Stepping Stones: FEAR: Retreat Or Attack?

Transformational Thought

Fear of speaking in class or giving a lecture…of blowing a test or an important performance or game…of parasailing…of taking a new job…of confrontation…of setting a healthy boundary…of having someone angry or upset with me. Wow! For so long, FEAR (False Evidence Appearing Real) really interrupted and crippled my life. Then came the fear about having fear. I was almost paralyzed.

Through Christian counseling, I realized I was hiding my fear…pretending it wasn’t there. When I thought the fear couldn’t get any worse, I discovered that the fear you hide in the recesses of your heart will give birth to the fear of fear … a real monster. The danger of the second fear is that it diverts our focus off the original fear. You see, the first fear was usually planted at a very young age, when we knew little, were very gullible, and weren’t well equipped to handle much stress.

Now as adults, we have the ability to see more clearly the original false evidence that was restricting our lives, and to do something different and better with the same situation. At the very least, if real anxiety exists, we can handle it much better and soothe ourselves in more healthy ways. But we are usually too lazy, in too much of a hurry, or we just don’t know how to go back and deeply re-address those old painful FEARS. When we re-address them, we can access and apply the freedom Christ won for us over those FEARS. Freedom from FEAR is available for each one of us.

Today, acknowledge that your FEARS are flaming arrows of attack from the evil one and bring your fears out into the Light of Your Lord’s presence where you can deal with them openly. The darkness just gives them more power over you. Identify one thing that upsets, alarms, scares, or threatens you. Examine how it influences your decisions. Tell someone about it and ask them to help you identify the False Evidence that Appears Real. It can be very freeing just knowing the cycle can be broken. Click here for our powerful workshop that helps you live the life that is WITHIN REACH as you learn to apply God’s teachings to overcome your FEARS.

Prayer
Dear Beloved Father, I confess that fear has a stronghold on me. I know that most all fear comes from arrows of attack from the enemy. I thank You, Father, for Your Word that teaches me to use my shield of faith to extinguish those flaming arrows. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, Father, so that I might build my faith. Help me understand how to dig deep and uncover those FEARS and bathe them in truth. Help me, Father, to bring all fear to You so that we may deal with them together. I pray, Father, that by concentrating on You and being a good steward of my mind, my fearfulness will lose its foothold on me. I pray in the holy name of my Deliverer, Jesus Christ; and all God’s children said – AMEN!

The Truth
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Ephesians 6:16

The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.
Proverbs 29:25