Fear

DEALING WITH FEAR

“You can conquer almost any fear if you will only make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn't exist anywhere except in the mind.”
Dale Carnegie

Regarding the emotion of fear our heavenly Father mince no words. He teaches us that the only fear that God encourages in a Christian’s life is the fear of God. A healthy fear of the Father is encouraged to demonstate the love, respect, gratfulness, thankfulness, honor and esteem that we hold Him. After all he only created everything we see, hear, smell, touch, know and have yet to learn.

So let’s get right at it. Of what are you fearful? Is it losing your job, losing your figure, losing the respect of your family, losing a competitive sporting event? Is it fear of being loved, the fear of rejection, the fear of giving your whole heart to another? Is it the fear of commitment, the fear of failure, the fear of success, or the fear of rejection? Are your fears affecting and effecting your decision process? Search your heart and enter your own fear(s) here.

If your answer is that you fear nothing, I know that is the expected macho answer, it is not personal but I will have to call you on the truth of that answer. The reality is that at one time or another we all have or do fear something.

In fact most of us deal regularly with the fact that we fear many things that we need not and should not fear. Fear is a cancer to our successes often keeping us from successfully pursuing our goals, aspirations, and dreams.

The good news is that the list of things that we should fear is extremely short. So short in fact that only God is on it. The Bible is clear that out of respect we should fear God. Each of us should fear that the conduct of our lives would be disappointing to our heavenly Father. We should fear not living up to the standard our Father has set for us. We should fear making decisions that restrict us from reaching the plan, purpose and potential that He has planned for us

The bottom line and the liberating news is that we need only fear one thing and one thing only. That one legitimate fear we should have is in fact a healthy fear of God.
So aside from God what illegitimate fear do you harbor?

The truth about fear is that it zaps our energy, reduces confidence, and enslaves us. Fear is weakness that drains our strength. Fear both creates the environment of and is failure. Fear arises as a direct result of our insecurities. Fear results from our desire to feed our ego. It results from our insecurity and need to have others think that we are winners. Fear is the direct result of not trusting the word, commitment, and oath of our Father. Fear freezes our ability to make decisions when they need to be made. Fear causes us to lose valuable opportunities. Fear reduces our opportunity for success. Fear stinks!
It is important to think about, remember, and hold on to with a death grip that that the fear of situations, outcomes and people does not come from God. We must each come to terms with the reality that fear heightens our imaginations and can magnify a depth and width of a problem until it seems insurmountable.
Fortunately for us, the good news is that there is no reason to live in fear when you have a personal relationship with God. If you have decided to trust the Father then fear not.

Here is what the Lord has to say about Dealing With Fear in His word.

(1) In Genesis 15:1 - "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
(2) In Joshua 1:9 - “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
(3) In Judges 7:3 - announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.' " So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.
(4) In Psalm 23:4 - “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
(5) In Isaiah 41:10 - “So do not fear, for I am with you; 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.”
(6) In 2 Timothy 1:7 - “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
(7) In 1 John 4:18 - “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
(8) In Hebrews 13 - “So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
(9) In 2 Corinthians 5:10-11 - “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.”
(10) In John 14:26-27 - “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Here are Six (6) tips to Deal with Fear:
1. PUT GOD FIRST- Christ must be at the center of everything. The Bible teaches us that our one and only priority is to keep Him, His Kingdom, and His righteousness first in everything. His will and our service to Him is our priority.
2. Identify and Address your Core Fear- What are you fearful of and why do you fear it.
3. Change your Thought Process- Get Positive in thought and word. Negativity breads fear. You will never get passed your fear until to believe that you have nothing to fear except fear itself.
4. Study positive, affirming scripture – Memorize and recite the scripture referenced above. It will give you the confidence and strength to deal with your fear. Pray Persistently.
5. Use Biblical Solutions to deal with the Fear- What does the Bible say about how to deal with the Fear. Follow His word and way and everything will turn out for the good.
6. Faithfully Pray - Seek a constant personal relationship with your heavenly Father. Take the time to actually ask your Father to guide your decision process. With committed, trusting friends, associates, accountability partners and family at our sides, learn how to truly seek His will. God will free us from the past, handle the day-to-day pressures in the present and move forward to the future He has planned.

Fear and worry go hand in hand. Both affect our willingness and confidence to take chances on ourselves. Although both fear and worry are unavoidable we do possess the ability and strength to limit the amount of damage that we allow them to extract and the number of opportunities lost as a result of their negative influence in our lives. Make a decision today to deal with your fears head up. Refuse to back down.

Six Questions To Deal With Fear:
1.Would you rate yourself as: a) Seldom afraid, b) Occasionally afraid, or c) Often afraid? Why?

2. How do you typically react to something you fear? (Examples – avoid, confront, ignore, freeze up etc.)

3. In what ways do you feel fear works for you?

4. In what ways do you feel fear works against you?

5. What is one thing you could do, more often, to overcome fears that keep you from doing something you should do, or from dealing with something you should deal with?

6. If you wrote one goal about fear, what would you say?

To effectively deal with fear we need to have both a strong sense of self-confidence and a clear mind in order that we might see and understand events in their proper perspective. The problem that all to often arises is that many individuals fear what people think and say about them far more than they fear disappointing God.

The result of this thought process ends being that our fears, the need to appease others who cross our path, and our internal conflict over how others view us end up being a hindrance from our ability to take the steps necessary to please God. The clutter of all this confusion makes it all but impossible to make decisions that we feel good about.

So in the end it is clear that fear results from our personal insecurities of both the known and unknown. We know that fear gets in the way and causes us to stop, second guess, and question the sovereignty of God’s will.

In His word Jesus instructs us that fear results from straying from God’s word and way. The good news is that based upon the bible, His word frees us from all fear and admonishes us that the only fear that God encourages in a Christian’s life is the fear of God. With that being said fear, the negative and often debilitating emotional responses that often accompany it, should not be allowed to interfere with our decision-making or the success that springs from sound decisions.

As a final thought on this subject there is no reason to live in fear when you have a personal relationship with the Father. Pray to God that He frees you from any fear that you are experiencing and to open your eyes to the truth. As He reveals the reality of the situation, He will enable you to over come your fear.

PRACTICE: To practice these skills consider making a list of three unnecessary irrational fears that you experience most. Once this is accomplished develop a short action step for dealing with each of these. This skill is very important to develop as often fear of the unknown, or what we can’t control often are the elements that prevent us from getting those real answers, real solutions, and real results which we desire and expect when we make decisions.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father all honor, praise and glory to you. Your name is a might tower of strength and all who run to it are both safe and saved. Thank you for the many blessing that you have chosen to provide in my life. Father In Isaiah 41:10 you mix no words “So do not fear, for I am with you; 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.” I come to you seek only your love and the strength that comes from that love. With you watching over me I fear not, forging forward doing your work. Thank you father for being here for me. In Jesus name.

Article Source: http://christian-topics.info

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