Take That Leap!

I know fear.  We've been like this {visualize me holding up 2 fingers twisted together} for a long while now.  Yep, we're old...  hmmm, I'm not sure what the word is - not friends...  Acquaintances?  Inseparable enemies?  I don't know, but one thing I do: it hasn't been a stellar association & it isn't a relationship from above.

God did not give us a spirit of fear {that's straight from 1 Timothy 1:7}.  Then, why can't I shake this?  How did this happen?  Let's look at what fear does first.

Fear causes us to make hasty, unwise decisions & it can paralyze us from taking the bold, risky steps God is calling us to.  It whispers every founded & unfounded "what-if."  It knows how to trigger our deepest dread &, if given the space & time, it will completely plunge our hope into utter darkness.

But if God did not give us a spirit of fear, who did?  That may be the easiest answer of the day: the enemy of our souls, Satan.  How do we combat fear?  That answer is a little more difficult.  What's the hardest part?  Putting it into practice when fear has become the default mode of a weary heart.

In all honesty, fear & I haven't always been so close.  Sometimes, when fear has come knocking, I've kicked him to the curb like a super-ninja with mad street skills.  But, after awhile I stopped going to my ninja training class {yep, I never got my diploma... sad}.  Anywho {& back to reality}, after multiple attacks from fear, its whispered lies {because who knows lies like he whose native tongue is lying (John 8:44)} started to sound like rock-solid truths.  Weakness won out, & taking my eyes off Jesus I began to focus on the anxiety that burdened my very bones.  Fear is a thief that wants to rob us ultimately of our very life.

So, what's the plan?  How do we fight?  Fear is such a multi-faceted, personal, evil-transformer kinda thing in its victim's lives that there's not a single ninja training video that can be presented.  Yep, that's messy real-world for ya.

Here's some starting places, however...

• Replace the lies with God's Truth!  Read His Word.  {Click here for some of my favorite scriptures on dealing with fear.}
• Let it out.  Talk with trusted, faithful family & friends.  Ask them to pray for you concerning this.  Christian counselors are also a godly resource & help.
• Find something that takes your mind off fear, & back on Jesus.  Sing worship songs, hang out with godly friends, or volunteer to help those who need it.  Fear doesn't thrive in such places.
• Pray.  Pray.  And pray some more.  It's true that God already knows what we need & what we are going to say, but He wants to hear it from us & it blesses us to speak to Him & expectantly await His loving reply.

This won't be an overnight change, it will be a journey.  Some days I battle hard & win, others I don't.  But through Jesus we can do all things {Philippians 4:13}!  Take that leap, & leave fear behind you, a fuller life through Christ's strength lies just beyond that anxious place you've been calling home.

Love & Fearlessness,
-Bess-

P.S.: Truth: I wrote this for my own fearful heart.  I pray it blesses yours, too.

Help us, Lord, to take a fearless leap knowing You will catch us.  In Jesus' Name, Amen.