To quote one of my favorite Christian music artists, Zach Williams, "Fear is a liar." Fear takes us captive and holds us in a place that is far away from God's heart. The opposite of fear is not peace or contentment or joy, although all of those things may come when fear is at bay. The opposite of fear is love. Love casts out all fear. When we think about how much God truly loves us, how He wants what is best for us, and promises to never leave us and never forget us, we can rest in His great love. We can rest in love even when bad things happen. We are told in 2 Corinthians 10:5 to "take every thought captive," and I believe that fear begins with a thought, not a feeling. It may begin with a "What if," but we can end that train of thought by stopping it in its tracks. We can answer the "What if" with "But."

God loves me. God loves you. That settles it. Period.

For more about God's love, read the book of John and especially John 3:16.