Overcoming the Fear Factor!
By: Renee Swope
[{'base': u'', 'type': 'text/html', 'value': u'By Micca Campbell
Worry, fear and anxiety were never meant to be a part of our vocabulary, and yet most of us worry more than we\u2019d care to admit. What are you afraid of? Are you scared of waking up to an intruder in the middle of the night? Perhaps it\u2019s flying on an airplane. Maybe it\u2019s the fear of sending your child off to college. Your greatest fear might be not being able to provide for your family. Most of us can identify a few that haunts us.
Panic best describes the emotion I felt when the nurse rolled Jimmy into the living room. Jimmy was the father of my son\u2019s friend. Beset with diabetes, doctors had amputated both of his legs and most of his fingers. Jimmy was at the end of his life, but refused to let go. Concerned about whether or not Jimmy knew the Lord, I phoned his wife, Juanita, and asked if I could visit him. I wanted to be sure Jimmy would meet his Creator as Savior when that day came.
Jimmy\u2019s deteriorating condition took me by surprise. When I saw him, I was terrified. I whispered to the Lord under my breath, "Oh, God, how can I minister to this man when I don\'t know what he\'s been through?" Even though I was scared stiff, somehow I knew God would show up to do what I couldn\u2019t \u2026 and that\u2019s exactly what He did. As Jimmy and I talked, it was apparent he knew the Father, but I sensed there was more. We weren\u2019t far into our conversation when I discovered the real trouble - Jimmy was afraid to die.
I told Jimmy Bible stories about God sending angels to people in need, people just like him. Those angels had a special message: \u201cFear not, for God is with you!\u201d As I shared with Jimmy, peace washed over his face as he received the message for himself.
At Jimmy\'s funeral, his wife shared his last moments with me. Jimmy would often wake from his sleep wide-eyed and call out, "I\'m afraid!" Juanita would pat him gently and remind him of God\'s promise: "Don\'t be afraid, Jimmy. God is with you." Then he would sleep again. The last time Jimmy opened his eyes, he just stared at the ceiling. His wife asked, "Jimmy, are you afraid?" Jimmy whispered, "No, I\'m not afraid. I\'m just looking at the angels." With that, Jimmy stepped from this world into the next.
I find it interesting that while Jimmy\u2019s outcome didn\u2019t change, the way he experienced death changed because he trusted in the promise of God. I experienced this same truth in my life. Even though I pleaded with God to save my first husband from death, it wasn\u2019t God\u2019s plan. Yet I chose to trust God\u2019s purpose. In spite of my fear, I chose to believe what I couldn\u2019t understand. Doing so changed the way I journeyed through life and the valley of death. I had a companion named Jesus.
Jimmy\u2019s story reminds me that when I\u2019m afraid, I need not fret because the same promise God made to Jimmy, He makes to you and me: \u201cFear not, child, for I am with you.\u201d In fact, did you know that the phrase \u201cfear not\u201d is stated in the Bible 366 times? That\u2019s one \u201cfear not\u201d for every day of the year, with one extra left over for those really hard days. Why does God faithfully remind us over and over to \u201cfear not\u201d? He does so because we are not created to live in fear.
Second Timothy 1:7 tells us, \u201cFor God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.\u201d You and I were created to live by faith, and in God we have all the power we need for a faith that is stronger than all our fears.
It\u2019s a Problem of Faith
The truth is, most of what we worry about never happens, but we insist on tormenting ourselves anyway. Worrying about what may or may not happen can nearly drive us crazy. A lot can go wrong in life, but God doesn\u2019t want us to become worrywarts.
It takes faith to battle fear and learn to live with assurance in a God we can bank on. Unfortunately, most people go through life missing opportunities because they\u2019re afraid to really live the way God intended. Fear becomes a stumbling block that leaves us with regrets. Relying on our faith allows us to live fearlessly.
False Advertisement
My youngest son loves chocolate milk. One day as I stirred syrup into a tall glass of milk, I noticed that the label on the bottle read \u201cGenuine Artificial Flavor.\u201d I was shocked! What appeared to look and taste real was actually artificial! I felt cheated and deceived. This was false advertisement.
In the same way, the father of lies specializes in false advertisement. He\u2019s good at making our fears look real when they are not. In fact, Satan\u2019s greatest tool for causing us to doubt God\u2019s protection is the fear that God will not follow through with His promises. The enemy works hard to convince us that God is too busy to do anything about our concerns. If anything is going to be done about our situation, we\u2019ll have to do it ourselves.
Like the legendary \u201cboogeyman,\u201d Satan\u2019s spooks are all smoke and mirrors. We can easily expose his trickery by determining if there is really something to fear or if our concerns are simply\u2026
False
Evidence
Appearing
Real
This acrostic for fear is the kind of shock wave Satan uses to stun us. While the sting of fright feels real, in truth it\u2019s merely Satan\u2019s trickery that gets our heart pounding. It\u2019s important for you and me to determine if our fears are real or simply Satan\u2019s hocus-pocus. If it\u2019s a real concern, I heed its warning. On the other hand, if my worry is false evidence that just appears real, then I know the enemy is involved.
You may be skeptical right now, but when you realize you were created for faith, not fear, things will begin to change for you. You\u2019ll learn how to rely on God\u2019s care while giving Him your cares, be able to identify His goodness and mercy in your life, and overcome your fears of loneliness and insecurity. Before you know it, you\u2019ll be able to say along with Paul, \u201cI can do all things through Christ who strengthens me\u201d (Philippians 4:13).', 'language': None}]
Worry, fear and anxiety were never meant to be a part of our vocabulary, and yet most of us worry more than we\u2019d care to admit. What are you afraid of? Are you scared of waking up to an intruder in the middle of the night? Perhaps it\u2019s flying on an airplane. Maybe it\u2019s the fear of sending your child off to college. Your greatest fear might be not being able to provide for your family. Most of us can identify a few that haunts us.
