God's people should not allow their hearts to be troubled, thereby permitting a cringing cowardice to destroy them. Leaven is an apt metaphor to describe fear.

Fear can be broken down into two broad categories: the fear of God and the fear of everything else. If we fear God, we will not need to fear anything else.

Fear impacts the nervous system, manifesting three instinctive responses: freeze, flight, and fight. These occur in everyday life and throughout Scripture.

If we fear things other than God, we stunt our spiritual growth. We stop overcoming because any non-godly fear will involve self-centeredness, the opposite of God.

Jesus cautioned His disciples not to have any destructive fear. The worst fear of all is that which would cause us to deny Christ—namely, the fear of man.

Fear of death originated with Adam and Eve's sin of eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and, in response, they tried to hide from God.

We must carefully consider the offenses preventing the Israelites from entering the Land. That evil generation refused to trust Him, but complained continually.

We cannot allow our troubled hearts to lead us away from God and His purpose for us. Two vital elements will deliver us from destructive fear and unbelief.

God did not give us a spirit of fear or bondage. Faith is the antidote to a spirit of slavish cowardice and timidity, the opposite of boldness from the Holy Spirit.

The well of God's patience is not bottomless. Today, we are witnessing God's waning patience with this nation as He removes His hand of protection.

Discouragement paralyzes one's efforts to overcome temptation or to lose patience in a trial, ultimately leading to deterioration or the destruction of faith.

The church of God is not immune to the deterioration of doctrine. Minor deviations from doctrine bring about irreparable, disastrous consequences.

Anxiety and fretting (symptoms of coveting and idolatry), in addition to cutting life short, erode faith, destroying serenity by borrowing tomorrow's troubles.

In the Bible, character is not affirmed until action takes place-namely obedience to God's commands in which faith or trust in God is the dominant ingredient.

Christians have difficulty trusting in God's limitless love for His elect. But if they do, it provides a genuine power to overcome life's challenges.

With His crucifixion before Him and His departure from this life near at hand, Jesus encouraged His disciples with some final help for troubled hearts.

The experiences of ancient Israel, bad and good, guide us in our spiritual pilgrimage to our Promised Land. The book of Deuteronomy is a strong foundation.

Our emancipation from sin does not automatically remove our acquired spiritual shackles. We must grow out of the slave mentality into liberty and freedom.

Time after time, the children of Israel accused Moses of leading them to their deaths, failing to trust God in spite of His track record of provision.

We dare not equate can-do enthusiasm with genuine faith, as Peter did as he attempted to walk on water. Human faith or zeal is not godly, saving faith.