Fighting Fear
I have struggled with fear throughout my life. As I've grown, my fears have changed. For years I never truly recognized that I had allowed fear to overcome me, to have free reign in my mind and heart, and go unchecked and unchallenged.
There came a time when I finally recognized my problem.
I was newly married with our first baby. My husband worked nights at the time, and I was terrified to be home alone. After I would put my son to bed each night, I would sit in our living room with the lights on afraid to go to bed until I finally gave way to exhaustion. Frequently, while lying in bed, I would be consumed with "what if" thoughts and anxiety about the unknown.
This was not healthy and the Spirit was convicting me and drawing me to this Truth: "God gave us a spirit NOT of fear but of power and love and a sound mind." (1Timothy 1:7)
The Lord gives us:
Power: the ability and strength to overcome fear
Love: the ability to love others as He holds us with His perfect love
A Sound Mind: the ability to be disciplined in the way we think and respond, the ability to reign in, check and challenge our fears
As I realized my problem the Lord showed me through His Word how to fight fear head on and how to become a woman who fears-less!
TWO EXAMPLES IN THE BIBLE
1. David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17)
Goliath was the champion of the Philistine army fighting against the Israelites. He was nine feet tall, donned in 121 pounds of armor, and wielded a 15 pound sword. He taunted the Israelites saying, "Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us. I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together." (1 Samuel 17:9-10)
David was a shepherd and the youngest of seven brothers in his Israelite family. David's father sent him to see how his three brothers, who were part of the Israelite army, were doing. When David heard Goliath taunting his fellow Israelites, he asked, "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" David saw how the Israelite men were afraid and no one dared fight Goliath, so David approached the King and said, "Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."
So David went out to meet Goliath with his shepherd's sling and five smooth stones. Goliath said, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?...Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field."
Then David said, "You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head...that all the assembly may know that the Lord saves not with a sword and a spear. For the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hand."
What did David do?
He recognized that Goliath was a source of fear
He believed that God was alive and stronger
He chose to fight Goliath
He trusted in the Lord to give him victory over Goliath
He declared Truth to Goliath
David knew the battle belonged to the Lord. David did not praise and trust in his sling and stones. It was the Lord who would give him victory.
2. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3)
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had a golden statue built. The statue was 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide. When it was completed, he gathered together all the rulers from the provinces of Babylon to come and worship the statue. Whoever did not worship the statue would be cast into a burning, fiery furnace.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were Israelites that had been taken captive when Babylon conquered the nation of Israel. In their captivity, they had been appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon. When they were gathered to the statue, with all the other rulers, they did not worship it. King Nebuchadnezzar was angry and said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? If you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?"
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."
So the king, filled with fury, ordered the furnace be heated seven times more than usual and that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be thrown in. So they were bound and thrown in.
What did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego do?
They confronted the king's challenge with Truth
They believed God would deliver them from the king's hand
They trusted in God's sovereignty to deliver or not to deliver them from the furnace
They resisted giving into fear by refusing to worship the golden statue
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego trusted God to deliver them from the king's hand even if that meant not delivering them from the immediate danger of the fire. They knew God was trustworthy no matter what the earthly outcome was. WOW!
If you are familiar with these stories, then you know that the Lord gives David victory over Goliath and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are delivered from the fiery furnace.
FOCUS ON GOD'S CHARACTER
David knew that God was more powerful and stronger than any enemy Israel had. He knew that the battle was ultimately the Lord's and that He would decide the victory, not Goliath.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew that God was powerful enough to deliver them from the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. They knew that He alone was worthy of praise, whether He delivered them in this life or not.
REMEMBER HIS PROMISES
Hebrew 13:5-6 says, "be content with what you have, for he (the Lord) has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"
This means that no matter what man is capable of doing to us, our God is always with us.
Romans 8:35, 37-39 says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
This means that the love of Christ holds us and nothing, even things that can cause us to fear, can separate us from His love. We are conquers through Him!
These men fought their fears by declaring who God was. They focused on the ONLY invincible God not on the visible fear.
God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, so we can fight our fears similarly today.
Jesus sits at the right hand of God interceding for His people, those who believe in Him. He already knows our every fear and cares about our every concern! We can talk to Him about anything and everything!
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7)
God has giving us a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind, so we can:
Recognize fear
Focus on God's character
Remember His promises
Confront fear
Speak Truth to our fears about who God is
Trust in the Sovereignty of God
Overcome fear
No matter what our fears are, we can trust in the Lord just as David, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did so many years ago.
We can be women and men who fear-less because of who our God is. He is the Victor! No matter what the earthly outcome, we know that God will ultimately deliver us from ALL fear when He brings us home to Heaven to be with Him forever.
Blessings,
Amy
