There are two types of fear: positive fear and negative fear. We certainly would not stand in the middle of a busy freeway and say: “Bring it on you’re not going to hit me”. Therefore, we are going to cover negative fear that keeps many from reaching their full-potential.

Negative fear may be defined as visualizing a negative outcome. If every time you became fearful you visualized the outcome as being positive wouldn’t fear dissipate? Is that possible?

Fear is real and it can debilitate. Though fear is real, we need not give in to it or allow it to misdirect our decisions. Fear can inhibit us from not only using our talents and abilities, but also from reaching our full-potential. And worse, we will be robbed of our peace and joy. Once we identify fear in our lives, we can relegate it to its proper place: under the control of the Holy Spirit. God does not want us to fear: rather, He wants us to trust Him for everything we need. Then we are free to pursue and fulfill our God-ordained purpose in life.

Let me share an experience that I was able to witness. First, Scripture taught me that we can overcome fear and worry by listening to the Holy Spirit with spiritual ears, keeping everything in perspective and doing my best to remain coolheaded in the midst of madness. It takes time. It takes determination. It takes practice. But it works.

Several years ago a client came to me for financial help. He was not a Christian and he made a normal income. His financial picture was so-so. He was worried about his finances. It was important to him to increase his annual income and fatten his net worth.

Through a series of events, he accepted the Lord. His life completely changed. His financial picture, a high priority before salvation, became of less concern. When he put God and his customers first, a new attitude emerged. He changed from being focused on finances but to live for God. Before his salvation, this man’s greatest concern was about making a living and having enough money to live on and retire financially independent. After salvation he understood the time spent worrying about his financial affairs would better be spent living his life and working his business in a Christ-like way. Because of his change of heart a “funny” thing happened: He focused on serving God rather than his bottom line and his financial situation increased exponentially. I have continually worked with him over the years. Unless the world falls apart, he will have adequate resources when he retires.

Through the years I have learned that some Christians suffering from fear and negative thinking just cannot be talked out of it. It seems to be a matter of head knowledge having little or no effect on heart knowledge. We must realize that we have two natures. We have our sin nature and our spiritual nature. Many Christians allow their sin-nature to control their thoughts and actions. Christians controlled by their sin-nature are in the high-risk group for fear and negative thinking. This is not to imply that everyone controlled by their sin-nature is fearful. Fear is only one of many weaknesses to which people are susceptible. You can always find a few who are able to talk or reason themselves out of being afraid. But the only sure cure is to: “Put to death whatever belongs to your worldly nature” and yield your life to the Holy Spirit.

When the Holy Spirit fills your heart and guides your life, you will have little room or need for fear of any kind according to Romans 8:15 – “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.” We may understand that we have no reason to fear and accept liberation from it, but we may not instantly be “cured” of fearing. God, in His love and wisdom, may allow all sorts of problems to enter our lives. But we’re not left on our own to deal with them; He helps us through our struggles and disasters. He continually stretches our trust so we can break through the “wall of fear” and rely on Him, trusting Him more and more. Unless we see God bailing us out of tough or even terrifying trials, we may find it difficult to lean on Him and trust Him to be with us during our times of need.

Many Christians seldom realize that God allows failure to lead them in a different direction. A number of lessons can be learned from failure. For one thing, it strengthens us spiritually. For another, failure not only teaches us to be dependent upon the Holy Spirit, but also it opens up unlimited possibilities. Every circumstance in life, including failure, can become an eventual blessing according to Romans 8:28 – “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” So how do we overcome fear? We place absolute trust in God.