Fear Stinks!

Can you think of a worse feeling than fear?  I don't think I can.  Fear is such a gripping emotion.  When we are faced with a fear, it can over-shadow even the best things in life.  For example, I hate spiders to the point of being afraid of them.  I know people with much worse fears but decided to spare them and use myself.  When I have to kill a spider in the house, I just hate it.  My skin crawls at the thought of it.  A big spider will ruin any event for me.  How about you, what are you afraid of?  This crude example isn't much of a fear but it shows that fear can exist and not be present at that moment.  If no spiders are around, everything is OK for me.  Bring in a big spider and my demeanor changes.  

Unfortunately, this type of fear isn't necessarily what the Bible was referring to when we are told to not be afraid.  Unfortunately, this isn't the type of fear that the devil uses to keep and beat Christians down.  I bet if you stopped to think right now of what you have feared in the last week, you might say nothing.  But if you get denial out of the way and really look inside, I think some of you may have a different answer.  Has anyone been afraid of:

·        Not being able to pay a bill

·        Not looking good in public

·        What people will think about you

·        Being able to say the right thing

·        Getting sick

·        Being alone

The devil will use these simple fears, and many more, to build doubt.  When you start to doubt then unbelief creeps into your life.  When you have unbelief, you begin to lose your faith in God and then let the out of control spiral begin.  STOP IT!!!  DO NOT BE AFRAID!

Fear will steal your joy so much faster than it took to obtain your joy.  I will never forget a time in mine and Kim's life when we were really struggling to make ends meet.  We hadn't been married long and I insisted that she not work.  Then we got out of church and stopped paying our tithes.  We went from living check-to-check to always being a little behind.  I will never forget the moment when I had to decide to get a grip on the fear that I had of not being able to provide for my family.  I was playing left-field and a routine pop-fly was hit to me.  As I was running to the ball, all I could think about was how many bill collectors names were on caller ID.  After I caught the ball, I began to weep because I knew that I let the devil use a temporary situation to completely steal my joy.

God has allowed me to conquer all of the fear in my life.  He has allowed me to see through His word that it is not His will for us to be afraid.  His will for our lives is for us to be strong and courageous (1Cor 16:13).  It can be a slow process to rid yourself of fear.  Some believe that controlling your fear is all we have to do.  I believe that is a start so that you can realize that the fear is not rational.  However, true victory comes when you no longer fear.

My favorite scripture on this topic is 1 John 4:18 – “there is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”  God is perfect love and if you allow Him to work in your life He will drive the fear away, that is a promise.

More to come on this subject later.  I want to avoid posts that are too long.  I am attaching a page that lists other scriptures about not being afraid.  http://sharemygod.blogspot.com/p/do-not-be-afraid_23.html