Tag Archives: fear

October 19, 2016 · 5:53 AM

Faithless Panic


Sometimes at night, I’ll send my son to his room to get his pajamas. He’ll get to the stairs and say, “Are you watching me?” After he turns on the light, he goes up the stairs. He asks again then turns on the hallway light. I watch him as he walks across the balcony and gets to his room, but that when he stops. He peers into the dark room and asks, “Can you come with me?” I get frustrated and tell him to turn on the light, but his fear keeps him outside the door. I remind him that I’m watching him, but he wants me to come turn it on before he enters.

It can be a nightly thing sometimes. I try to explain to him that his fear is in his head and that he can just walk in. I remind him that there are other times when I’m going up the stairs behind him, and he runs into the dark room hiding in the darkness. It proves he has the ability to go in the dark room, but that doesn’t stop him from panicking during times when he’s just as secure. To silly from my perspective and also frustrating that he doesn’t get it.

I think that’s how Jesus felt when he was sleeping on a boat they were all on. A violent storm arose and the disciples panicked. They went to Jesus, woke Him up, and said, “Lord save us, we are going to die!” (AMP) Isn’t that how it usually goes. We let our fear of whatever cause us to panicky to the point we think we’re going to die, and we flip out. It’s often as silly and frustrating to God as my son’s irrational fear of taking two steps into his room to turn on the light.

In Matthew 8:26, Jesus woke up and said, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” I wonder how many times Jesus says that to us when we are in a panic, banging on Heaven’s doors with prayer. What often seems so big, daunting, and scary to us is so little to Him, and He wonders why we don’t trust Him more. Has He failed you before? Has He left you? No. He’s still in the boat with you. Have faith that whatever has you panicking right nows under His control. He’s watching you and won’t let you down. Have faith that He will be true to His promise to never leave you nor forsake you. Even if things don’t go the way you want, they go according to His plan and purpose got you. He sees the bigger picture. 

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October 14, 2016 · 5:00 AM

Refuse To Worry


Many of us struggle with understanding the difference between fear and anxiety. Fear is an emotion triggered by real danger. Anxiety is an emotion triggered by things that may or may not happen. Fear can save your life and anxiety can cause it to end prematurely. They elicit a similar feeling inside, but fear goes away after you’re out of danger. Anxiety continues to eat away at your energy, your mind, and your life if you don’t put a stop to it.

At work, I do an exercise with people to get them to stop assuming. I get them to admit that they don’t know the outcome. From then on, when they assume something, I ask. “But do you know?” Assumptions of the future are what cause anxiety. The truth is, we don’t know the future, but as Corrie Ten Boon says, “We can trust an unknown future to a known God.” When we allow assumption and anxiety to take over, we in essence are not trusting our future to God. The key to losing anxiety is to admit you don’t know and to trust God to take care of you.

The Bible says a lot about anxiety and worry. Here are some verses about it.

1. Therefore I tell you, stop being worried or anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted) about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, as to what you will wear. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing?
MATTHEW 6:25 AMP

2. Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.
Proverbs 12:25 NLT

3. Casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].
1 PETER 5:7 AMP

4. Don’t give in to worry or anger; it only leads to trouble.
Psalm 37:8 GNT

5. Whenever I am anxious and worried, you comfort me and make me glad.
Psalm 94:19 GNT

6. Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Philippians 4:6-7 MSG

7. So refuse to worry, and keep your body healthy. 
Ecclesiastes 11:10a NLT

8. I am filled with trouble and anxiety, but your commandments bring me joy.
Psalm 119:143 GNT

9. To worry yourself to death with resentment would be a foolish, senseless thing to do.
Job 5:2 GNT

10. And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].
PHILIPPIANS 4:7 AMP

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September 16, 2016 · 6:00 AM

Fight Intimidation 


Have you ever been intimidated by someone who was purposefully trying to prevent you from doing something? Intimidation works because it creates fear and fear paralyzed. It’s one of the main tactics the enemy uses against us. Peter told us that our enemy roams around like a roaring lion. What’s more intimidating than a lion? But we often overlook the keyword “like”. He isn’t a lion, but he wants you to believe he is because he wants to intimidate you.

All of us deal with fear and intimidation from the enemy. Paul reminded Timothy that God doesn’t give us a spirit of fear. God gives us a spirit of power. He knew that they enemy would try to intimidate us so He gave us the power to overcome. Remember, greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. We don’t have to be intimidated by our enemy. We can stand up to him because we have a greater power at work in us.

Here are some verses to help us to not be intimidated. 

1. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified or dismayed (intimidated), for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
JOSHUA 1:9 AMP

2. What’s the price of two or three pet canaries? Some loose change, right? But God never overlooks a single one. And he pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don’t be intimidated by all this bully talk. You’re worth more than a million canaries.
Luke 12:6-7 MSG

3. They were just trying to intimidate us, imagining that they could discourage us and stop the work. So I continued the work with even greater determination.
Nehemiah 6:9 NLT

4. I will not be intimidated or afraid of the ten thousands Who have set themselves against me all around.
PSALM 3:6 AMP

5. Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t give them a second thought because GOD, your God, is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you.
Deuteronomy 31:6 MSG

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September 13, 2016 · 5:32 AM

How To Make Better Decisions 


Through the years, I’ve worked with a lot of people. The ones that have always worried me are the ones who make their decisions based on emotion instead of logic. When a crisis happens, the ones who make emotion decisions react to the situation. They don’t think of the outcome or the consequences of their actions. They simply let fear, or another emotion, make their decision for them. On the other hand, there are those who don’t react to the situation. They think through the ramifications of their choice, look at the end result, then make their decision. 

I find that I try to be the latter, but often end up in the first category. I can let fear make my decisions for me instead of what I want the end result to be. When I feel like I’m making a decision based on emotion, I try to find an objective person in my life who can help me make the non-emotional decision. I think we all need someone like that. Peter had Jesus. Fortunately for Him, Jesus could rebuke him in love or heal a man’s ear.

Today though, I want to look at Esther. As queen, she had a certain level of influence over the king. But when trouble came and the Jews were facing genocide, she started to make her decision based on fear. Her cousin, and foster parent Mordecai, told her she needed to talk to the king on behalf of all Jews. In Esther 4:11 her emotional response was, “All the king’s officials and even the people in the provinces know that anyone who appears before the king in his inner court without being invited is doomed to die unless the king holds out his gold scepter. And the king has not called for me to come to him for thirty days” (NLT). Fear was dictating her response.

Mordecai offered wisdom though. He helped her see past the fear to make the best decision. In verse 14, he told her, “If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” With his help, she was able to make the hard decision to face the king no matter what. She was able to look at the outcome instead of her fear. In the end, the Jews were saved and Esther has been honored ever since.

We all need to recognize how we make our decisions. Yes, God gave us emotions, but they’re not always the best things to use when making lasting decisions. We each need that person in our life who helps us make the godly decision that’s based on the outcome God wants. Don’t let fear keep you from choosing the path God has for you. Find a godly person who is objective and can ask you the right questions. Proverbs 15:22 says, “Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success.”

Who is that person in your life? If you don’t know, start with your pastor or a church leader.

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February 12, 2016 · 6:15 AM

Don’t Be Afraid

  
One message that God repeats over and over in the Bible is, “Fear not. Don’t be afraid.” Fear shows a lack of faith in God as your protector, your provider, and your deliverer. Each of us deal with fear in our lives because none of us know the future. It’s easy to be afraid of the unknown, but God rarely calls us to do something easy.

The Bible doesn’t give a formula for overcoming fear. As you’ll see in the scriptures below, it is usually an imperative statement to stop being afraid. For me, trusting God is how I let go of fear. Trust doesn’t change my situation, it just changes my perspective on how it will turn out. When we feel like things are left in our hands, fear creeps in because we are incapable. When we trust God to handle it, we don’t have to worry about how it will turn out because God will have His way.

I hope these verses encourage you to let go of fear and embrace your trust in God.

1. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9 NLT

2. The fear of human opinion disables; trusting in GOD protects you from that.

Proverbs 29:25 MSG

3. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”

Isaiah 41:13 ESV

4. Do not be afraid—I am with you! I am your God—let nothing terrify you! I will make you strong and help you; I will protect you and save you.

Isaiah 41:10 GNT

5. Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.”

Isaiah 35:4 NLT

6. You will not be afraid when you go to bed, and you will sleep soundly through the night. You will not have to worry about sudden disasters, such as come on the wicked like a storm. The Lord will keep you safe. He will not let you fall into a trap.

Proverbs 3:24-26 GNT

7. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 1:8 ESV

8. Do not be afraid of them; the Lord your God himself will fight for you.

Deuteronomy 3:22 NIV

9. See, God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The LORD GOD is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.

Isaiah 12:2 NLT

10. Israel, the Lord who created you says, “Do not be afraid—I will save you. I have called you by name—you are mine. When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you; your troubles will not overwhelm you. When you pass through fire, you will not be burned; the hard trials that come will not hurt you.”

