidents involve these forms of transportation.
5. Of the remaining 33 percent, 32 percent of all deaths occur in
    hospitals. Above all else, avoid hospitals.
6. Only .001 percent of all deaths occur in church services.
    Therefore, the safest and least fearful place you can be is in
    church!

Fighting and avoiding fear is not how God intended us to deal with it. Rather, He wants us to fight fear with fear. The antidote to your crippling fears is fear. What a radical thought! Here’s what the Bible says in Psalm 111:10, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding." Proverbs 1:7 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge."

To fear God is the key to breaking the power of other fears like loneliness, singleness, death, poverty, divorce, rejection, and failure. When we fear God, our other fears are rendered powerless. Author Oswald Chambers says, "The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else. Whereas, if you don’t fear God, you fear everything else."

Fearing God seems like a strange concept. Does God want us to shake in our boots and cower before him? King David explains the fear of God in Psalm 103:17-18, "But the love of the LORD remains forever with those who fear him…of those who obey his commandments!" To fear God means to know and obey His principles or commands. If you don’t know his commands, you can’t fear him. If you know them, but don’t obey them, you won’t fear him either.

To fear God is to show reverence and respect by saying, "Yes to God, in spite of what He requires." It’s like writing a blank check and trusting God to keep your life from bouncing. It’s choosing to do life by God’s principles even when it goes against what you want or the tide of culture. It’s saying, "Yes" to God (because He’s God), in spite of what He requires. It’s a willingness to live by God’s game plan. That’s a proper fear of God. And when you fight your fears by fearing God, He breaks the power of those fears in your life.

King Solomon of Israel was one of the most powerful, influential and wealthiest men to ever live on this earth. And for 40 years, he tasted power, pleasure, and possessions. Seemingly, he had it all. But after burning up four decades of his life, he checked in the rearview mirror and penned these words in Ecclesiastes 12:13, "Here is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person." Do you see how closely tied fear and obedience are to each other? What is the best way for a child to show a parent respect? Saying "I respect you"? No, it’s by showing obedience—playing by mom and dad’s rules.

Sadly, Solomon missed the "fear God" antidote and wasted a portion of his life. He reverenced and worshipped his power, pleasure and possessions more than he did God. In the end, he failed to say yes to God’s directives and was forced to face his fears alone without God’s help.

So what will it be—fear God or face your fears on your own? In order to answer that question, do what you do when you make big decisions -- A Cost-Benefit Analysis.

Ask yourself, what are the costs? What are the benefits? For instance, what are the costs for living with the fear of poverty? Some become workaholics—at the expense of relationships and their health.

The fear of failure drives some to become obsessive-compulsive, perfectionists. The fear of being single or alone drives some to compromise relationships and make immoral decisions. Granted, there may be some short-term benefits from acting out your fears, but I’ve learned from experience that in the long run the "fear costs" are always higher.

In a general sense, the greatest cost of fear is the loss of opportunity. You feared making a financial decision that has now led to a financial meltdown. You feared saying "I do" and your prince charming said, "I do" with someone else. You feared addressing the conflict in your marriage, and now it’s become a war. Your fear of doctors has turned a simple procedure into major surgery. Fear produces few benefits, but multiplies missed opportunities. Let me illustrate the high cost of missed opportunities for you with a story from the Old Testament.

Saul, the first king of Israel, was a courageous warrior on the outside but a fear freak on the inside. Ultimately, his fears got him in so much trouble with God that he lost the ultimate opportunity to advance his career. Through the prophet Samuel, God relayed specific instructions to King Saul to utterly destroy Israel’s archenemy the Amalekites and take no spoils or prisoners. God was settling accounts over an incident 400 years before when the Amalekites ambushed and killed thousands of Jews as they traveled from Egypt to Israel.

God was asking Saul to say yes to Him—to obey Him—to fear or reverence Him. So Saul went to battle and defeated the Amalekites. When Samuel arrived to "high five" Saul for the victory, he was shocked to find that Saul had fudged on obeying God’s command by taking spoils and sparing the life of the Amalekite king, Agag.

Samuel confronted Saul and said this in 1 Samuel 15:19, 23-24 "Why haven't you obeyed the LORD? Why did you rush for the plunder and do exactly what the LORD said not to do. So because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you from being king. Then Saul finally admitted, ‘Yes, I have sinned. I have disobeyed your instructions and the LORD's command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded.’"

Because of fear and a lack of fearing God, Saul caved into the demands of his soldiers. His fear of the people was greater than his fear of God. Saul was insecure. He was afraid of losing credibility and influence. So he allowed them to plunder the enemy so they would go to battle. He caved into fear. He allowed fear to cloud his thinking and it led to disobedience and compromise. As a result, Saul experienced a huge loss of opportunity. He lost his kingship and the chance to be a great king. He rejected God, so God rejected him from being king.

Saul’s example teaches us a very valuable lesson: When your fear of someone, thing or circumstance supersedes your fear of God, that fear will ultimately lead to disobedience and lost opportunities. It is impossible to be driven by your fears and be obedient to God at the same time. Eventually, your fear will drive you out of bounds—out of the ring with God. And tragically, you will never know what opportunities God might have sent your way.

If you are a Christ follower, every point of fear is a point of opportunity to do what God wants and trust him to work out the circumstances. The fear of God is the beginning of good things. The Bible says fear can be your own worst enemy or it can be your greatest friend. It all depends on what the object of your fear is. Is it you, your circumstances, people or it is God?

If the cost of not fearing God is lost opportunity, what are the fringe benefits of saying yes to God in spite of what He may be asking you to do?

Psalm 103:11: "For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth." We are assured of experiencing the full measure of God’s unfailing love when we say yes to his commands and principles. Are you experiencing this kind of love in your life? Or have you forfeited that opportunity because of disobedience?

Proverbs 22:4: "True humility and fear of the LORD lead to riches, honor, and long life." When we submit to God’s authority and obey his commands, he opens his floodgates of blessing. Our role is to humbly obey; God’s role is to bless.

Psalm 25:12: "Who are those who fear the LORD? He will show them the path they should choose." When we fear God by saying yes to him, he willingly guides and directs our ways. He opens up the road map for our lives, and points us in the right direction. If we choose our own direction and get lost, God puts us on the right road again when we obey.

Psalm 34:9-10: "Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing." When we put God in first place and put nothing in front of him, he satisfies all our needs-not necessarily all our wants. Fearing God helps us become content with what we have because he willingly gives us just what we need to live and enjoy life and serve him.

Do the math. Compare the costs of personal fear to the benefits of fearing God. There’s no comparison. Therefore, fight fear with godly fear and enjoy the opportunities and fringe benefits from God. Again, Solomon said it best in Ecclesiastes 12:13, "Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person."

Do the math!