Using Gratitude To Fight Fear

By Andrea Lucado

When we’re afraid, the most natural prayer is often simply, “Help!” Help me out of this situation. Help me get through this. Help me face this person, circumstance, struggle. Help me have strength. When we’re afraid, we ask God to help us, but do we ever pause first to thank Him?

That might sound odd. Why would we thank God in the midst of fear? Who has time for that? We just need Him to do his job and make us less afraid, to give us courage. But gratitude can actually be one of our best tools against fear.

Think about it this way. When we thank God, we are reminded of who He is: His character, what He is able to do. And when we remember who He is, we remember who we are too. We are not strong, but He is. We are not worthy, but He is. We are not able to part the sea, but He is. We cannot defeat Satan, but He can, and He has.

Gratitude forces us into a posture of humility, and humility allows us to see God’s power beyond our own strength. This brings peace to our fear.

Remember the disciples who found themselves in the midst of a storm on the Sea of Galilee? As the Gospel of Mark tells the story, “A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped” (Mark 4:37).

The disciples did what we all tend to do in fear: they cried for help from Jesus, who had been asleep. Then, “[Jesus] got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm” (Mark 4:39).

The wind and waves’ immediate response to Jesus’ command proved to his disciples that He had power, even over creation itself. It proved to them that no storm was beyond His reach. It proves that to us still today.

I once heard an author say, “When it comes to your life, you are either in a storm, just getting through one, or about to.” Though not literally in a boat, how many storms are you facing as you read this?

The disciples didn’t know how their story on the boat would end that night, but we do. We know that Jesus made all things right. That He brought peace and calm simply by speaking the words, “Quiet! Be still!”

Because we know this about Him, because we know the unlimited potential of His power, in the middle of our fear, we can stop and remember this. We can be grateful that Jesus calmed the storm then, and that He will calm our storm now.

Whatever fear you find yourself in the midst of today, what if before asking God for help, you stop and make a list. What has God done for you? What do you have? What storms has He calmed in the past? Step back and take a look at your list. Does it make God feel a little bigger, a little more capable? Can it help you trust Him with your current circumstances?

The world tells us that when we’re afraid, we just need to be brave. We just need to dig deep and find courage. But when you are on the journey of the Christian life, you know this strategy does not always work. We will not always feel brave. We will not always be able to find courage, and that’s okay, because we have this promise from Jesus: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).

Be grateful for this today as the promise we can hold near, before, during, and after our storms.

If you would like to read more about Jesus and his disciples, check out our Bible study on the Book of Mark: The Gospel of Mark.