When I search the word fear on Bible Gateway I get 336 passages pertaining to fear. That’s almost a fear per day for an entire year. Boy is the enemy busy making sure we don’t receive what God has for us. He works tirelessly filling our heads with lies that we believe. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had an off switch for our fears?
There are two types of fear. The first type of fear is crisis fear. Such fear is physiological in part. This is the “fight or flight” response to life-threatening situations. Crisis fear pumps adrenaline into our bodies, primarily into our large muscles, so that we can fight or flee from the situation.
The second kind of fear is called “False Evidence Appearing Real” or FEAR. Such fear is mostly psychological. This type of fear is the enemy’s way to prevent us from the life God intended for us to have. It prevents us from venturing forth because a situation appears dangerous or uncertain, when in fact it’s not.
Many people feel fears over illness, death, retirement, career changes, loss of relationships, moves, childbirth, and other significant changes in life. Fears also involve the ego, such as moments of rejection, failure, vulnerability, helplessness, uncertainty, and even success. Each of these fears is very real, but because of FEAR, you may be reacting to false or misleading information based on your perceptions, experiences, and thoughts. Such perceptions make you uncomfortable and can stop you dead in your tracks if you let it.
The bible says “neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:39). This is one thing to read it and quite another to know it. For instance my greatest FEAR is being unaccepted and unloved.
It all began when my birth mom chose to give me up for adoption. Marked with rejection since conception it’s caused lasting wounds and a lot of FEAR to keep the lie alive that I’m unlovable and unaccepted. Every time my brothers or sister would tell me to go away and not want to play with me told me “We reject you. You’re not worthy to play with us”. Each time a friend chose to play with a different friend than me again the tape would play “I reject you. I don’t accept you.” Every time my mom would let me know that men were more important than women I felt unaccepted and not good enough. This all was false evidence appearing very real to me. It doesn’t take much for the “rejection” FEAR to rear its ugly head. Every “no” charges me up to insure I get a “yes” and not feel rejected. My desire to belong and be loved is so deep that I’ve spent a lifetime twisting myself into something I’m not just to feel a moment of love from someone, anyone.
Then one day I realized the power the enemy had over me with rejection. I was at a sales meeting when the presenter asked, “When were you initiated into the rejection club?” My immediate answer was “I was born rejected.” Shocked and sad I began to cry which made me want to leave the room. But the presenter requested we share with another person our answers. When I admitted that I was born rejected and that my sales reflected that truth a light bulb went off in my head. It was at that moment that I realized by speaking about the FEAR that I had diminished the enemy’s power over me! It was like turning down the dimmer switch to my FEAR!
With that light bulb moment (thank you God) I learned a five-step approach to turning off my fears. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7 NLT)
Ask God to help you:
1. Identify the FEAR. Just by calling it out and admitting it to yourself, to God and others breaks off the power the enemy has over you.
2. Discern under what circumstances the FEAR appears. Is it daily, monthly, quarterly, annually, seasonally or on the anniversary of something. Knowing when the FEAR is coming helps you give it to God to take care of.
3. Clarify what the FEAR is based on. Is it a past experience or experiences, fear of the unknown, is it incorrect perceptions or assumptions?
4. Tell yourself the truth, with His help you can handle it. God doesn’t give you more than you can bear. Keep telling yourself “I can handle it!”
5. Take some action steps to conquer the FEAR. Give it over to God, tell someone, ask for their help, learn more about the subject, go to counseling, say “yes” to God’s growth opportunity.
The point is don’t stay in the FEAR. Don’t let the enemy steal what the Lord has already predestined for your life. Let go and let God give you the best he has to offer you. God’s perfect love casts out all fears. May you fully experience His perfect love in the coming weeks.
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