Defeating Fear

I haven’t dealt with fear too much since I was younger, but I have friends who still have battles with it. Fear thrives in uncertainty. It plays the “what if” game with our mind. It keeps us up at night and causes us to make decisions that aren’t the best. It can also create a paralysis through over analysis. However, here what I’ve learned about fear. It only has authority when I give a situation more authority than God. It only grows in places where I feel like God is not in control. I have to remind myself that God’s stability is greater than any instability around me. Even when things are falling apart, I remember that God is still in control just like He was when Job went through his world getting turned upside down. I don’t have to understand why I’m going through something to know God is with me and has a plan.

In 1 Samuel 17, the Philistines and the Israelites were ready for battle. That’s when the Philistines sent out Goliath. He was huge and strong. Then he began to taunt Israel telling them they were nothing. Verse 11 says, “When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken” (NLT). Saul and Israelite gave Goliath more authority than they did to God’s ability to save them and fear kept them in a stalemate for forty days. However, when David stepped into the camp, his first reaction was to stand up and fight Goliath because he was defying God. David stepped onto that battlefield alone in full confidence because he saw God as greater than any giant. Fear had no authority in his life because God was the ultimate authority. While the Israelites compared themselves to Goliath, David compared him to God. He won both a physical and spiritual battle that day defeating physical and spiritual giants.

2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” Fear does not come from God. It’s a result of me not giving Him authority in all areas. Instead God gives us power rooted in Him to overcome it. He gives us the stabilizing force of love that casts out all fear. On top of all that, He gives us a sound mind that creates self discipline, which governs our mind causing us to choose what is right even when our emotions are trying to pull us in the wrong direction. Fear has no place in the life of a believer. Since it does not come from God, we can’t give it a foothold. If you’re struggling with the giant of fear, it’s time to restore authority to God in the areas it’s controlling you. Don’t compare yourself to the situation. Compare your situation to God.

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