FEAR FACTOR
January 22, 2018
Payer: Lord help me not to live a life of fear but of faith in You.
Scripture: “I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. 5 “But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! 6 “Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. Luke 12:4-7 NAS
Fear can be a terrible stronghold in a person’s life. Fear is actually the opposite of faith. When we operate in fear we tell God that He is not big enough or trustworthy enough; that somehow the thing we fear is bigger than God. When we read it that way, fear really does not make a whole lot of sense, does it?
People fear many things. I have spent years battling fear; fear of failure was my worst enemy. How does it manipulate or change the way you wish you could live life? What do your student’s fear? How deep do you see those fears affecting them? What are the consequences? What does fear steal from us?
Faith magnifies God and activates the Spirit in us. Fear hold us captive, faith catapults us into amazing opportunities, achieving dreams, and new experiences. Fear keeps us from trying, faith perseveres. Fear manipulates, faith motivates. Fear steals, faith reveals.
Faith seeks to glorify God; it trusts Him with the results of all that matters to us. Faith allows God access to every area of our lives and says, “Glorify Yourself in my need, and my weakness. Faith is strengthened in prayer and with fellowship of other Christians. Faith waits when God says, “Wait,” and moves when God says, “Move.” Faith does not analyze God, it obeys.
Fear controls, but faith brings freedom. Fear brings worry, faith builds confidence. Fear steals our opportunities and our happiness, faith provides and brings joy. Now, what do you fear? I have learned that the only thing I have to fear is disobedience to God.
Copyright Kathy Branzell. Email [email protected]
Thank you so much for this! I so needed this today! I’m a student teacher and I am being observed teaching a math lesson today. Math is not my strongest area generally, so I am feeling very nervous! Thank you for reminding me to live by faith, not by fear!
Father, fill Stacey with your peace today. Lord, we ask for your perfect love that casts out fear to be over her in Jesus’ name. I pray for favor from her master teacher, and that you would prepare her to be the teacher you are calling her to be. Give her eyes to see her students how you see them, and also to see herself as you see her. In Jesus name.
Amen! Another way God has been teaching me this lesson is to have NO IDOLS, then there is NO FEAR. As soon as I see fear popping up in my heart and mind, I have to ask myself, “What idol am I lifting up in place of Almighty God?” Once I can identify the idol, I can surrender it to God, and His PEACE which passes understanding fills my heart again, along with joy, confidence, love, and all the other treasures robbed by fear. I can trust Him and obey Him, and know that the consequences are in His Sovereign Hands. Thank you for this wonderful reminder, to reinforce what God was just teaching me. My husband is the teacher, and forwards these to me each morning. I am always blessed.
WOW! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I needed that lesson. May God continue to inspire you so you can inspire me. I’m a grandmother caring for 3 grandchildren 2, 4 and 13. I’ m also a retired teacher -42 years and have given God back 3 of 4 children and a husband. Your writing really helps me understand the power and awesomeness of God our father, the Lord Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you