FEAR NOT.

 I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.--Nelson Mandela

FAITH activates God, FEAR activates the enemy.--Joel Osteen

Fear....this single thing rules most of our lives. Fear of change, fear of mistakes, fear of death, fear of failure, fear of being different, fear of being alone...if you really get down to it, fear is what determines what we do in life. So were we created to be fearful?...Is this something we just have to deal with?

Lately, I have had this whole fear thing in my mind. After talking to someone really close to me, I realized how much she was afraid, mostly about change. This made me look into my life. I never really realized how much I am afraid of! We can have fear that is obvious (things that cause shaking hands, racing hearts, etc) but perhaps more dangerous is the small fears we have that end up ruling our lives. For me, it would have to be fear of failure and fear of being hurt by someone I love. When I realized what I was afraid of, I realized the adjustments in my life I have made to give in to this fear. Crazy right? Never before did I know I was afraid of these things...

This past friday night I held a bible study about nothing other than...FEAR! (kinda crazy because last friday was before all of this self-realization). We talked about fear of sharing God with others. I asked everyone what makes us afraid of sharing God, especially when he has done amazing things in our lives. Here is the list: fear of rejection, fear that we have the proper knowledge, fear that it wont be accepted, fear of being the weird "jesus freak", fear that we are unworthy, fear of being a hypocrite...all pretty reasonable reasons right? I then looked up what the Word of God has to say about fear, and you probaby guessed it. Fear is not Gods plan for us. He wants us to FEAR GOD (which means to have reverance for God, to recognize His power, and submit ourselves to Him). He wants us to have a deep, faithful, fearful relationship with Him, but not to fear anything of this world!

Dueteronomy 31:6 says..."Be strong and of good COURAGE, DO NOT FEAR nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will NOT LEAVE YOU nor forsake you."

 

God wants us to BE BOLD for him. He will take away our fears when we surrender ALL to Him. Think about life with no fear.. amazing right? How different would so many stories in the bible be if the characters would have had fear? Joseph, David, Moses....So this is my prayer. That God takes away my fears so that I can be courageous for HIM. So that I can be His hands and feet. So that I can reach people that, with fear, I could not reach before. It is also my prayer that He takes away your fears. Its time to do some amazing things, fearless things. Its time to let go and let God.

More verses on fear...Psalm 23:4, Psalm 27:1, Psalm 118:6, 2 Tim 1:7, Psalm 115:11, 1 Chronicles 28:20, Isaiah 41:10, Matt 10:28, 1 Peter 3:13-14, 1 John 4:18.