Dawn Wilson is the creator of Upgrade with Dawn. In this Biblical Thinking UPGRADE, she gets honest about her fears and how the Lord has encouraged her to confront them with His truth.
I argued with the Lord a bit.
“I’m not a fearful person; I know better than that.”
But the Lord pressed a few examples into my thoughts and I had to admit, I was filled with more fears than I thought.
When my children were small, I feared for their safety. Then they grew up and I found out—once a mama, always a mama—I still had fears for their safety. And I added my grandchildren to that fear list too! I was afraid of my husband’s safety in his many travels too.
Many fears have come, but I’ve suppressed them all rather than dealing with them biblically.
Then, this past January, I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. Talk about fears!
Somehow, that first day in the hospital, I kept repeating a verse I learned long ago: “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in you” (Psalm 56:3).
Still, my mantra from February through late April was pretty much, “Fears, fears… go away!”
All that time, my cancer treatment wasn’t working, and I became anxious and afraid.
Maybe I going to only live a year, I thought. I started downgrading my priorities list to something simpler and more manageable. What would I want to accomplish if I only had one year to live?
I started developing a plan, and the only time I cried was when I thought of leaving my family members.
Thankfully, in early May, my oncologist decided to upgrade my cancer treatment. He prescribed a super-expensive drug, which the Lord graciously covered for almost five months through a nonprofit grant.
But my fears that the drug wouldn’t work—or that it would tank my hemoglobin, one of the oncologist’s concerns—continued.
Beneath the surface ... subtle fears. But fears that still had a grip on my heart.
In many ways, I was trying to trust the Lord through all this. I chose to praise and worship Him. I wrote about my struggle on Facebook. I tried to be honest about how I was trying to overcome my fears; and many friends—I call them #TeamDawn—encouraged me.
- "You're in God's grip."
- "I'm praying God will completely heal you."
- "Keep trusting!"
Most people praised me for being a good example. They recognized the battle, but also some of my victories in trusting God.
Yet the toxic thinking continued. Especially in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep.
And then around Mother’s Day, one of my daughters-in-love, Tracy, gave me a book. Switch on Your Brain by cognitive neuroscientist, Dr. Caroline Leaf,* who is also a Christian. It's heavy-duty science, but fascinating to realize how science is catching up with the Bible!
The book affirmed me in all that I’ve taught for many years: As we think, so we come to believe, and so we choose. My ministry, Heart Choices Today, is built on that simple-yet-profound concept.
We build our thoughts, choices and habits based on what we’re thinking.
As I read the book, the Lord began to speak to me about my toxic thinking and the fears and anxieties that wouldn’t seem to go away no matter how I wished them to leave.
There was a lot at stake! And Dr. Leaf made a strong case:
She wrote that fear alone triggers more than 1,400 known physical and chemical responses in our bodies, activating more than 30 different hormones.
Left unchecked, toxic thoughts (like fear) create ideal conditions for illnesses.
I figured "unchecked" fears weren't going to help me battle my illness!
So I decided to do what the book recommended. I'm a writer, but I don't journal. Yet using Dr. Leaf's process—you'll have to get the book to read about that—I began a 21-Day Detox to confront my anxious thoughts and fears. I chose scriptures to study and I am memorizing key verses to make them a deeper part of my life—replacing toxic thinking with strengthening, biblical truth.
It's an ongoing process, but here are some things I've already discovered during my Detox from the scriptures I'm studying.
- Fear does not come from God (2 Timothy 1:7). It is a learned response.
- God gives me a spirit of power, love and a sound mind (also 2 Timothy 1:7). A sound mind is right thinking!
- It is possible to be in “bondage” to fear—or any other fleshly attitude (Romans 8:15). This verse is talking about fear we suffered before knowing Christ, but now we have a Heavenly Father, and the Spirit does not make us “slaves” to fears.
- God’s presence, strength and help allow us to not be fearful (Isaiah 41:10). He’s got a firm grip on me!
- Whenever we are afraid, we can choose to trust the Lord (Psalm 56:3-4). That was the only verse I could remember in the hospital in January—but it was enough!
