Silence Fear by Speaking Truth

Written by Vianne Satterfield

Isaiah 12:2 “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.”

My husband and I, as well as several of my family members tested positive for the coronavirus in the past couple of weeks. The physical symptoms varied and the intensity of the disease was different for each one of us. Although my symptoms were relatively mild, I also experienced fear and anxiety. There was the pre-test anxiety as I played detective to determine the cause of the symptoms. Then there was the post-test anxiety as I waited for the results. The worst part of the emotional rollercoaster for me was knowing my brother had been affected more severely and was hospitalized. I physically felt the anxiety and fear — I felt queasy and shaky on the inside. The more I thought about the “what if’s” and the unknown, the more fearful I became.

Thankfully, we have recovered, and hopefully, we will not endure any long-term effects.

During this experience I found relief by resting — both physically, by much sleep, and emotionally, by laying down my fear and anxiety, and picking up God’s Word to read it and find a word that I could hang onto. This kept me sane as I tend to ruminate. I replaced the “what if” worries with the words of Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You.” I repeated aloud Isaiah 12:2 “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.”

I held onto this Scripture and claimed it as my own. I spoke it aloud over myself, my family members and anyone who I knew that was experiencing need.

Then I shared my need with my prayer buddies who texted their prayers for me and my family members.

These two actions — speaking aloud God’s truth and sharing my need with someone helped to change my outlook and it stopped the inner quaking, which was based on fear and the unknown. This enabled me to pray with bold confidence (in between naps!) that indeed my hope and salvation is in Jesus, to keep me calm and steady, to heal and set me free from ill effects and to empower me to share His Word with someone.

Do you have a community to share your need? Do you believe in the power of prayer? Come in agreement with God’s Word — speak it aloud over your situation. Declare it as if it is true — because it is! Say it! Think it! Believe it! Live it!

God is my strength. He is my defense and my salvation. Say it over your family! God is the strength, defense and salvation of my family! I will trust and not be afraid.

Share in the comments when a particular Scripture was your lifeline.