Fear is instilled in us at an early age. Around 6 months of age we go through our first round of separation anxiety, which is the fear of being away from our mother or father. Babies don’t actually acknowledge this as a fear. They just know that they don’t like it when their parent disappears. This is the fear of separation. After this, other fears can arise. When my oldest daughter was around 9 months old she feared other people. She would cling to me and hold on for dear life because I was her place of safety, her security. She knew as long as she was with me she had nothing to fear, and she was safe.
I was a fearful child as well, but my fearfulness was a result of ridicule by my peers during the middle school years. As many pre-teens, I was laughed at, the topic of gossip, and others loved to make fun of me. Needless to say this produced many emotional scars. In high school I found myself doing anything to fit in. My one desire was for others to, not only accept me, but also to like me. To an outsider, it would seem as though I was successful in my attempt. I was a cheerleader, athletic, smart, and I was never without a boyfriend. I seemed confident on the outside, but on the inside I was driven by my fear of not fitting in, and I was also afraid of the negative opinions from others. During these years I was determined to please others.
Last week God showed me how my fear that was created during these years was inhibiting his will and power in my life. This was a slap in the face to say the least. He showed me that I had buried this fear deep within me, but I had never dealt with it. As a result it was affecting my spiritual life.
I was not FREE! I sang the songs proclaiming I was free, but I was not living like I had been set free. Honestly, I was terrified of what others might say if I lived completely free. I was still living in bondage. Satan took the fear that I had of what others might think about me, and he used it every time I would start to live in freedom. Jesus didn’t shed his blood so that we would live in bondage. He wants us to live FREE! “If the Son sets you free, you are truly free” (John 8:36).
I desperately wanted to be free from this bondage, so first I confessed all of my fears (this took a while), and then I searched the scriptures to see what God says about fear. I was reminded that, “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of POWER, LOVE, and SELF-DISCIPLINE” (2 Timothy 2:7).
Fear is not of God. It is what Satan uses to rob us of our trust in God because when we trust in God we are following his spirit, which 2 Timothy 2:7 states is a spirit of POWER. When we put aside our fears and completely trust God the POWER of the Holy Spirit is unleashed, and Satan doesn’t have a chance.
God does not want us to be afraid. In the NLT translation of the Holy Bible, there are eleven verses in which God actually says, “Do not be afraid.” In the first book of the bible God says, “Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you” (Genesis 26:24). Also in Deuteronomy 1:21 God says again, “Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.” God does not want us to fear. Instead he wants us to have faith, trusting in Jesus to help us overcome our fears.
Jesus is always there to help you overcome your fears. In John 6:16-21, the disciples are in a boat in the Sea of Galilee when a terrible storm begins, and they are terrified. Jesus begins to walk on the water towards the boat, and he calls out to them, “Don’t be afraid, I am here” (John 6:20). Suddenly they are no longer afraid, and they are eager to bring him on board with them. Jesus was there place of safety, their security. Jesus is our place of safety and our comforter as well. Just as my daughter was comforted when in my arms during her fearful situations, we too are comforted and fearless when we put all of our trust in Jesus.
He wants you to be FEARLESS!
“I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.” (Psalm 23:4)
joyofhispressence 