Friday, January 13, 2012

Facing Fear

Isaiah 41:10 - "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."NIV

I have a passion to encourage women to not be held back by fear. I actually get excited just thinking about this (if you could only see my face right now!). I know what it is like to grow up being a "people pleaser". If there had been a contest for this, I think I could've won... but of course, I wouldn't have entered it because I would've been too afraid. In my past, I was gripped with fear of failure. There are so many things I would've loved to try in my childhood if I wasn't afraid. I obviously had not heard Joyce Meyer's quote yet, "feel the fear and do it anyway". Praise God, fear of failure is something that I am learning to overcome. I understand that fear is something that I will always have to address as I meet new challenges or move out of my comfort zone; however, I now know that fear does not need to paralyze me any longer.

"For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 1Timothy 1:7 NKJV

I have grown into a new understanding and respect for fear. The emotion of fear is normal. I can clearly see that God has built us with a capacity to experience fear. If I see a grizzly bear, I'm going to run! The purpose of fear is primarily for protection or discernment, right? But, my problems begin when I allow fear to overstep its God-given purpose. It is then that my fear can quickly get out of control and become toxic to my growth and well-being. Instead, I am learning to use fear as a motivator towards change and growth rather than allowing fear to rule my thoughts and run my life.
Meditating on scripture is a powerful way to renew your mind as you work through your fear. I can't fight fear for you, but I can encourage you to face your fears head-on. I recently heard an analogy on fear that I really liked...fears are like weeds in a garden. I find this so helpful in my growth and understanding of how fear can choke out your life. If they are not tended to, weeds will keep coming up. With the right tools we can pull them out and move towards freedom. As women of God let's continue to grow strong community and pull out our weeds together!

Romans 8:37 -39 "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
NIV

Thank God... and ask Him today to begin replacing your fear with faith.

3 comments:

  1. This post will touch many lives today. This effects every person on a daily basis I think. I know I have the "bag lady" syndrome :) Is it because I love my husband so much I cannot imagine living this life w/o him or that I'm not able to give him to God? *heart sighs* I just need to allow God to take everything and not look back. Just because I give him everything doesn't mean he'll take everything away. *Thinking of Job* Fear is just silly sometimes, like that big "monster" and once we reach it it was a tiny thing we can squish with our foot. *I love that book!* Anywho, great post and it will be ringing in my heart today!
    p.s. Yes, I could see your face as you wrote about this subject! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In reality everything we "have" belongs to God, our perfect Father. My fear and challenge over the last few years has been understanding that my children are God's children. I get to care for them and God gets to decide how to show His love to them... oh the letting go, there is freedom there! Keep going girl!

      Delete
  2. Okay, Amy - here's the thing . . . It's about those times when I meet a grizzly bear, and the Lord tells me to go run and give him a hug!! I've had a few of those times of 'bears' in my life . . . :)) - Dawn

    ReplyDelete