“Fear
imprisons, faith liberates; fear paralyzes, faith empowers; fear disheartens,
faith encourages; fear sickens, faith heals; fear makes useless, faith makes
serviceable.” -Harry Emerson
Fosdick
Fear, though invisible, is something that can either propel us forward or keep us stuck. It doesn’t take much to scare us; in fact it’s usually a tiny seed in our thoughts that creates an imagined problem or outcome that constructs an invisible prison.
Fear:
An unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or
something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat; Dread, dismay,
trepidation, panic.
Consider this, every big and good
thing comes on the other side of fear; promotion, changes, having your first
child, getting married, a new job or friendship.
Fear has trapped me for a large
amount of my life. Fear was originally designed to keep us
safe. It was an internal alarm system that would go off when real
life or death situations arose. Growing up in my
house was a daily struggle with fear. This fear was needed to keep
me aware and to try and protect myself (which did not always protect me).
Damaging Fear:
*Keeps you stuck and stagnant
*Causes phobias, anxiety, illness
and depression
*Makes you doubtful and
distrusting/lack of faith
*Prolongs healing and growth
*Not how God created us to live
*Sees the bad in situations, not the
good
Constructive Fear:
*Protects us/alarms us
*Pushes us to new heights
*Propels us forward
*Shows growth
*Shows healing
Recently, when I have been in
situations that cause me fear and anxiety I have been trying to put things into
perspective. I ask myself:
How will this work out for Gods glory and my good?
Just that question puts me in a
completely different head space. When we put God at the forefront
it allows us to see that this will all work out and it will not be for our
harm.
“For I know
the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not
to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” -Jeremiah 29:11
Living takes risk; there is no way
around that. How you choose to live is a direct choice.
“As you grow, you reach a point where you either move forward or you remain stagnant and miss your life. You either cower in fear to protect yourself, or you take a leap of faith propelled by courage, and you begin to risk.” - Stephen Arterburn
We stay away from risk because we
fear it will cause us pain. When you have been hurt deeply the
last thing you want to do is take that risk again. So you will
build walls of fear as a protection that inevitably become a life sentence in
the prison of your mind; “Those walls have not protected you; they have
infected you.”-Stephen Arterburn
What do you fear in your life at
this moment? Do you have faith that God will be able to use it to
glorify Him and for your ultimate good?
I pray that fear will no longer
hinder you and the plans for your life, In Jesus name, Amen.
Posts
