Eliminate the Fear

How much of your life would you say is dominating by fear? I personally don't think about this too much, or haven't in the past anyways as I never thought I was a person who lived in fear. But for this blog, I believe God's brought it to my attention that fear is a bigger issue in my life than I thought. I've had 2 Timothy 1:7 floating around in my head all week:

For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power, love, and self-control.

Now, as I said before, I don't consider myself someone who is consumed by fear. But then I started to take each of my thoughts captive and realized that I allow fear to control me far more than it should. Here are some of my every day fears: fear of not being interesting enough, fear of getting fat, fear for my children's future, fear for my own future, fear of making mistakes at work, fear of sharing my faith (at times), and the list could go on.

In particular, the fear I have (as you may also have) of sharing my faith is built on lies. Lies that the world can hurt us, and lies that my faith in Jesus Christ cannot be justified by evidence or legitimate reasoning. Lies that my reputation means more than people's eternal salvation. And when it comes down to it, every single fear I have is irrational in comparison to God's goodness, faithfulness and provision.

In each season of life I have experienced so far, God has been more than enough. When I say that, I mean that He has given me peace, joy, love, strength, endurance, determination, and hope in every single circumstance. And the longer I walk by faith, the more confidence I have in God providing everything I need. Now, I will say that I consider my life thus far to have been relatively easy or comfortable compared to what some people face. But the point is, that what I faced so far has been manageable and meaningful because of my Lord and Savior. So when a fear about future events creeps in my mind, I need to be reminded that God does not let us down, and He will never disappoint us.

When I pick apart my own list of fears, I have come to the conclusion that I need to focus less on my temporary status as a human being, and more on my eternal status as a spiritual being. My position on this earth, along with my successes and failures, should not dictate my worth. I am a child of God's, and He has sealed my future to be with Him. As we look forward to that day, there are many verses in the Bible we can turn to that help to dissolve the potential troubles and worries of this world. I'm going to leave you with two verses from each the Old Testament and the New Testament. :)

Psalm 56:3-4 "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise – in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?"

1 Peter 5:6-7 "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."