Pep Talk: Fear Doesn't Suit You Anymore

As you entertain fearful thoughts you are picturing/envisioning the future without God in the mix. You’ve taken His power and His grace out of the equation. When He calls us to do something ‘hard’ He doesn’t just lead us there and then leave. If you are going to entertain thoughts of the future then you MUST include God’s presence and the promise of His power in those thoughts of future situations. He will equip you and you will learn to rely on Him, but it will be AFTER you take the step of faith. If He told you how He was going to do it and showed you everything ahead of time then that takes absolutely no faith. Your trust and reliance on Him wouldn’t grow. Knowing it all ahead of time takes no dependence on God. Rather, God wants us to trust Him with abandon – and that place of trust is not going to feel comfortable. It will feel like the farthest thing from it. Yet, what He can accomplish in and through you is going to be directly related to how much you depend and rely on Him.

Second thing to consider about fear is this: Fear is not from God! So, if not from Him, then guess who it is from? Our enemy just loves it when we get in a swirl of fear because then he’s done his job – he’s gotten us to a state of believing that God can’t be trusted (the enemy’s ultimate goal). Satan wants to capitalize on your fears and PARALYZE you to inaction. Watch out! Fear can lead you into sin! Fear can freeze you, causing you to disobey God by not moving forward with what He’s asking you to do, which is sin. In order to follow Jesus wholeheartedly, you are going to have to give up your desire to play it safe! The many ‘what ifs’ circling around in your head are from the devil, and many of them are straight lies. Even feelings are liars. You cannot trust your feelings. God is NOT the author of fear and confusion. He is the author of peace and clarity. That peace will only come by trusting Him with your worries and anxiety (handing them over to Him - which also entails letting go of control over the details of your life). This may be something you will have to wrestle with every 5 minutes, maybe even with the same fear that comes to the surface again and again. When the fears creep in, you need to combat them with truth.

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” ~ Romans 8:15

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. ~ 2 Timothy 1:7

You belong to God. You are His child. His Spirit is living inside of you. This should bring you tremendous peace that He will care for you, He will come through for you, He will empower and equip you to carry out His will. (But He won’t tell you ahead of time how He is going to do it - remember, that takes no faith.) As His child, fear doesn’t suit you anymore because…

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. ~ 1 John 4:18

If you don’t have this this testimony of peace in your heart, then ask God for it - again and again if you must - until you are in a state of full trust in your Father.

The truth is that the Spirit of the living God is guaranteed to ask you to go somewhere or do something you wouldn’t normally choose to do. The Spirit will lead you to the way of the cross, as He led Jesus to the cross, and that is definitely not a safe or pretty or comfortable place to be. But, the Holy Spirit of God will mold you into the person you were made to be... ~Francis Chan, Forgotten God~