You know the feeling. In fact, just thinking about dread probably makes you feel a sense of it. Sometimes it’s mild, in the form of reluctance. Other times, you experience extreme apprehension. Given that the modern day world is already a stimulus for anxiety, it’s important to understand the implication and impact of feeling dread.

Spiritual Significance of Dread

*Throughout the Bible, dread is used to describe the only appropriate response to the thought of not having God in your life. Ultimately, there is nothing worse to be dreaded. (Deut. 2:25; 11:25; Ps. 64:1; 119:39; Is. 8:13)

*If you know you have the Lord on your side, then nothing is worth dreading. Nothing could be so bad as to outweigh the goodness of being in Christ. (Duet. 1:29-30; 7:21; 31:6; Prov. 1:33; Phil. 3:8)

Consequences of Dread

*Dread creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. (Job 3:25-26; Prov. 10:24)

*Dread makes you a more fearful person. (Job. 9:34; 13:21)

*Dread causes physical reactions such as lack of calmness, feeling weighed down, all-consuming thoughts, a heavy atmosphere, unhealthy stress, tense muscles, and strain on your heart. (Job. 4:14; 13:11; 23:15; Ps. 105:38)

*Dread prevents you from obeying the commands to be thankful or think of how to love others. (Eph. 5:20; Phil. 2:3-4)

*Dread leads you on a path that is not present-minded and is directed away from the Lord. (Prov. 3:6)

Solution For Dread

When you focus on your negative past experience, of course you’re going to predict a pessimistic future. Instead, you need to build a history of God giving you strength to endure challenges, so that you will have confidence for what lies ahead. The more history with Him, the less fear and dread, and the more hope. You can’t expect to have a pattern of faith if you only give Him a few tries. You must stubbornly commit to only look for what He is doing in your life, even during bad times. Increasing your memories with the Lord decreases your tendency to feel dread, healing you from this fear-based condition.