I’ll confess to you that at times in the lead-up to this deployment, I have battled moments of fear. Given the region we are going to – and the recent events that have occurred within that region – it seems the spectre of fear is constantly lurking in my subconscious, if not outright forcing its way into my conscious thoughts.

But as people of faith, we need not be dominated by fear. God assures us in Psalm 75:3 that “When the earth and all its peoples quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm,” declares the Lord.

I have heard throughout my life that there are 365 times in the Bible where it says, “Do not fear.” I’ve never personally verified if that is true or not – but I have decided to do so this year!

The Lord has given me several simple disciplines to do on a daily basis while on this deployment. I believe the purpose of these is to keep my thoughts (and my hope, and my resolve) focused on Him, and secure in Him, day-by-day. One discipline is to review a few of my Scripture memory verses each day… Another is to journal each day (something I’ve never done before)… A third is to meditate on (or think prayerfully about) a different “Do Not Fear Verse” every single day.

Today is Day 58 of our mobilization, and so far, there has been a new “Do Not Fear Verse” every day! A recent one was from Isaiah 12:2, which says, “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord Himself, is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation.”

If you’ve never memorized Scripture before, this would be a great one to start with. I plan on committing it to memory this week myself :-)

Lastly, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 tells us as people of faith that

Though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not like the weapons of the world. On the contrary, our weapons have divine power to demolish spiritual strongholds, along with thoughts or statements that go against what we know to be true from God. And so we take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Fears will come into our minds – that is normal. But we do not have to give ourselves over to our fearful thoughts. Instead, we have the power with God’s help to capture every thought and “make it obedient to Christ Jesus.” With God’s help, we can submit every thought and feeling we have to God, bringing ourselves into alignment with the truth of His character, His love, and His Word.