dealing with fear

dealing with fear

There are so many things that breed fear and bring fear into our lives, yet the perspective we have on life gives us the tools to deal with fear.  You and I have life experiences that make fear either increase or decrease.  When we allow fear to live and grow in our lives, our effectiveness and our confidence goes away.

It may be some kind of fear that is attached to the bad choices we have made or the addictions that we have in our lives.  We take a few steps forward, and at that point we fear making bad choices that will set us back.  Or maybe we’ve made a bad choice that slaps us down.

Fear comes forward like a tsunami when we have no margin in our lives.  Margin is what I have been sharing with my The Community Fellowship family this month.  Margin is the amount available beyond what is necessary.  Margin could be the amount of money we have, the confidence we have, the faith we hold, relationships we are in, the family we love and so many other things. Do we have margin in life?

It is a fact that not dealing with fear will rob you and I of margin.  It will take the margin we have, and it will hold back the margin we are trying to get.

2 Timothy 1:7 NLT

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

Philippians 4:6 NLT

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

How are we dealing with fear?  Are we dealing with God?  Fear doesn’t come from God.  God gives us what we need to deal with fear in a positive.  For the person who is thinking about and pushing toward God, fear is removed and faith is left in its place.

By properly dealing with fear we will have more and more margin in our lives.  Listen in to some of the things that Perry Noble, pastor of NewSpring Church, says about fear.

·      Fear forces a leader to embrace the “way things are” rather than how they should be.

·      Fear causes a leader to think more about what they have to lose rather than what the Kingdom has to gain.

·      Fear makes a person depend on their power and ability rather than God’s.

·      Fear leads to impulsive and unwise decisions rather than prayed through and processed ones."

I am grateful that God is leading me, my family and our church to have more margin.  He is also leading me to better deal with the fear that comes into my life.  That means trusting God more and trusting me less in dealing with fear.

1 John 4:18 NLT

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.