Transformational Thought
Fear—of speaking in class, giving a lecture, blowing a test or a game, talking to a girl, being rejected, confrontation, setting a healthy boundary, of anger—wow! For so long, FEAR interrupted and crippled my life. Then came the fear of fear. It was almost paralyzing.
Through honest reflection, self-assessment, therapy and real examination of how and why I made my decisions, I realized I was hiding my fear, at times pretending it wasn’t there. When I thought the fear couldn’t get any worse, I discovered that the fear you hide in the recesses of your heart gives birth to the fear of fear—a real monster. The danger of the second fear is that it diverts your focus off the original fear. You see, the first fear is usually the result of misinformation, misinterpretations or downright lies that developed at a very young age. Childhood is a time when we know little, are very gullible and aren’t equipped to handle the stress and complexity of life.
Think of it this way: most FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real. As adults, we have the opportunity to see the original false evidence that has been restricting our lives. This is where psychological and spiritual maturity comes in to play. As we grow in our understanding of God’s truth, we will see the actual situation more clearly through His lenses. Our FEAR will dissipate and we’ll be able to access the peace and comfort He offers in that challenging time. Thus, our ability to command our emotions to then make Godly, healthy decisions will be easy. A nice bonus will be yours too: the fear of FEAR will melt away.
Now listen to what I am teaching. I am not saying we shouldn’t have any fear. When we are in dangerous situations, our negative feelings (the natural warning system God gifted to us) should send us messages like anxiety, concern or fear. But 99% of the time, our distortions—the False Evidence Appearing Real—exaggerate the amplitude of our negative emotions, and can precipitate negative emotions that are unnecessary. Think of David battling Goliath, Daniel standing in the lion’s den or Paul in jail. In each “fearful” situation, these men had no FEAR!
Usually we are too lazy, too hurried or just don’t know how to re-address those old painful FEARS. But, please, try. When we do re-address them, we’ll be able to access and apply the freedom over FEAR that Christ won for us. Let God’s truth and light into those FEARS. Don’t let Satan put out that light. Freedom from FEAR is available for every one who is in Christ. He gives us powerful options to deal with the challenges God allows in our lives.
Today, acknowledge that your FEARS are flaming arrows of attack from the evil one. Bring your fears into the Light of Your Lord’s presence where you can deal with them openly. The darkness just gives them more power over you. Identify one thing that upsets, alarms, scares or threatens you. Examine how it influences your decisions. Tell someone about it and ask for help to identify the False Evidence that Appears Real in that issue. Just knowing that the cycle can be broken can be very freeing. Click here for our powerful workshop that teaches you how to live the life that is WITHIN REACH. It will help you apply God’s teachings to identify, replace and overcome your FEARS. Whether you believe the FEAR and live in bondage to it or you believe and apply God’s truth and live in freedom, it’s your decision, so choose well.
Prayer
Dear Beloved Father, I confess that fear has a stronghold on me. I know that most fear comes from the enemy’s arrows of attack. I thank You, Father, for Your Word, which teaches me to use my shield of faith to extinguish those flaming arrows. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, Father, so that I might build my faith. Help me understand how to uncover those FEARS and bathe them in Your truth. Teach me, Father, to bring all fear to You so that we may deal with them together. I pray, Father, that by concentrating on You and by being a good steward of my mind, my fearfulness will lose its foothold on me. I pray in the holy name of my Deliverer, Jesus Christ. And all God’s children say Amen!
The Truth
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Ephesians 6:16
The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe. Proverbs 29:25