Do you fear something in your life? I am not referring to spiders, water, heights, snakes, etc. Most people have something they fear. I fear heights. I have no problem climbing up a high mountain, but coming back down is the problem.
I am referring to the fear that we can control. I recently have begun training for a new job. Some aspects of the job come easy for me, yet others are quite different from what I have been used to. Working on a computer with various passwords, folders, and forms is somewhat intimidating. I found myself nervous, apprehensive, and in fear of making a mistake. I thought that maybe I was too old to learn all these procedures. I would get to work, and suddenly my stomach would be in knots. Ironically, my grandmother, dad, and son all have that nervous stomach.
I do not remember being this fearful of training for a job in the past. I realize that being nervous at a new job is normal, but this was more severe. My job had taken over my dreams, causing me to wake up several times at night. It affected my eating in that I didn’t want to have to go to the restroom constantly. Even my sister had noticed how fearful I was acting.
My thoughts were, what is wrong with me? Am I too old to be working? How can I control this fear that has bound my thoughts, emotions, and body and wiped out all my confidence? It feels like I am in chains.
KCBI is the Christian radio station in my area. I would listen on the way to work and even sing some of the songs in my car. Yes, I am one of those people who sing in the car, but at least I wasn’t wearing a mask. LOL. Although, no one would see me singing! One of the songs I was listening to one day was Zach Williams, “Fear Is a Liar.” The lyrics to the chorus is: “Fear is a liar, He will take your breath, Stop you in your steps, Fear he is a liar, he will rob your rest, Steal your happiness, Cast your fear in the fire, Cause fear he is a liar.” Those are powerful words. Fear is a liar! God knows I needed to hear that song.
While in my room, I began praying and told God I was allowing fear to control my emotions. I started thinking about how God had allowed me to get this specific job at the perfect time. It was a job I thoroughly enjoyed, and I knew it was “hand-picked” for me. I confessed my fear as a sin, which was because it was causing me to focus on myself and not trust God for His help and direction. I asked God to help me and even quoted the verse in Jeremiah 29:11 that talks about God knows the plans He has for me, and those plans are to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me hope and a future. I also began meditating on verses I found in the book of Haggai 2:4,5 in the Old Testament. I have it written in a dry-erase marker on my mirror in my room. I wrote the phrases that said, “Take courage…Take courage…For I am with you!… My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!” Another great verse is in Isaiah 41:10. I strongly suggest writing those verses on your mirror or memorizing them. Then when you begin to feel fearful, you can quote those verses, and it is amazing how the fear will leave you.
Another thing I would suggest doing is asking people to pray for you. I asked my grandson to pray for Grammy Barb. Here is a post concerning his prayer for me. Prayer works! Remember, God, listens to our prayers and the prayers of others.
What about you? Are you fearful of something? After I expressed my fear over my situation to other people, it’s incredible how many of them voiced something they were afraid of in their lives.
Fear is a natural emotion; if allowed to grow, it will keep you in bondage. For example, it may keep you from trying a new occupation or starting a new business. Perhaps it will stop you from reaching out to someone for fear of rejection. It could cause you to not communicate with your spouse or a family member for fear that their opinion might change toward us. Fear can cause you to miss out on many good things, such as a family vacation or a romantic getaway. What about money? Is your fear of not having enough money rob you of the blessings God would love to give you?
Ironically my Pastor preached a message about conquering fear last week. He mentioned that the opposite of fear is faith. Faith believes that God will do what He says. Here are some of the notes and quotes I took about fear. “Fear forgets the power of God. Fear distorts the size of our problems. Fear is a paralyzing emotion that holds us back from doing what God is leading us to do today.”
Here are the steps to develop Faith over Fear: 1. Realize that fear is a normal reaction, but it doesn’t have to be a final response; 2. Reflect on the promises of God; 3. Remember and recount God’s faithfulness to you in the past.
Fear is a tool the devil uses to rob us of what God has planned for us. Let’s not allow fear to have dominion in our lives. Let’s let God control our emotions!
