I want to talk about what I believe to be one of the biggest deterrents to living life to the fullest in Christ. John 10:10 tells us that Jesus came to give us abundant life. This life is available to us through faith in Jesus Christ but there is an enemy to our faith and it is called fear.
I am reading this book that is actually about childbirth but it talks about fear in a way that relates to all areas of life, not just childbirth. Here is what the author says,
You’ll find that fear is your number one enemy no matter what you’re doing. The opposite of fear is faith. When you’re believing God for your health, for your finances, for your family or for anything else, fear is your number one enemy.
I have found this to be very true in my life. In fact I think my tendency to be self-sufficient and long for control stems from fear. I was afraid that people would just let me down and that I had to protect myself because no one else was going to do it. When I find myself turning inward I usually discover that it relates to some fear. And when I turn inward I turn further away from trusting God and living in faith.
If you have areas of fear that you struggle with, I suggest you take some time and ask yourself (and ask the Holy Spirit to bring revelation) “what is it that I am afraid of?” And then consider what is keeping you from living in faith in that area. Have you believed a lie about that area that is supporting your fear rather than feeding your faith to believe God?
Finances were a big area of struggle for me. I had a lot of fear and anxiety over them. I think there were a variety of lies I had been believing over finances but mostly what kept me trapped in fear was misunderstanding about who God was and who I was as His daughter. Once He started to reveal the truth about who He is and who I am in Christ, I was able to begin walking in faith instead of fear.
The author of the book I mentioned above also had some good suggestions on what to do with fear. She says,
But we know what to do with fear. Say out loud, “I rebuke you fear in the name of Jesus. God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. I have God’s perfect love and that perfect love casts out fear.” (2 Tim. 1:7; 1 John 4:18.) You rebuke fear, and fear leaves. But that’s a continuous thing. Fear doesn’t just leave and stay gone forever. It will come around again when you least expect it. So you need to learn to recognize the first symptom if fear, deal with it, get rid of it and go on.
Let’s be a people of faith! Let’s take Jesus at His word and trust Him that He is who He says He is and that we are who He says we are! I want to live the abundant life Christ paid for, don’t you? Let’s not let fear win and keep us from the wonderful life God has for us!
AMAN thank you so much, do not let fear Takeover lives,