The past week or so I have had some intense conversations with some dear friends of mine. And the pervasive theme in each conversation was fear, both on my end and their ends of the conversation.
Fear of failure
Fear of the unknown
Fear of death
Fear of loneliness
Fear of sickness
You may not think that you actually struggle with "fear". But the truth is, fear is deceptive. It masks itself as "worry" or "concern". And most of us struggle with it. Most of us don't outright admit that we are fearful. We like to tell ourselves that we are just being realistic about the situation, or we are just being overly cautious. But the truth is, we are fearful.
Friends, I have some great news for you today. Your Father in Heaven, did NOT give you a sprit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7). And God does NOT desire you to live in fear today, tomorrow, or ever.
A few months ago I was fearful of traveling with my son by myself. At first I told myself that it was just natural apprehension. But the truth was, I was fearful of something happening, and me being alone, of my son having a break down and me not being able to get to him etc. I was pretty private about this fear because, honestly, it just felt embarrassing to talk about. But at a bible study one day, I mentioned that I wanted some prayer since I would be traveling by myself the following weekend. After the bible study, a friend of mine spoke to me about the request. She talked with me about not being fearful. About how I needed to know what God's word says, and claim those truths. And then she said something profound.
"Monica. You can't just conquer 'this specific fear'. If you don't deal with the spirit of fear in your life as a whole, it will manifest itself in other areas. "
Profound right?!
So how do we conquer the spirit of fear in our lives?
It is a slow process. It involves identifying fears we have, knowing what God's word says about those fears, protecting our eyes and ears from things that provoke our fears, and prayer, lots and lots of prayer. BUT we can conquer the spirit of fear in our lives.
I encourage you to do some soul searching and identify any fears that you may have. Really ask yourself if the sprit of fear has shown up in your life. Then find what God's word has to say about those fears.
"I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame."
Psalm 34:4-5
We are more than conquerors friends! Now get out and enjoy the sunshine!
Blessings,
Monica
(As I am praying through my own fears, I would love to pray with you as well. If you have any specific prayer requests regarding fear, or if you need some encouragement, feel free to email me at: mroberson@rethinkgroup.org)
Fear of worthlessness.
ReplyDeleteYou go girl! Amy
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