What is the spiritual meaning of Fear?

Ellie McKenzie's avatarBy Ellie McKenzie
What is the spiritual meaning of Fear?

Are you scared and want to know its spiritual meaning? In this article, you will find the true spiritual meaning of fear.

Fear goes beyond emotional and physical response. It is a spiritual concept even though one of its triggers is mostly physical.

Fear is not just a negative emotion as some would explain. Everything about fear is spiritual and has both healthy and unhealthy effects. The natural response that keeps you safe is the healthy fear. 

Unhealthy fear on the other hand will keep you from taking positive steps. There is nothing that limits a man like such a fear. Unhealthy fear is usually due to your limiting knowledge and beliefs. 

Fear is a force of nature within to keep you from harm’s way. Fear can also be a reason for your stagnation in life if you do not properly manage it. 

God has put the emotion of fear in you for several reasons. It is supposed to be your advantage. If you allow it to overwhelm you, it can as well be a disadvantage.

7 spiritual meanings of fear

7 spiritual meanings of fear

Did you know that fear has spiritual meanings? Even if you knew, you probably do not know what they are. However, it is certain that your fear is not without meaning. 

In this section, I will be uncovering the 7 spiritual meanings of fear.

1) Lack of Confidence in the Creator

There is a creator who watches over us all. Many people do not believe this. Others who do believe do not trust his ability to protect them. Fear often means the absence of faith in the Creator. 

If I believe in the ability of someone who watches over me, there would be absolutely no reason to fear. 

One of the things that create room for fear is doubts in your heart. Your fear means that you doubt that God has the power to sustain you. 

You never really can tell how much confidence you have in the Creator until you are faced with challenges. Challenges come to test your level of faith and confidence in God.

Fear and confidence in the Creator are mutually exclusive.  You cannot have faith and live in fear at the same time. The presence of one implies the absence of the other. 

2) Loss of Control

Have you realized that there is a boldness that comes with knowing you’ve got everything under control? What happens when feel otherwise? 

Everyone wants to feel a sense of control over their lives. You do not have any reason to fear if you are totally in control. However, fear means that you are losing control or have even lost control completely. 

3) Fear Dreams

Dreaming of fear has many meanings depending on the nature of the dream. When you have fear dreams, it means that something in your life is threatening your existence or your well-being. 

When you dream of fear, it shows anxiety in your life. 

Dreaming of the fear of death is one category of fear dream. Having this dream can be very uncomfortable. However, it does not mean that you are going to die. 

This usually signifies that you are afraid of change.  When you have this fear dream, it means that you need to allow some significant changes in your life. 

When you dream of fear of the dark, it symbolizes suppressed emotions. It means that you are afraid of being left out of something important. 

4) Resistance to Change

Spiritually, fear could also mean your resistance to change. spiritual growth can never be achieved if you do not accommodate changes. Resistance to change can literally be explained as fear of failure. 

Resistance to change usually comes with the question: what if it doesn’t work? Your mindset should rather be, what if it works?

Fear will keep you from accepting change which is fundamental to growth and transformation.

5) Attachment

When your attachment to something increases, your fear of it also tends to increase. Fear could mean that you are too attached to your possessions if you always have fears of losing them. This also applies to some of your most treasured relationships. 

Fear is a pointer that will show you if you are too attached to something. 

Your deliberate attempt to detach yourself from these things will reduce fear in you. Fear is like a needless burden people carry. 

Attachment to something will hinder you from making the right decisions. This usually leads to irrational decision that is based on emotions. 

6) Illusion vs Reality

Fear is an illusion of your mind. It is often designed by your mind to keep you in your safe zone for the rest of your life. Usually what we fear is just a fabrication of the mind.

It doesn’t really exist in reality. These things might not even have a tendency to happen in real life. FEAR is said to be an acronym that means False Evidence Appearing Real.

Fear usually arises from our own thoughts and not necessarily from occurrences.

If you’ve had an unfavorable experience in the past, you will most likely be afraid of it repeating itself. 

Sometimes, fear is just due to a lack of knowledge about something. People tend to fear what they do not understand. All that you need to overcome such fear is to acquire knowledge about it. 

7) Reverential Awe

Reverential awe is one of the healthy fears. When people tell you they fear God, It does not mean that they are afraid of God. It simply implies their reverence for God. 