Panic best describes the emotion I felt when the nurse rolled Jimmy into the living room. Jimmy was the father of my son\u2019s friend. Beset with diabetes, doctors had amputated both of his legs and most of his fingers. Jimmy was at the end of his life, but refused to let go. Concerned about whether or not Jimmy knew the Lord, I phoned his wife, Juanita, and asked if I could visit him. I wanted to be sure Jimmy would meet his Creator as Savior when that day came.
Jimmy\u2019s deteriorating condition took me by surprise. When I saw him, I was terrified. I whispered to the Lord under my breath, "Oh, God, how can I minister to this man when I don\'t know what he\'s been through?" Even though I was scared stiff, somehow I knew God would show up to do what I couldn\u2019t \u2026 and that\u2019s exactly what He did. As Jimmy and I talked, it was apparent he knew the Father, but I sensed there was more. We weren\u2019t far into our conversation when I discovered the real trouble - Jimmy was afraid to die.
I told Jimmy Bible stories about God sending angels to people in need, people just like him. Those angels had a special message: \u201cFear not, for God is with you!\u201d As I shared with Jimmy, peace washed over his face as he received the message for himself.
At Jimmy\'s funeral, his wife shared his last moments with me. Jimmy would often wake from his sleep wide-eyed and call out, "I\'m afraid!" Juanita would pat him gently and remind him of God\'s promise: "Don\'t be afraid, Jimmy. God is with you." Then he would sleep again. The last time Jimmy opened his eyes, he just stared at the ceiling. His wife asked, "Jimmy, are you afraid?" Jimmy whispered, "No, I\'m not afraid. I\'m just looking at the angels." With that, Jimmy stepped from this world into the next.
I find it interesting that while Jimmy\u2019s outcome didn\u2019t change, the way he experienced death changed because he trusted in the promise of God. I experienced this same truth in my life. Even though I pleaded with God to save my first husband from death, it wasn\u2019t God\u2019s plan. Yet I chose to trust God\u2019s purpose. In spite of my fear, I chose to believe what I couldn\u2019t understand. Doing so changed the way I journeyed through life and the valley of death. I had a companion named Jesus.
Jimmy\u2019s story reminds me that when I\u2019m afraid, I need not fret because the same promise God made to Jimmy, He makes to you and me: \u201cFear not, child, for I am with you.\u201d In fact, did you know that the phrase \u201cfear not\u201d is stated in the Bible 366 times? That\u2019s one \u201cfear not\u201d for every day of the year, with one extra left over for those really hard days. Why does God faithfully remind us over and over to \u201cfear not\u201d? He does so because we are not created to live in fear.
Second Timothy 1:7 tells us, \u201cFor God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.\u201d You and I were created to live by faith, and in God we have all the power we need for a faith that is stronger than all our fears.
It\u2019s a Problem of Faith
The truth is, most of what we worry about never happens, but we insist on tormenting ourselves anyway. Worrying about what may or may not happen can nearly drive us crazy. A lot can go wrong in life, but God doesn\u2019t want us to become worrywarts.
It takes faith to battle fear and learn to live with assurance in a God we can bank on. Unfortunately, most people go through life missing opportunities because they\u2019re afraid to really live the way God intended. Fear becomes a stumbling block that leaves us with regrets. Relying on our faith allows us to live fearlessly.
False Advertisement
My youngest son loves chocolate milk. One day as I stirred syrup into a tall glass of milk, I noticed that the label on the bottle read \u201cGenuine Artificial Flavor.\u201d I was shocked! What appeared to look and taste real was actually artificial! I felt cheated and deceived. This was false advertisement.
In the same way, the father of lies specializes in false advertisement. He\u2019s good at making our fears look real when they are not. In fact, Satan\u2019s greatest tool for causing us to doubt God\u2019s protection is the fear that God will not follow through with His promises. The enemy works hard to convince us that God is too busy to do anything about our concerns. If anything is going to be done about our situation, we\u2019ll have to do it ourselves.
Like the legendary \u201cboogeyman,\u201d Satan\u2019s spooks are all smoke and mirrors. We can easily expose his trickery by determining if there is really something to fear or if our concerns are simply\u2026
False
Evidence
Appearing
Real
This acrostic for fear is the kind of shock wave Satan uses to stun us. While the sting of fright feels real, in truth it\u2019s merely Satan\u2019s trickery that gets our heart pounding. It\u2019s important for you and me to determine if our fears are real or simply Satan\u2019s hocus-pocus. If it\u2019s a real concern, I heed its warning. On the other hand, if my worry is false evidence that just appears real, then I know the enemy is involved.
You may be skeptical right now, but when you realize you were created for faith, not fear, things will begin to change for you. You\u2019ll learn how to rely on God\u2019s care while giving Him your cares, be able to identify His goodness and mercy in your life, and overcome your fears of loneliness and insecurity. Before you know it, you\u2019ll be able to say along with Paul, \u201cI can do all things through Christ who strengthens me\u201d (Philippians 4:13).', 'language': None}]
About the Author
{'href': u'http://www.blogger.com/profile/04258797591709109230', 'name': u'Renee Swope', 'email': u'renee@proverbs31.org'}