Fear…a Message from God?

I've been thinking a lot about fear and doubt lately. It seems that it's a common stumbling block….I've talked about it a lot lately with people in business and in my personal life. The trend seems to be like this:

- a seed of an exciting idea starts to take hold
- a persons steps forward in faith and pursues it
- it's scary

- that person starts to think that their fear and doubt is from God- thinking the fear is a message from God, the person is completely sidetracked or stopped all together from pursuing the good thing they set out after. They start thinking "maybe God doesn't want me here, and that's why I'm afraid". Or they think, "Oh no, God is preparing me for something terrible!"

My personal "trick" for fighting through the fear (not around it or running the other direction….STRAIGHT THROUGH) is to have a verse or two that I repeat to myself until it becomes my new truth. I've been known to go on a run and say "I can do all things through Christ" for the entire 2.5 miles 

But here's the thing….GOD DOES NOT LEAD US WITH FEAR. God leads with peace and courage and hope and love. Does debilitating fear sound like something from a loving Father? Does it make sense for our God to lead us with fear after He's told us, "I have a plan for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future." ?

NO….this is precisely why we must focus on the truth of the Word…right there in black and white….vs our feelings, which are soft and squishy and change with every passing moment.

In fact 1 John 4:18 tells us "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment."

God is love. God casts OUT fear.

Another good one to meditate on is "He who is in me is greater….greater than the enemy….greater than my fears….greater than my doubt."

Or, before I pick up the phone to talk to someone who feels scary to me, I say "I trust you, Lord."

I can do all things

My God is always with me

My God is greater than ALL

I trust you, Lord

PS. This is a continuous battle. There are days when I feel crushed beneath the fear and doubt and ugliness. In fact, I sit here right NOW feeling vulnerable and afraid and nervous about hitting that 'post' button! So here we go….stepping out in faith and hope...