Fear is commonly initialed as False Evidence Appearing Real. This means something is superficial. According to some people, this false evidence is a true reality. How pathetic!. On the other hand, as Christians, we have to reject every piece of evidence as a reality not found in the Bible. Find out below how to fight fear whenever you feel it.
No one can claim that they have not experienced fear in one way or another. It is a spirit from the devil to torment everyone and prevent us from believing in God and acting in faith.
Everyone has felt it in one or more of the following ways:
- Fear of failure
- Fear of hardship and difficulty
- Fear of poverty and lack
- Fear of rejection and loneliness
- Fear of uncertainty about the future
According to 2 Tim 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”.
To excel in our spiritual life by having complete faith and trust in God at all times, we need to acknowledge that it is not wrong to feel fear, but it becomes a problem when we harbor it and entertain it above the word of God.
Fear is inevitable in life. However, we can overcome it with the help of the Holy Spirit. God expects us to live faith-filled lives and not fearful lives.
We see in Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Jesus weeps to God as he experiences the horror of being crucified.
We all need to learn from Jesus to deal with this monster at its earliest stage by submitting our wills to the will of God.
Can we pray to God to fight fear?
Also, in Verse 43, Jesus receives strengthening from an angel of God. We can receive sustenance for our purposes if we submit our fears to the will of God.
If Jesus could be afraid even for a short time, it says a lot about us too. Therefore, we should not count it strange and doubt our God when we feel the monster fear threatening us in any aspect.
Just remember, the solution for peace and empowerment only comes when we run back to God. Be honest about the feeling but refuse to let it control you.
For example, eight years ago before I applied for further studies abroad, I had many doubtful questions. Yes, I had had visions 5 years before this time so I was confident to travel. As a result of this assurance, I had saved money and made a passport. Internally, I still had many fearful questions.
Some of them were;
What if my application was denied?
Will I get admission with my grades?
How will I cope with the food and educational system of that country?
How will I survive staying so far from my family?
Those questions sound almost baseless for someone determined to start a new life. Right? I agree. When my admission application was denied in 2014, I became even more fearful and was unwilling to try again. The fear of another rejection made me condemn myself.
Long story short, my cousin encouraged me to reapply the next year and told me to forget the rejection of the previous year. It took a lot of internal mind searching. Finally, I reapplied with more faith and believing in God for success in 2015. The good news is I was admitted and have graduated.
Is it normal to feel and fight fear?
Job felt fear so badly that is why he said What I feared the most has come upon me, Job 3:25. Still, we have to choose not to give up.
Can we admit that most, if not all our failures are connected to fear? We can relate that sometimes the things we feared most are the things that have happened to us.
That goes with the saying when you give place to fear, you give place to the devil.
In all cases, whether we are aware of it or not, fear changes our focus and gives us a negative perspective about God and ourselves. We cannot deny that fear torments, traps our souls, and handcuffs us to misery and self-imprisonment.
It is not extreme to add that, fear has the power to paralyze our potential. And sometimes, it rules our lives and disturbs our sleeping hours too. I have remarked that every time I am restless and cannot find sleep, it is usually because I am worried and afraid of one decision I want to take.
To some people, yielding to fear has made them lose their sense of reasoning and has given them inferiority complexes. I cannot belabor the negative effects of allowing fear to control us. On the contrary, I will over-elaborate on the strategies to fight fear below.
1. Abide in the word of God
Jesus said in John 15:7, “ If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you”.
It is a condition and prerequisite for us to stay attached to God through his word at all times. The only way, we can receive faith is by sticking closer to the faith giver – God.
It is easiest to identify fear has crept into your life and thoughts when you start experiencing contrary feelings to the word of God. Thus, soak yourself with God’s word daily.
2. Abide in prayer
We cannot overemphasize the power of praying consistently and with devotion.
Verse 44 of Luke 22, adds “And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground”.
One of the great ways to deal with overwhelming fear about something is to study the Bible by reading scriptures related to fear and praying out those scriptures.
Sometimes, we could take an overview of the lives of all the fathers/ mothers of faith in scriptures (Abraham, Moses, Ruth, just to list a few) and pray with the lessons of how they dealt with it.
In summary, fear is not preventable but we can fight it. I admonish you to fight fear with God’s word and run to God for empowerment. Fear is real but faith in God will give us joy.
Other encouragement posts are here.
