Fear- it’s something we can’t afford to live with, yet we unfortunately won’t live without.
Sometimes it’s a daily struggle with small fears we experience at the start of a new season, like a new job that gives you nervous jitters throughout your first day.
Other times, it’s major. So major that you’re left paralyzed with fear and anxiety about your future.
Fear of the unknown, fear of failing, fear of being wrong. Sometimes we can even be afraid of doing what’s right.
Why does this happen? Fear steals our confidence from even the best moments when we should be living life to the fullest and confident in all we do.
Fear stopped the Israelites from inheriting a land full of rich abundance and prosperity. Moses retells this happening in Deuteronomy 1:28, where he says that the Israelites stated their hearts “melted in fear” at the thought of going into the land God promised to them (NIV).
An entire generation’s destiny was altered the day they gave into fear, when they should’ve trusted in the power of God to protect them and take the land. Instead, they cowered and gave in to the assignment of fearfulness.
With a weapon like fear, Satan has destroyed many people’s futures and derailed them from greatness. And it continues to happen.
We must learn one of the keys to battling and overcoming fear in our lives to accomplish everything that God has destined for us.
The Nature of Fear
Fear is a lot like a weed. Just as a weed chokes life and steals the moisture from nearby plants, it does the same thing for your confidence. You’re not expecting it, but suddenly, it’s there.
Then it begins to disguise itself as an assurance of your own insecurities.
You begin to think you’re actually not good enough for that role, relationship, or task you’ve been blessed with. Fear says, “Someone else would be better for it, but not you. You can’t do it.”
“You’ll only mess it up, or worse, fail altogether and everyone will see.”
And if you’re not careful, you may start to go down a completely different path in life because fear blocked your view of the path God intended just for you.
Or like we saw earlier with the Israelites, you end up cheating yourself out of the blessing.
Here’s the key to overcoming an attack of fear: learning to humble yourself and surrender all that you are to God.
It sounds so simple, right!?
Well, things become a lot simpler when you realize that fear tries to get you to view yourself as the main point, when God is simply using you as His vessel in the situation.
Notice the thoughts that fear speaks in our minds. They usually center around us and our own abilities, and it says, “you can’t, you won’t, you aren’t cut out for it,” or” you’ll fail.”
Instead, we should praise God that He is leading us and trust that when He brings us to a mountain or a challenge, it’s to bring glory to Him and display His hand working through us.
A big part of overcoming fearfulness is realizing that the entire situation is not about you, boo.
Fear will no longer have power over you when you begin to see that God anoints you to do the very thing He has led you to, and you didn’t place yourself there on your own.
Fear no longer has the power to intimidate you because you have bowed the relationship, the leadership role, or whatever situation that looks daunting, down to God.
What once looked so intimidating now feels manageable because you’ve put the weight of the situation back on His shoulders.
People who live self-centered tend to struggle with fear more than those who don’t, simply because they’ve made a habit of focusing only on themselves.
But with less focus on the self, you can turn the glory of the circumstance back to God, who anoints you for the task at hand.
Overcoming Fear
Overcoming fear starts with a posture of the heart. The heart posture you need is one of surrender and humility.
We surrender the enormity of the scary circumstance and have the humility to know that this is for God’s glory, not our own.
Just as you are, you’re intelligent, beautiful, and strong.
But there is only so much we can do without God’s Hand in our lives.
If we surrender only certain things to God, then we will only see small breakthroughs and be bound by fear, which keeps us from expanding.
But if we surrender everything like our image, reputation, and our comforts, fear loses its power because we aren’t holding onto those things anymore. They are God’s and He will bless those areas as we move forward to be used by Him.
Learn to pause and praise God amid the fear.
Thank Him for bringing you to the opportunity that’s causing you to fear.
Lay down the outcome at the feet of Christ, who certainly knows a thing or two about going through fearful circumstances.
On our own, we can do some stuff… but it’s by God’s Hand that victory comes (Psalm 98:1 ESV) and we are upheld when we’re afraid (Isaiah 41:10, NIV).
10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
Isaiah 41:10 NIV
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.
It’s important to note that there is also the kind of fear that can arise in us when we make mistakes or sin. This is usually a fear of punishment.
But God does not punish us. His Word clearly states in 1st Timothy 1:7 that the spirit of fear will never come from Him.
When this is the kind of fear you’re facing, you should seek repentance and mercy from God.
We can always come to God in surrender of the problem that led us to sin, as well as the humility to admit that we need His help.
In Closing
We are never going to stop encountering fear in this lifetime.
It seems to go hand in hand with most of the blessings God wants to bestow on us because our enemy wants to cheat us out of them.
But making a habit of kneeling before The Lord so that He can take on our burdens and exchange them for His strength guarantees we will have the victory over fear, every single time!