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Fear is one of those things that can keep us ’stuck’—hindering us from knowing the life of fullness and adventure we yearn for and found in Jesus. In two previous posts, we’ve looked at the reality that decisions made from a posture of fear are seldom great, and examined some of the symptoms of living from a place of fear. What can we do to live more in the freedom of joy and purpose God has for us rather than the prison of fear?
In my own life, I’ve found the following to help in avoiding leading or living from fear:
– WAIT. I have found that there is a difference in the sense of urgency which comes from fear and the sense of urgency which comes from God’s Spirit. Fear brings me to reaction out of confidence in my own ability. The Holy Spirit calls me to act in peaceful confidence. If you’re feeling afraid and sensing the need to ACT NOW, maybe you need to wait.
– SHARE. I need to talk about my fear with people who will counter with Truth…not those who will draw me more into a mindset of being afraid. Fear is most often rooted in a lie and Truth can break its power. And, as God is not a god of fear, but of freedom and truth he must have provided me with someone who can help recalibrate my wrong thinking to realize and engage with truth. Who are those people for you? One of my good friends consistently reminded me and others “The best is always yet to come in Jesus;” with that kind of thinking, you can’t help but break away from fear of the worst.
– CONNECT. God is love, and perfect love casts out fear. But fear can serve as a wedge in my relationship with God…so those tinges of fear should serve as a catalyst to engage at a new level in connection with Him—to pursue him even though my first instinct is probably one toward isolation. Just reminding myself of his faithfulness is so powerful: What examples of God’s love and leadership have I seen in my life? How has he been faithful in the past?
– SCRIPTURE. Dig into Scripture. Related to the note above about truth, God’s Word as Truth breaks he power of fear. This may seem cheesy or a ‘given,’ but in my experience just reading Scripture that speaks to fear’s powerlessness out loud raises me above the tempest of fear-driven thought. Filling my mind and heart with the good stuff of God’s word has been one of the most consistent ways I’ve seen Him lead me to freedom. In the next post, I’ll share some of my go-to Scriptural anchors when I’m tempted to fear.
What have you done to choose freedom over fear?
