FEAR-LESS
October 19, 2021
Prayer: Dear Lord, You know the things I fear. When my heart grows faint within me, empower me with Your courage and boldness. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Scripture: I sought the Lord, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. Psalm 34:4-5
During the month of October, scary decorations show up on front porches and haunted houses pop up around town. In most cases it is just an expression of the upcoming night of Halloween, and although Christians can differ quite strongly on their opinions, from a fun night of dressing up to trick-or-treat, to promoting the worship of Satan, this is not the time or focus of this message, so I beg you to stay on track with me.The point of this that stuck me is that there is nothing fun or funny about real fear.
If we would all be transparent here, we would admit that we all fear something. I will go first; fear is one of my biggest obstacles. Recently, one of my closest friends drew back in surprise when I confessed this to our small group Bible study. “You, fearful?” she gasped. “You do so many things!” “You travel and speak publicly; you write books and witness to strangers about the love of God.” “You have faced many trials and unknowns.” She continued, “What are you afraid of?” “All of those things” I answered.
I fear new things, the unknown, change, going new places, and doing things I have never done before, but there is an underlying fear for those fears. I fear letting God down; I fear failure. What have I learned that keeps me typing and boarding airplanes? I have learned that when fear gets a grip on me, something wonderful is about to happen and Satan is not happy about it. I have learned that the only real failure is not trying at all. I have learned that God desires BIG princes and princesses to wear crowns in heaven, not weak-willed wimps. I have learned that facing my fears is an act of faith – walking by faith and not sight, relying on God and not my own strength or understanding. I have learned that change only comes by changing. I have learned that fear is a tool and my actions or lack of action determines whose hand I am placing it in. If I trust God and move forward, it expands God’s kingdom. If I am frozen with fear and do not act on the opportunities or challenges presented to me, then Satan scores a point and I miss the blessing. Note that God never loses, but I do if I listen to the voice of fear instead of the voice of Truth.
Okay, it is your turn. What do you really fear? Have you learned any lessons from this fear? Does your life currently reflect an overcoming of this fear, a fight with this fear, or are you gripped by this fear? Remember these as ongoing prayer requests. You may overcome these fears once but Satan will for sure try to use them again. The good news is that God is always there to strengthen and sustain you in every battle.
My prayer for you this week is that you would fear- less.
Copyright Kathy Branzell. To connect with the author, email [email protected]
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Thank you. I too have learned that the underlying cause of many of my struggles is fear. Your message is a keeper. I am tucking it into my Bible.
Fear has held me back from many things in my life that I know would have been great blessings but now that I know that God put me here to be fear-less I am able to move past that and not let the devil steal anything that I desire to do for the kingdom