Fear. Everyone has a fear of something, whether they admit it, or not. It's what you choose to do with that fear when it is staring you in the face. Do you run and hide? Or do you laugh at it and continue on with the task at hand? Honestly, for me it depends on what the fear is.
Today, I battled with the fear of public speaking. My pastor had asked people to come up and share testimonies of what God had been doing in their lives. I knew I had something to share, but really didn't want to go forward. I sat in my seat, and my hands started to sweat. The desire to go up and tell people the story I had was greater than the fear of standing up and speaking. The next thing I knew, I was sitting in the front row of the church, still debating whether or not I would be going up. Finally, I just did it. I went up, grabbed the mic, and froze. I scanned the room for a familiar face and spotted my husband. I spoke as if I was talking to him, just using a microphone. I did it! I kicked that fear right in the face. I believe that the next time I go to speak in public, the fear will be less, and it will become easier, until, eventually, I wont be afraid anymore.
The Bible tells us to not have a spirit of fear, but of a sound mind. (2nd Timothy 1:7) Do you know what you are afraid of?
When I first came back to God I was afraid of a lot! I was afraid of a sober life. All of my friends and family used, so I thought that without them, I would be alone again. The funny part is that God gave me more friends and an even bigger family filled with people who support my sobriety! I was also afraid of trying to gain custody of my son. I was afraid that in court, my son's father would tell the judge about my drug abuse, and that the judge would not grant me custody. I put my trust in the Lord, and the ot come of the custody hearing was that I ended up with more custody than I was asking for! God is so faithful! All of my fears have slowly begun to fade away. Even the silly ones, like being afraid of spiders, is gone! Let me tell you, not living in fear is freeing in itself! Why? Because we were not made to be fearful: we were made to be royalty! Princes and princesses of the Lord are not afraid of anything. God arms us with the weapon to fight off any fears we have. What is that weapon made of? Perfect love. Perfect love casts out all fear! (1 John 4:18)
I believe that the first step to fighting our fears is learning our identity; who we are. Not knowing who we are is a fear in itself! So many people struggle in life because they don't know who they are and why they were put on the earth, and that, in turn, leads to self-destruction.
In one of my favorite movies, "Anger Management" there is a scene in which Dr. Buddy Rydell asks Dave to tell the class who he is. When Dave spoke, he began by explaining his job, and other things he did with his life. Buddy was quick to interrupt each time with, "Not what you do, Dave. Who are you?" Dave was unsure how to answer his question, and became frustrated.
How would you answer it if someone asked you, "Who are you?". Remember, it's not what you do, it's who you are!
I am a daughter of God. I am royalty. I am loved. I am free. I am not afraid. I also know who you are. You are NOT a sinner, but a saint. You are not fearful, but fearless. You are not unwanted, but loved by many. You are not weak, but strong. You are a prince, or princess.
How do you start living out your identity? By asking for forgiveness. There is no sin too big to forgive. God loves you so much that he will forgive all of your sins just for coming to Him and asking for His forgiveness.
Another way to get rid of fears is to trust Him! "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5)
I have gone through so much fear and have learned to just trust God. He will not ever leave me and will always protect me. His plan is the best plan for my life. The sooner we learn this, the sooner we can be fearless, happy, and free! Has a good ring to it doesn't it?
So the next time you are afraid and alone, put your trust in God and see what happens!
No comments:
Post a Comment