“God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.” ~ 2 Timothy 1:7
We all experience fear at different times in our lives. Momentary fear is natural. Fears that keep us from doing something begin to control us. Nearly 10% of the U.S. population is affected by some sort of phobia which is really a case of extreme fear. The difference between giving in to fear and conquering it is one word: ACTION! It’s not that we won’t ever be afraid or experience fear it’s that we are to face our fears as children of God with our FAITH! Faith causes us to take action in the presence of fear. When we focus on fear it will cloud our thinking, torment us, cause us to act irrationally and keep us from all we can and should be with God’s help. “The Lord is our light and our salvation, whom shall we fear?” says Psalms 27:1.
Extremely fearful people will speak fear into our lives and situations if we let them. Gideon was headed into battle and God told him to get rid of all the soldiers who were afraid. He lost about 2/3 of his soldiers that day! Going into battle with a lesser amount of soldiers than I started with is not my idea of improving my odds in a fight. In fact, I think it would make even the fiercest of warriors afraid. But like Gideon and his warriors, we can’t let fear be a major obstacle in our lives. We must refuse to be ruled by fear. When we replace “I Can’t” with “I Can” we really can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Think about it! ~ Pastor Paul
