Overcome Your Fears

Fear can be defined as a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil or pain whether the threat is real or imagined; an anxious feeling caused by one’s anticipation of some imagined event or experience; lack of faith and also the absence of courage. It restricts us and our activities and replaces our peace with worry and anxiety. It clutters our spirits, and kills our dreams thus derailing our destinies. Everyone at some point in their lives has had to deal with fear. Even the greatest people in life have had to overcome fear. Whether an imagination, anxiety or phobia, fear is a threat to every person. There are so many things that people fear ranging from death, failure, reality, separation, loss, rejection and even unknown.

While the fear of the Lord is healthy for us, it does not necessarily mean being afraid of God, rather, it means having a reverence for God; respect for His power, glory and majesty. It means acknowledging Him for who He is, and giving Him the honor that is due Him. The fear of the Lord produces life, security, protection from evil, confidence and satisfaction in our lives. It also births spiritual wisdom and knowledge. The fear that is harmful to a believer is borne out of lack of faith in God and it becomes a stronghold that paralyses a believer. To paralyze is to bring to a condition of helpless stoppage, inactivity or inability to act. This is the kind of fear that we need to deal with and overcome.

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 NIV

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline ~ 2 Timothy 1:7 NIV

One of the most repeated commands in the Bible is “Do not fear/be afraid”. This is because it’s easy for us to succumb to fear and the moment we allow it to take over in our lives, it paralyses everything. It literally becomes like thorns and thistles on our way which are likely to minimize and hinder our growth and progress both in God and in our lives. Fear locks God out of our lives and plans; it causes us to lose focus and to depend on our own strength and efforts to make things work. We can overcome this by gaining the right focus which is upwards in Christ Jesus. This means that we don’t have to face our fears alone for He has promised that He will never leave or forsake us.

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me ~ John 14:1 NIV

Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand ~ Isaiah 41:10 NKJV