What Are You Afraid Of?

It is hard not to have fear living in this world today with all its uncertainty. Life is full of all sorts of fears; terrorism, the economy, the safety of loved ones, a dreaded diagnoses, losing a job…the list goes on endlessly. Maybe you have fears about loneliness, fears about being accepted by others, fears of failure or rejection. Fear is supposed to be a normal response to the dangers around us, but when it becomes an overwhelming emotion that starts to rob us of our identity in the Good Shepherd it can feel tormenting. It can have a powerful influence over how we think and act.

I know this fear very well. It stripped me of my power, my love, and made me lose all sense of control of who I was. It caused physical and mental reactions that also made me feel like I had no control over my life. It was the kind of fear that overwhelmed me with anxiety and made me feel like the world was closing in around me and I couldn’t breath. A tightness gripped my chest and with each breath I tried to take it only seemed to confirm that I was suffocating. It kept me from living a joyful life, and having a joyful spirit which would have allowed me to help others. It would keep me awake at night with nightmares. This fear was paralyzing, confusing, and wreaking chaos in my body and in my mind. I went to great lengths to avoid what frightened me and that was keeping me from overcoming my past emotional wounds. It was also keeping me from what the Good Shepherd wanted for my life.

This intense feeling of fear is not normal and DOES NOT come from a loving Good Shepherd. He did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7) I had to make a decision to either hide in my fears or trust the Good Shepherd, face my fears, and not run away from them anymore. So how do we free ourselves from the grip of fear and the stress of those fears that take a toll on our lives physically, emotionally, and mentally? What is this “fear” that immobilizes us, calling the shots and robbing us of our peace of mind and keeps us from serving the Good Shepherd like we should?

In Philippians 4:6-8(NLT) it says:  Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

I have read this verse a lot this week. It tells me to think on the things that are true, right, pure, lovely, excellent, and praiseworthy, but this week my thoughts have been focused on my fears and the ugliness of this world I live in. While I was sharing some of my fears with my friend the other day I started to realize how much they had taken ahold of me and they were starting to take me back to a place I definitely did not want to go.

Satan was using his spirit of fear to paralyze me and make me feel debilitated. And yes, I did call it a spirit because fear is more than just a feeling that affects our soul. It is a tormenting spirit that brings anxiety, dread, terror and fright. It removes any sense of security from your heart and tells you that there is no way out . It is relentless. If we open the door to fear it will attack us physically, mentally, and spiritually.

If I continued to let myself be controlled by my fears I would open myself up to Satan’s attacks. I was forgetting that the Good Shepherd is my protection, He is my refuge, He is my security, He is my help, and He is my hope! We are all vulnerable to fear so it is important how we react to it when it grips our soul. We can choose to allow it to take up residence in us and build a stronghold that reinforces it’s plan to steal, kill and destroy. Or we can remind ourselves that the Good Shepherd is on our side! He IS taking care of us and He IS fighting for us and with us.

Once again I was reminded I need to face my fears and stand firm against them even if it make my knees shake. I need to ask the Good Shepherd to strengthen me because I do not want to be controlled by my fears. I am determined that my life is not going to be ruled again by the spirit of fear. I want to live courageously in the freedom that the Good Shepherd has promised me. I want to be able to walk in boldness and be free from fear because I know that I belong to the Good Shepherd and He promises never to leave me or forsake me!

Fear cannot be wished or hoped away. It must be dealt with and confronted. Don’t allow it to intimidate you. Concentrate on the promises of the Good Shepherd when you are gripped by fear. It is true, we live in a body of flesh, but we do not fight like the people of the world. We use the things God gives us to fight with and they have power. They destroy the strong-places of the devil. They break down every thought and proud thing that puts itself up against the wisdom of God. We take hold of every on of our thoughts and make them obey Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:3-7 paraphrased)

If you are struggling with the spirit of fear, I encourage you to begin by “taking all thoughts captive” and “meditate night and day on whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

This is your life, GO LIVE IT to the fullest. Don’t let some stupid spirit of fear hold you back for enjoying everything the Good Shepherd has to offer.