Fear and Faith

 

Trillia Newbell is a wife, mother of two, writer, editor, speaker, consultant, and most recently, the author of Fear and Faith: Finding the Peace Your Heart Craves, out today wherever books are sold. We were able to review the book in advance and believe it will be a valuable source of biblical encouragement for those tempted with fear of various kinds.

Trillia graciously agreed to answer a few questions for us about the book. We hope this brief interview will give you a good idea of what to expect in Fear and Faith, even as it serves you now with uplifting biblical truth.

Here’s what she had to say about Fear and Faith...

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Who did you have in mind when you wrote this book?

I wrote this book with primarily women in mind. I believe everyone struggles with fear, but am aware that women have particular burdens, concerns, and temptations in this area. Although women are the primary audience, I do hope that men and pastors will benefit from Fear and Faith as they seek to serve their wives and church members.

Your book covers fear of man, fear of the future, fear of tragedy, fear of not measuring up, and other fears… do these fears have a common root?

I think a common root would be unbelief. The fear of man arises when I forget that God is for me (so who can be against me). I fear tragedy when I forget that God is sovereign and good. I fear I won’t measure up when I forget that Christ has already measured up for me. There are definitely other root issues such as pride and worry, but often we fear because we don’t believe. So, we pray: I believe, help my unbelief.

At one point in the book, you say, “We don’t want to wait until our fears come true. We want to prepare now.” What do you mean by this, and how do you prepare?

God never promises a cozy Christian life. We don’t become Christians and all our problems are then solved. We want to paint an accurate picture of the Christian faith—it is not easy. There is great joy in knowing that we have a Savior who was tempted in every way but without sin. It is good to know that we have a Heavenly Father who is also the Creator of the world and a Lord who can make the wind and waves standstill with his breath. We prepare by studying God’s Word, learning about his character, and rehearsing the gospel to our hearts.

All of us prepare through head knowledge and heart prep. We learn to love God above all else (failing along the way and resting in the grace that covers our failures). When our fears do come true and we experience death, for example, we remember truths like death’s sting will cease and that we have a living hope. One day we will only rejoice, we will no longer endure the pain of this world. That brings me peace and joy.

You talk about combating all our earthly, sinful fears by fearing God. What does this look like?

I think it looks a lot like the answer above. I want to fear God, but I won’t have that awe-filled, worshipful, adoration for someone I don’t know. So, to combat fear by fearing God is to first know God through his word. But I don’t want to have only a head knowledge of God, I want to have faith. So I ask God to give me faith to believe. But I also don’t want to stop there and only have faith, I want to love him. I know that I love God because he first loved me, so I ask him to continue to teach me about himself so that I might grow in love with him. In the end, I think as we do this we also grow in the fear of the Lord.

What comfort is there for someone who has a problem with fear?

God is with you. I think knowing that God is real and with me is a great comfort. Also, Jesus became fearful so that we would be completely lacking in fear. In other words, Jesus died on the cross and absorbed the fear that you struggle with, that fear that grips you and plagues you, that fear has been bought with a price. We are forgiven of our fear. Isn’t that amazing news? And God promises to finish the good work he began in you. He promises to sanctify you and teach you to trust him. Call on him who is faithful.