Reverential fear is not a dread for what God can do to you, but more about his personality. Reverential awe comes with a blessing while the lack of it can attract punishment. 

Obedience to God and higher authorities comes naturally when have reverence for them. 

Here are the 10 spiritual meanings of storms.

What is the meaning of the spirit of fear?

Fear is a spirit as much as it is an emotion. Fear has a mind and voice of its own. This means that it can control your actions. 

The spirit of fear can keep you under its influence and make you a slave to it. It is called a slavish fear. 

The spirit of fear is referenced in the bible. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and of sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7)

From this book of the bible, it is clearly stated that the spirit of fear will prevent you from having a sound mind.

The spirit of fear will render your abilities useless by preventing you from taking action. It will prevent you from pursuing your passion. 

When you see a man who is overtaken by the spirit of fear, you will find out that he struggles to succeed in the things he does. 

Don’t allow fear to make you its servant, rather make it serve your interest. 

What is the biblical meaning of fear?

What is the biblical meaning of fear?

The Bible talks about two kinds of fear. It discourages one and encourages the other. 

Let us go ahead to see what the two types of fear are in the Bible. 

The first category is the fear of the Lord. This type of fear does not mean to be afraid of something or someone. The fear of the Lord means to stand in awe of him. It is called reverential fear.  

The fear of the Lord comes from reverence for him and knowledge of his omnipotence.

 Reverence of God is about all that He is, which includes his power and glory, his love and mercy, and even his anger and wrath. 

When you live in the fear of the Lord, you stand to enjoy his blessings. The fear of the Lord the bible says is the beginning of wisdom.

The second category of fear in the bible is not profitable. This is known as the spirit of fear. Unlike the fear of God that results in blessings, the spirit of fear will keep you away from reaching your blessing. You would agree with me that this type of fear is not from God. 

The antidote for the spirit of fear as mentioned in the bible is faith and love.

A verse of the bible states “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18)

Before leaving, also read the spiritual meaning of high-pitched ringing in the left ear.

The Spiritual Purpose of Fear

There is a saying that when the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable. Fear has a spiritual purpose which you should know. 

Have you realized that people who refuse to take action for fear of failure eventually end up as failures? 

Fear is not meant to leave you timid keeping you from living freely. If you live in the terror of fear, then you are in a form of bondage.

One of the purposes of fear is control. fear is an instrument that is being used all over the world to control the actions of people.  

A more powerful being controls the lesser by instilling fear in them. This act can also be seen in the military where an enemy force is controlled to act in a certain way by using fear as a weapon. 

Have there been times when you feel like your ability and strength are not enough to do what you need to do? You become very afraid of failure. Fear in this context is to help you depend on a source of strength higher than yourself.  

How to control spiritual fear?

How to control spiritual fear?

Is it possible for you to control spiritual fear? yes, it is. Learning to quickly recognize fear when it shows up is a step towards controlling spiritual fear. 

One thing you should know is that, if you do not learn to control fear, it will control you.

If you are going to be able to control fear, you will need to have a good spiritual perspective about life. 

Faith in God is a weapon that you can use to control fear. When your faith gets stronger, fear is put in check. 

You need to allow yourself to grow to a point where faith becomes your natural response instead of fear. 

Faith is seen in the Bible as a shield. It shields you from fear and all its effects on your life.

If you are going to be able to control fear, you need to tell yourself sometimes that you refuse to fear. It is a choice you can decide to make. 

Have you realized that some of the things we fear and worry about are things we do not have control over? However, even if you do not have control over the situation, you can have control over fear. 

The Bible advises to choose prayer instead of fear. Instead of living in fear of something, why not rather pray about it? Prayer is you actually doing something about the situation. 

Read too: 10 Warning Dreams From God (With Important Meanings)

Final Words

A lot of people just see fear as an emotion, but it is definitely beyond emotions. Fear has significant meanings. Fear is either healthy or unhealthy, depending on your relationship with it. 

Learning about your fears and facing them will bring growth and transformation. 

Not facing your fears on the other hand will make you a slave to it. 

Is it normal to have fears? yes! However, what really matters is what you do with the fear. 

Do you let it tie you down in one place, or embrace it with courage?

Fear should be an advantage for you. An encouragement to take proactive steps rather than a discouragement. Use it as a stepping stone to enjoying life to its fullest.