For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God… 2 Timothy 1:7-8
We all have certain fears, and are faced with things in life that cause us to be fearful. Instead of letting our fears handle us, we need to learn to handle our fears. Fear can occur anywhere we sense the possibility of pain or loss. Fear can empower us for action, or paralyze us and make us more susceptible to the danger at hand. If we don’t handle it the right way, it can take over our lives. That’s why it’s critical that we understand our fears. Whatever the root of the fear is, there is one thing that is always constant: Fear is an emotion, and like any emotion, it can be redirected.
Many times when we as children of God are faced with a problem and fear begins to grip our hearts we rush off to talk to a friend or to seek council from a church leader. This in and of itself is not wrong, but we need to realize that at the very moment fear takes hold of our lives we have someone much greater to talk to and that is the Lord. He can handle our fears and calm our hearts. Sometimes we are faced with problems we try to solve them our own way rather than seeking God's way. This can lead to fear bercasue we cannot see things as He does. We cannot solve things with our human solutions as He can, and we may begin to see things as hopeless.
Having a personal relationship with the Lord will provide the confidence in God we need to trust Him with all our fears. We can see in the life of David three reasons how fis relationship with the Lord gave him confidence in the Lord:
- The Lord was his light.- (gave him guidance)
- The Lord was his salvation. (gave him hope)
- The Lord was his stronghold. (gave him strength)
David's enemies tried to kill him. Entire armies surrounded him and waged war against him. Yet, in spite of all these things we are told that he still remained confident in the Lord.
The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off. They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off. They swarmed around me like bees, but they died out as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off. I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me. The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. Psalm 118:6-14
As children of God the closer we can get to the Lord, the better we are going to be able to deal with our fears and life's problems when they come into our lives. We can see that as long as David dwelt in the house of the Lord and stayed in fellowship with God he was protected and safe. And as long as we as God's children stay in fellowship with the Lord He will continue to protect and help us whenever we are faced with problems.
Admit your fears- Nothing can ever really be conquered until it is identified. Admit them to yourself and to God. Commit your fears to God- Verbally declare your decision to give your fears over to the Lord. Release your fears to God- and finally stand firm in faith and refuse to allow your fears to intimidate you.
The LORD is my light and my salvation– whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life– of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident. Psalm 27:1-3
