When you walk with God and you are lead by the Holy Spirit you tend to be challenged to step out of your comfort zone on a regular basis. Each step you take leads your further away from yourself and the limitations you have set, toward God and the impossible boundaries He conquers. Fear is something the enemy uses to consume every aspect of your life. Fear to be alone, fear of not being good enough, fear of disappointing, regretting, unfulfilling, fear of failure. It is this emotion that if we allow it, ends up completely transforming ourselves from who we were created to be into who we think we are. Over these past two years I have been overcoming all sorts of fear in my life, and when I think I have won the victory, I am slammed to the ground once again. Forcibly I run to the cross, fall to my knees and grab a hold to what was mine all along,
The Truth. The truth is that
there is no fear for those who are in Christ Jesus for perfect love casts out all fear. We are loved with the perfect love of Christ, a love that meant giving up His place in the heavenlies to come to earth, to die on the cross, paying the penalty of our transgressions, and rising again on the third day so that we may have eternal life in Jesus our Lord. God is not just going to give up on you the minute you fail, the moment you disappoint. His love is eternal, never ending, unchanging. We do not have to fear rejection, because we will never be rejected by the one who loves us the most. As we see who God is, we come to understand that He is patient, He is compassionate, merciful. He won't leave us in the dust, or turn His face away when we fail. We need to loosen the grip, heck we need to remove the poison the enemy has snuck into our lives. We don't have to be comfortable with everything we do, that is why it is called stepping out of your comfort zone, but when fear starts to debilitate you from doing the will of the Father, whether that be praying for your neighbor, or moving to the nation God has called you, the fear needs to be addressed. Everyday we need to recognize where we are going and how far we have come. We need to look fear in the face and see it for what it is: An insecurity the enemy has used to penetrate our hearts in order that we don't step into the full potential of what God has created us to be. We need to be warriors, we don't need to be fearless but we do need to fear less. If you need to count to three in order to take the plunge, do it.
But do not let fear of striking out keep you from playing the game. As we bring our fears into the light they lose their power, because they are no longer in darkness, and as we talk openly with our friends and with God about those fears, we will see that we have a support system that isn't going to leave after the first strike. We also need
trust. As David wrote in the book of Psalms
"When I am afraid I will trust in Him, in God whose word I praise, in God I trust I will not be afraid, what can mortal man do to me?" As we put our trust in Him we release our grip on fear and allow God to grip our hearts, filling us up with the courage we need to make a bold move. We do not have to fear because the Lord has overcome, we don't even have to fear death itself, it has no sting because of the assurance the Gospel has in our lives. What if we made a commitment to ourselves and to God to not let fear hold us back from who God has called us to be or what He has called us to! We can take a hold of the hand of God He is extending towards us and begin to take steps forward, breaking down the walls that fear has built up around us and smashing through the enemies plans to keep us subdued. Without fear there is freedom, freedom to use your voice, to take a stand, and to be used by God for His Glory.
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