What would you say if I told you fear was created by God? Would you look up the over 300 Scripture verses that reference it? Probably not. Still I declare; God created fear. More than that, fear has a perfect purpose.

Have you ever been scared to the point you feared for your life? If you have been, you probably took steps to save yourself. With this you must agree that fear’s purpose is to alert and prepare us to act. Who else, but God, could install in us a built-in alarm system?

Have you ever been scared to the point you feared for your life?

Although God created it, fear should not be a constant. This knowledge is important as we live in uncertain times. Persecution is passed out like candy on Halloween, and Satan intends for us to be afraid. However, Jesus warned His followers of coming persecution.

In the message Jesus gave to the church at Smyrna, we will learn that standing strong in the face of fearful situations is possible because Jesus is with us, lavishing the grace of God upon us.