God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble, Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah. (Psalm 46:1-3, N.K.J.V.)

The August 14, 1989, edition of Time magazine reported the bizarre story of a man from East Detroit who, for all intents and purposes, had died of fear. This man had gone on a number of fur-trapping expeditions over the course of his life and had consequently been bitten by ticks many times. He’d never thought much about the bites until the day he’d first heard about Lyme disease, which is carried by deer ticks. That news had sent him into an obsessive panic.

The man had become convinced that not only had he become infected with the disease but that he’d passed it along to his wife. He’d gone to multiple doctors and been tested, but each test had come back negative. Even more than that, each doctor had explained to him that it was virtually impossible for one person to transmit the disease to another person.

Nevertheless, the doctors hadn’t been able to calm the man’s fear, and he’d ended up going completely insane and had killed both his wife and himself. When the police had arrived at the home, they’d found the man’s mailbox stuffed with all kinds of material describing Lyme’s disease. They’d also found a doctor’s slip confirming that he had recently scheduled yet another appointment to be tested again for the disease.

Fear can ruin your life if you let it. So, do you have something right now that is creating a ton of fear in you? If you do, have you talked to God about it? More importantly, have you rolled your fear over onto Him and trusted Him with the problem? Needless to say, you haven’t if the fear is still with you. You should heed the counsel of that wise person who said, “Don’t be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”

Matthew 6:25-34 is the Bible’s great passage on fear and the worry fear produces. There Jesus explains that God taking care of the birds of the air and the lilies of the field proves that He’ll also take care of His people, who are of far more value to Him than the birds and the lilies. It should be understood, though, that the passage is addressed specifically to Christ’s followers. In other words, you don’t know Jesus as Savior, you reading that passage is akin to you reading someone else’s mail. For the Christian, though, Christ’s promise stands true. Therefore, Christian, claim the promise as your own, activate it in your life, and walk peacefully in the knowledge that the God of all creation is your heavenly Father, is on the case for you, and has infinite resources to help you with your problem.