Isaiah 43:1-2 GNT

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February 10, 2016 · 6:03 AM

Confining God

  
My son is getting to the point where he says he’s scared. I remind him of Joshua 1:9, “Do not be afraid. God is with you.” He then asks, “Where is a God?” I tell him, “Right there with you.” He retorts, “But I can’t see Him.” I say, “You can’t see whatever it is that you’re afraid of either.” That’s the way most of us are. We are most afraid of things we can’t see, including God. He frightens us because we can’t see Him, and we can’t control, what we don’t see.

In Exodus 32, the Israelites were camped at the base of Mount Sinai. Moses had been up on the mountain for over a month. The cloud that represented God’s presence still covered it, but the people were afraid Moses wouldn’t come back. They decided they needed a God they could see, so they took their gold earrings off, melted them, and made a calf. Verse 5 says, “Aaron saw how excited the people were, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then he announced, “Tomorrow will be a festival to the LORD” (NLT).

They thought they could make God into something they could create and still worship Him by worshiping the idol. God is not pleased when we try to confine Him into an image, a symbol, or something we can create. You cannot take an unlimited God and put limited confines on Him. You cannot take an omnipresent God and confine Him to one place. We would like to do that because there are places we go that we don’t want God to know about. There are areas of our lives that we don’t want to give Him power over. Confining Him helps us to justify our actions.

Having an omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent God is scary to many of us. It means we can’t go anywhere or do anything without Him knowing. We can’t have secret lives or secret parts of our life without Him seeing it. We can’t hide our sins from Him. We can’t hide who we really are from Him. That’s a scary thought for some people. The good news is that He sees those parts of our lives, and He loves us still. He knows about our secret sins, and offers forgiveness for them too.

When we no longer try to confine God, we unleash Him into our lives. We give Him the authority to come into every area, even the hidden ones, and clean house. In Psalm 139:7, David asked, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” (NKJV) He recognized God’s omniscience and His omnipresence. He then concluded in verses 23 and 24 by unleashing God in his life. He prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.” Don’t be afraid to trust what you can’t see. God will forgive you and lead you into everlasting life.

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February 5, 2015 · 7:15 AM

No Fear

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Fear is a funny thing. It can make a grown man scream like a child. It can make the strongest one among us look weak. It has the ability to paralyze the most able bodied person. When we see someone who is afraid of something we’re not afraid of, we tend to laugh and make fun. When we see someone stuck in a situation because of fear, we are rarely empathetic because we don’t take the time to put ourselves in their shoes.

I have a coworker who tells the story that he was riding in the car with someone going down the freeway. They were talking and having a good time until the driver freezes up and gets serious. He asked what was wrong and the driver motions with his head to look left. Confused, he asked, “What?!?” The driver whispered, “There’s a spider on the window.” He laughed and said, “Are you serious?” He then reached across the driver to swat it, but realized if he knocked it down, they’d have a wreck. He pinched it and threw it out the window. Immediately the driver went back to normal.

He laughs and so do others when he tells the story and does all the animation that goes with it. Then he tells how he asked the driver why he’s afraid of spiders. The driver said that when he was young, he was swimming in a pool and there was a spider on the water. As it came near to him, he tried to use waves to push it away. It kept coming though. He ended up taking his hand and slapped down on the water to kill it. When he hit it, immediately hundreds of baby spiders went everywhere. He was covered in them and couldn’t get away. Since then he’s been afraid.

It’s easy to make fun of someone’s fear until we understand it. Each one of us are afraid of something ourselves, so why don’t we encourage others who are afraid? There are people around us who are starting over in life and they’re afraid. There are people who have to move for work and are afraid they won’t find friendships like those they’re leaving behind. Some are having to go where God is calling them, but it’s taking more faith than they think they have. Each one of these needs empathy and encouragement.

When Jesus was walking on the water towards the boat full of disciples, they were terrified. Twelve grown men were screaming like little children. Then, one voice pierced through the storm and their screams. It said, “Take courage! I AM! Stop being afraid!” Jesus’ call to them goes out to us today. Whatever we’re facing, we can take courage through Him. He reminded them and us that He is God. And finally, he commands us to stop being afraid. We can have courage and know He is God and still be paralyzed by being afraid. Don’t let that happen. Stop being afraid and follow where God leads.

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February 3, 2015 · 7:52 AM

Standing Up To Lions

If you’ve never watched a documentary on lions, you should. They’re the king of the jungle and very interesting creatures. Their roar can be heard from as far as five miles away by the human ear. Male lions are typically the most active at night and that’s also when they roar the most. When I heard these facts about lions, it reminded me of I Peter 5:8. It says, “Stay alert! Watch out for your enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”

The first thing Peter tells us is to stay alert. Lions like to hide in the grass and stalk their prey. They blend in with their surroundings and sneak up on whatever it is they’re going to devour. If they’re spotted from a distance, they know they don’t have much of a chance to catch their prey and move on. Peter knew that we need to keep a watchful eye out for the devil. He didn’t say we should be afraid of him. He merely wanted us to pay attention to our surroundings. Are we putting ourselves in places where the devil can hide and stalk us?

