Romans 8:9 – 12 – “But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” (NLT) Chapters 8 and 9 of Romans are very special to me. They explain why we all face temptations. Scripture says “For what I want to do, I do not do but what I hate I do.” (7:15)

I am not sure how Satan and his demons work but some way they are trying to keep Christians from succeeding. If every Christian lived a life far superior to non-believers most everyone would want to become a Christian. As Satan deceived Eve he is trying to do the same to every one of us. How does Satan’s follower deceive us? By making us think negative thoughts. Such as: I don’t have the ability to do that. He limits our vision and spreads fear among us. Or, if we did something different we could fail. Probably fear is the greatest of all handicaps.

Workplace fear is not the same as physical fear. Workplace fear can be defined as fear of failing and/or fear of the unknown. I have known a number of men and women who settled into jobs they hated; not only were they bored, but also they endured verbal abuse and humiliation. Even so, the thought of quitting terrified them. On the one hand, they stayed put because they were afraid of the unknown—new job, new coworkers and new bosses. But on the other hand, they refused to take a more challenging position because they were afraid of failing.

Workplace fear is not the same as physical fear. Fear in the workplace hampers people and quite often they are unaware of it. I have worked with some of the most physically imposing people I have ever met. They have no physical fear and enjoy hobbies like skydiving, hang gliding and rock climbing. They thrive on facing the danger inherent in those activities. Yet strangely enough, in the workplace they are paralyzed by fear—fear to take the initiative and accomplish a needed task that’s beyond their job descriptions, fear to accept promotions and fear to stretch out of their comfort zone.

Other people enter the workplace in jobs well below their capabilities because they are afraid of failing. Still others were willing to take risks at the beginning of their careers, but after enjoying some limited success they became frozen in place. I have know a few people who appeared to be suffering from workplace fear, when in fact unhealthy pride was rearing its ugly head. They wouldn’t take risks not because they were afraid of failing but to avoid the humiliation of not succeeding. They believed it was more acceptable for them to stagnate in the middle of the pack than to reach for something and miss.

Do we really believe what the above Scripture is saying? The Spirit of God lives in us and we are controlled by God’s Spirit. His Spirit living within us will give us spiritual life over spiritual death. God made the Jews His chosen people and history has confirmed it. Because of Christ He now adopts believers into His family. Do we see ourselves as God sees us? If most did we would see Christians with more positive, trusting attitudes. Doesn’t God want what is best for each of His children? Then why are we not more confident unless we really do not trust God? Develop a vision as to what you think God would want you to be or do. Then allow the Holy Spirit to take away all fear that would prohibit you from succeeding.

It may be improbable for some, at their present age or financial situation, to get a college degree. Furthering my education made me realize that there are not a whole lot of geniuses out there. Success is a result of attitude, persistence, passion and hard work. And the Holy Spirit is there to help every second of the day. Trust Him and give Him control! Don’t let fear defeat you.