Fear. It creeps up on us, seeping into our flesh and planting roots in our ribcage, its weeds inundate our bones. It lets lose its vines around our throat and tightens its grasp until we can no longer breathe. It is a controlling monster that lurks deep inside of us, eager to overtake our being.
Fear is a game your mind plays, offering different levels of difficulty. At each level lay an obstacle that stands in the way of progress. We are often afraid of moving onto the next level because we do not want to cross the obstacle that stands in our way.
Fear is a perspective. When our mind is in fear mode we don’t want to move further because we are scared that we could fail or get hurt.
Fear is a liar, and if we let fear take control we are really just distrusting in the goodness of God. Becoming slaves to fear is so much worse than acquiring a few scars from falls taken along the way. When we let fear take control, we will look back at our lives with regret for all the times we could have and should have done something but we didn’t. We will never learn the valuable lessons that come with pushing past our apprehensiveness and we most definitely will lose out on learning who we are and what we are capable of. There comes a tipping point when inaction is even more painful then action, even if the action itself is extremely painful or scary.
Sometimes God may call you to go out of your comfort zone, and you might wonder why God is choosing you for a certain task. You might think you’re not the right person or capable of fulfilling what God is calling you to do. But here’s the thing, God doesn’t always use the people we think are the most fit for the job. Look at King David. He was the youngest of his brothers, the little shepherd boy, not the strongest or the smartest. But God had other plans and was using that time to bring David closer to Him and refine him, even when everyone else thought what he was doing wasn't very important. To God he was a king. In the process of preparing David, God pushed him past his apprehensiveness. He fought a lion and a bear, protecting his sheep. He killed Goliath with a sling and a stone. No one thought he was capable of doing such things. It is through our weaknesses that God’s power is made perfect.
We’re not always going to be fully equipped or ready to do every hard thing that comes our way, but that doesn’t mean we just ignore it and not do it. When you start to feel fear creeping in on you when you are torn between taking the easy way out or persevere to do what is right: don’t focus on being strong, focus on obeying God- even if you are afraid. Because all effort, even failed effort, produces growth.
“For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes” (Proverbs 24:16). We need to ask the Lord to help us be as the righteous, not backing down when we fail but eager to try again and again to do what is right because we know that is what brings glory to God.
Do the thing you think you cannot do. Because until then, you will never be able to experience the growth, confidence and courage you will assuredly attain when you stop to look fear in the face and take action. We don’t gain strength by doing what we know we can do or limiting ourselves to stay in our comfort zone. We become strong when we overcome that which we once thought we could not.
It is easy to let fear take the lead because it is just a reaction. It can be hard to push past our fears because we have to choose to be courageous. But get this: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).
Even Paul when talking to the Ephesians, asked for help with fear saying, “Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19). Paul would not have asked for prayer to be fearless unless he himself was struggling with fear. But he did not want fear to cripple him, stopping him from doing the work he knew the Lord wanted him to do.
Embark upon a God given journey that has been perfectly planned out just for you by an omnipotent, omniscient God. Don’t let fear be a stumbling block for you in being who God has called you to be. Cut your vines and upheave the roots from your ribcage. Loosen its grasp from your throat, and experience the renewal of respiration as the breath is restored to your lungs. Adventure is calling.
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