The next part of that verse says he prowls around like a roaring lion. If you remember from above, they roar at night. The enemy chooses to come after us in the night times of our life. He knows that’s when we are most vulnerable. He roars in order to instill fear in to our hearts. He knows he can paralyze so many Christians with a simple roar from far away. Remember that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came to give us life. Are you paralyzed by the roar of the enemy or encouraged by the life giving power of Jesus?

My favorite part of this scripture comes in verse 9. It says, “Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.” While the attacks of the enemy are real, we can hold our ground. We can stand firm against him by the power of Jesus’ name. We don’t have to cower in fear or run from him because he’s stalking us. He can stand and fight because greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world. What can you do to stand firm when the enemy is roaring?

One of my favorite Disney movies of all time is “The Lion King”. In it, there’s a scene where Simba has lost his way in life and his father visits him in a dream. Mufasa calls out to his son and says, “Remember who you are.” I think when we’ve lost our way or the enemy is trying to instill fear in our lives, we need to remember who we are. We are children of the King of Kings and have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. By the power and authority we are to stand up against the enemy. Don’t let him cause you to submit in fear. Recognize him, call him out and stand firm in your faith against him. You will be victorious no matter how loudly he roars.

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October 31, 2014 · 6:30 AM

10 Scriptures On Fear

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1. GOD met me more than halfway, he freed me from my anxious fears. (Psalm 34:4 MSG)

2. There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection]. (1 John 4:18 AMP)

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

4. Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.” (Isaiah 35:4 NLT)

5. Fear not [there is nothing to fear], for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with My [victorious] right hand of rightness and justice. (Isaiah 41:10 AMP)

6. You need not fear any dangers at night or sudden attacks during the day or the plagues that strike in the dark or the evils that kill in daylight. (Psalms 91:5-6 GNB)

7. Don’t be afraid when you hear of wars and revolutions; such things must happen first, but they do not mean that the end is near.” (Luke 21:9 GNB)

8. Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28 NASB)

9. The fear of human opinion disables; trusting in GOD protects you from that. (Proverbs 29:25 MSG)

10. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. (Romans 8:38 NLT)

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May 20, 2014 · 7:50 AM

Umbrella Of Praise

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Have you ever just allowed your mind to worry? I’m sure you’ve been there where your every thought is consumed by all the possibilities. You replay the scenario in your mind over and over again until you can’t think of any good outcomes. Your heart rate goes up. Your stress increases. You get that feeling in the middle of your chest that something’s not right. Your sleep then gets affected and your exhausted because you’re mentally drained. It happens to the best of us, but it doesn’t have to. We don’t have to let worry consume our mind and lives. There’s a better way.

Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers…Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.” Worry takes a lot of energy. It takes a lot of time and effort too. God would rather we spend that time, energy and effort in prayer. That’s what David did when he worried. He spent a lot of time in dark caves hiding from people who wanted to kill him. His mind would wander in the darkness and worry would creep in.

It was in the darkness of those caves in the stress of worry that he wrote so many Psalms. We like to think of him as the giant slayer, but he was also a worrier. Writing the Psalms helped him channel that worry into prayer and praise. When we worry, we take control of the situation that we have no control over. When we pray, we give God control of the situation that He already knows the outcome of. If we can learn to hand that off on prayer, we can displace a lot of worry in our life and use the energy for productive things.

The scripture also said to let petitions and praise shape our worries into prayers. I’ve found that when I’m most stressed, most worried and most consumed with a problem that I need to break away and spend time listening to Praise and Worship music. When I begin to praise God and worship Him, I invite His presence into my situation. I invoke all of Heaven’s authority to come stand by my side and fight on my behalf. I’m then surrounded by God’s peaceful presence because He dwells in the praises of His people. When that peace comes over me, I begin to see the battle is not mine, but His.

Worry doesn’t change my situation, prayer does because it moves the hand of God. Worry leaves me empty and broken, but God’s presence makes me whole. Worry sees every negative outcome in a situation, but praise sees everything working together for my good. The choice is ours. I personally like the outcome of prayer and praise than worry and fret. If you’re caught in that storm of negative thoughts, put up an umbrella of prayer and praise today and let the peace of God that passes all understanding come and rule in your heart and mind. Leave worry behind. Give it to the One who already knows what’s going to happen and is in control. It’s a wonderful feeling when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

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