Lesson 1 - What causes us to fear?
Read Psalm 23 - www.bible.com/bible/59/psa.23.esv

There are perhaps as many circumstances as there are people in this world which could be named as the cause for fear. Husbands fear the loss of a way to care for their families or things that will make them powerless. Wives fear rejection or the inability to care for those they love. Children fear being different from their friends and therefore outcasts, or face unnamed dreads of the end of the world. Young people fear they will not be able to accomplish their dreams. Old people fear insignificance.
The Bible lists several categories of fear – fear of God, fear of others, and fear of circumstances. We will talk more about fear of God later, but let’s briefly look at a few instances. First, we read in several scriptures that God intentionally made people afraid of Him. In 1 Samuel 5:6, God “terrified and afflicted” the people of Ashdod, a city of the Philistines, because of their actions against Him. They had stolen the Ark of the Covenant from Israel and put it into one of their temples thinking they could make this “god” do what they wanted him to do and so defeat Israel. God proved them wrong. In Exodus 19 God told Moses to warn the people of Israel to fear Him so much they couldn’t even touch the mountain where Moses had met with God.
Second, fear of others usually leads to sin, illustrated by many people in the Bible. Isaac feared a foreign king’s jealousy, so he lied about who Rebekah was (Genesis 26:7). King Saul feared the people’s opinions, so he disobeyed God’s direct command (1 Samuel 15:24). Peter feared the opinions of other believers and discriminated against other Christians from a different culture than himself (Galatians 2:12).


Third, fear of circumstances caused people to lose blessings and rewards from God. The disciples feared the storm even though Jesus was with them, and they lost an opportunity to grow stronger in their faith (Matthew 14:30). Ten of the twelve spies feared the giants in the Promised Land, and lost the opportunity to live there (Numbers 13:25-32). Some conquered their fear, and received their blessings – Job was afraid of pain, but he relied on God anyway (Job 9:28 and 42:10-17). Paul feared the unknown in Macedonia (2 Corinthians 7:5), but he conquered his fear and won many to the Lord in that place.

For further study:
What are the results of fear in the following verses?
A - Genesis 18:15 ____ (lies)
B - Judges 7:3 _____ (defeat)
C - Proverbs 29:25 ____ (ensnared)
D - Hebrews 2:15 ____ (enslaved)
E - 1 John 4:18 ____ (punishment)
*Verse to memorize:
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. Psalm 23:1 (ESV)