When Fatherhood Meets Our Fears
Author: Cam Woodall
Category: Blog, Fear, Live The Word Of God
“Abba, Father! He who can say that has uttered better music than cherubim or seraphim can reach. Abba, Father! There is heaven in the depth of that word! Father! There is all I need, all I can ask, all my necessities can demand, all my wishes can contrive. I have all in all, to all eternity when I can say, ‘Father’.” – C. H. Spurgeon
As counselors, we feel and face fear just like the precious people who come to us gripped by it. Because of this, our counsel cannot simply be conceptual; it must be both rooted in the Word and the lived experience of that Word in our hearts. This does not imply that we have expertise in all forms of fear, but it does imply that our own hearts should have a well-worn path from our own fears to our Father’s arms.
Picture two swimmers sitting on a beach, both humbled by the towering waves crashing at their feet. As counselors, we do more than sit on the sand and validate our counselees’ fear with shared hesitation. Rather, we have felt our own waves and ventured into them with a tried-and-true life-preserver we remind them of, the Fatherhood of God.
“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” Romans 8:15 (ESV)
Perhaps the ultimate antidote to all fear the Christian experiences is the Fatherhood of God. The Good News of the Gospel declares that we are no longer slaves and orphans facing an ocean of uncertainty; we are now beloved sons and daughters anchored by adoption.
Since Jesus’s atonement has paved our way into God’s family, our Judge has become our Advocate. Even more, He’s our good Father! Romans 8:15 encourages every believer who is living in the grip of fear that no wave is stronger than our Father’s parental passion for His children. Those He brings into His family He gives the privilege to approach Him with childlike confidence. Our Abba, Father, promises, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
Suppose a young child is trapped in a burning house, and as the flames engulf him, he cries out with desperation, “Oh Daddy, I’m so scared, please save me!” What father would not plunge himself into that inferno to find and rescue his precious little one? How much more will our Abba, Father, interpose Himself into the firestorms and breakers of our fears and prove Himself a trustworthy Father!
Inevitably, fear paired with unbelief moves us away from the Father. Those who are slaves to sin seek security in any number of false havens—leaky life preservers or delusions that they’re strong enough to tread water independently. Yet fear paired with faith in our adoption moves us into His arms.
When trials come, and we suffer under their weight, we have the privilege to cry out as Jesus did in the garden (Mark 14:36) with the same expression of faith in the certainty of the Fatherhood of God. The fearful orphan wonders, “am I going to be OK?” but an adopted child declares by the Spirit, “I am safe and have all I need in my Father’s hands” (John 10:29; Deuteronomy 33:27).
As we think about our own fears, whether inside the counseling room or outside, here are three helpful points to consider:
- Fear is never silent in exposing what we treasure.
Where does fear tend to show up most often in your life?
When you think about your most recent experience with fear, what felt most threatened?
- When we anesthetize fear, we move away from the Father, but feeling fear allows the Spirit to drive us toward Him as needy children.
When you feel fear, what are your typical responses? Where do you go? What do you do to relieve discomfort?
Do your responses reveal you believe relief can be found apart from God?
- Fear fades under the Fatherhood of God.
How does the experience of fear for an orphan differ from that of a child secure in a parent’s love?
When a scared or lost child yells out and hears their father’s voice, what truths are they reminded of in that instant?
Is “son” or “daughter” of God the category that best conveys how you relate to God?
Posted on September 7, 2026