Fear comes from ignoring the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. We are people too busy living in a fast-paced world with too little time and attention on spiritual things.
Having experienced life without negative fear gives peace, calmness and a sense of success that makes each day an enjoyable experience and a feeling of accomplishment. We were created with emotions to be able to love and to fear. Faced with a roaring lion hopefully, your reaction would be fear. But facing a serious problem does not need to be feared.
To overcome fear one must have confidence, feel worthy enough to be accepted by others and believe in our ability to be capable of overcoming whatever is challenging us. Most individuals do not meet those criteria. There are all kinds of reasons we lack confidence, feel unworthy or believe we are incapable of mastering most difficult situations. However, we as Christians are not alone. Scripture tells us In Isaiah that God has chosen the descendants of Abraham, which Christians are, that He will do the following:
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. Isaiah 41:13 – “For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”
Step one is to believe and trust that this is what God said and it also applies to every Christian. Assuming you have accepted the above premise, what can we draw from it? God is with us. He places the Holy Spirit into our lives as a direct contact with God. The Holy Spirit is the same as God is with us. He says He is our God and will have a personal relationship with us. He tells us that He is capable of giving us power to deal with every situation in life. He does not imply that we will win every time. Yet, we can deal with anything while being calm and with peace. It is only when we focus on the problem that we become distraught, when we should be focusing on how God is going to help us solve this situation. While dealing with whatever is confronting us, are we asking for that power that God promises to give us? Isn’t the usual circumstance we face, I will deal with everything by myself? This is the mistake many of us make.
Step two is to think of every fear you may have. Do you know what caused it? Do you know how to eliminate it from being a fear? Have you accepted that you are a member of God’s family and that He wants to help you? (You must feel accepted.) Do you have the confidence that anything can be handled with God’s power? (I accept God’s promise that He will give me strength and help me.) Finally you must believe that no matter what happens God knew it was going to happen and He did not intervene to stop it. Therefore, it must be a learning experience. As a previous high school coach I have always believed we learned more from losing than we ever did from winning. God knows winning every time does not always make us stronger.
Many times we find our fears come from work. 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 these 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, fear to stretch out of their comfort zones.
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. When put on the spot, most people, whether Christians or not, can see the absurdity and even the humor of workplace fear. It is, after all, illogical to be afraid of failing because typically nothing of great importance is at stake. One who tries something and fails is not injured physically, sent to jail, or subjected to mayhem. He doesn’t lose his house, her dog doesn’t die and the kids don’t run away from home. It is easy to see the wisdom of Franklin D. Roosevelt words: “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”
Is much of our fear coming from work because we do not take God to work with us? Is God with us only when we read our Bible, say our prayers or attend church? Whether our fears come from work, family relationships or finances God’s promise applies to everything.
God says He takes a hold of our right hand so we will not fear. Do you feel His grip? Do you sense His help? If not you may need to look at the three things pointed out. Do we have confidence that God will help us? Do we feel accepted by Him? Do we believe He wants us to do well and be achievers every minute of each day?
Read the first chapter of the Book of Daniel. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego put their lives in jeopardy by putting God first and refusing to eat the royal food. Daniel 1:17 – Scripture said to these four “God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds”. We are told, as Daniel and the others, we must put God first in everything and see what happens. But do we? It is most difficult to subdue our carnal nature of self-centeredness.
John 16:23 – 24 – “In that day (When Jesus has departed) you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” Cross references:
Hopefully, you now know how to live life without negative fear, with peace, calmness and success. It takes faith by believing and trusting in what God says He will do and not only in one’s self. And if you are not a Christian this does not apply. Wouldn’t you think everyone would want this type of Godly help that will change and better their lives? Eliminating fear and its stress is better for your health than eating an apple every day.
Don Boyd Blog 