- God will never leave or forsake me, and because of that, He wants me to be “strong and courageous” (Deuteronomy 31:6).
- I can cast all my burdens, including fearful times, on the Lord, and He will sustain me— strengthen, support and encourage me, and cheer me up! (Psalm 55:22).
- I don’t need to be afraid of bad news (but instead need to live in light of the “good news”); and when I think rightly, my heart will be firm and steady, not afraid (Psalm 112:7-8).
- I don’t need to be fearful or anxious about anything, but instead, I can pray about everything, with thanksgiving, and God will give me His peace… and He will then guard my heart and mind in Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7).
- Like a loving father with a trusting child, God holds my right hand; and He is the One who helps me (Isaiah 41:13).
- The peace Jesus gives us is not like the world’s concept of peace (John 14:27). Though some of the world’s solutions may work if they are based on biblical truth—whether they give God credit or not—Jesus’ peace is a gift from Him, and an answer to my fears.
- When fears and anxiety arise in me, I can turn to the Lord and His consolation (comforting) will restore my joy (Psalm 94:19).
- God expects/commands me to “be strong and courageous” and not afraid (Joshua 1:9)—because He is with me.
- God redeemed me and I am His. Like the children of Israel, I never need to fear that I am forgotten (Isaiah 43:1).
- Anxiety and fear is like a heavy weight in the emotions, but a “kind word” of encouragement from God (or others) can cheer the heart (Proverbs 12:25). (I am so thankful for my #TeamDawn prayer warriors and encouragers!)
- I don’t need to worry or fear about tomorrow (Matthew 6:34); I need to live in day-tight compartments. God is already in my tomorrows.
- I can cast (throw) all my fears and anxieties on the Lord, knowing He cares about me and what I’m going through (1 Peter 5:7).
- Even if I must walk through the darkest valley—the “shadow of death”—I do not need to fear, because God is and will be with me to protect and comfort me (Psalm 23:4).
- The Lord is my light and salvation, my stronghold—whom (or what) shall I fear (Psalm 27:1).
- God is my refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1); and verse 10 says, “Be still and know that I am God….” I am challenged to be still and know my “refuge more.”
- When I seek the Lord, He responds; and He wants to deliver me from all my fears (Psalm 34:4).
- When I call out to God, He answers and He is with me in my troubles (Psalm 91:15), rescuing me and honoring me (for trusting Him).
- The Lord doesn’t want me to worry about the details of my life (Matthew 6:25), but He is concerned about those details. He will provide, but He wants me to know there is more to life than what’s going on with my body.
- I can be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power (Ephesians 6:10)—and He gives me the tools for standing strong (the Armor of God, vv. 11-18).
- I want the peace of Christ to rule in my heart (Colossians 3:15). I will subject my fears to His control and be thankful for His loving Lordship in my life.
Obviously, I’m going beyond the recommended 21-Day Detox. I want to continue building positive reinforcement thoughts into my life. I want right thinking, godly thinking about my fears, to become my new habit of life.
This is what Paul means when He writes of “renewing the mind” (Romans 12:2) instead of following the unhealthy “pattern” of this world. Scientists are finally beginning to see the brain as having "renewable" characteristics. Biblically, a renewed mind is a Word-founded, Spirit-controlled mind—and from our mind, our thoughts, come our beliefs, choices and habits.
It's the best way I know to make the fears go away ... or at least to confront them God's way.
Is fear a biggie in your life? Or is it something else? Begin now to replace toxic thinking with biblical thinking.
(*NOTE: You might want to read the book I recommended, Switch On Your Brain—there is also a
workbook if you want that—to understand how the brain works from a scientific viewpoint, and rejoice that science is finally catching up with God’s truth about our thinking!)
Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Today, is a speaker and author, 
and the creator the blog, Upgrade with Dawn. She is a contracted researcher/reviewer for Revive Our Hearts, and a writer at Christianity.com (wiki posts) and Crosswalk.com. She and her husband Bob live in Southern California and have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.
Graphic adapted, courtesty of M. McKein at Pixabay.