Let God be bigger than your Fear

[Madisa]

I think that perhaps one of the most debilitating, powerful forces on earth is fear. Think about it, fear is usually the culprit behind unfulfilled dreams, lack of motivation, irrational phobias, depression and hopelessness, and the list could go on and on. Fear holds us back. It is often the driving force behind our problems. If it’s not the driving force, then it usually is there to add fuel to the fire of whatever the problem might be.

For instance, having financial difficulties might not be a direct result of fear, but once we experience trouble paying bills, the fear starts to set in. We start to worry and conjure up all kinds of worse case scenarios. We worry we will lose our home, that we won’t be able to pay our bills, or support our families.


The human mind can come up with all kinds of “what if” scenarios. Any “what if” thought, or worry is just another form of fear in disguise. The amount of subjects we worry about our endless. We fret and fear about the future, our kids, and our health. We fear failure, so we don’t pursue our dreams. We fear what others think of us, which leads to low self esteem. We fear making the wrong decision, so we do nothing instead. Fear is the ultimate dream-crusher. It can be debilitating, unhealthy, and counterproductive.

When we let fear creep into our lives, when we fret about our problems or allow fear to dictate the way we behave, we aren’t trusting God the way we should. Remember the story about Peter walking on the water? The disciples see Jesus walking on the water and Jesus calls Peter to him. Peter, in faith, gets out of the boat and is acually able to walk on the water! But suddenly, Peter looks around him and sees the winds blowing and immediately he starts to sink. Why? Because he let his fear overpower his faith (Matthew 14:22-33).

Remember the Israelites in the desert? God rescued them out of slavery and was in the process of bringing them to the promised land. Along the way, they saw such miraculous things! The parting of the red sea, the manna, the water from the rock, the cloud of smoke and pillar of fire, to name a few. Yet, when they got to the promised land and saw their enemies, they were afraid, even though God promised to defeat them. They let their fear overpower their faith and suffered the consequences.
You see, fear is not a new thing. It’s been around for years. It’s a powerful force, fear. But the good news is, God has the power to overcome fear. I’m not saying we should never be afraid ever again. After all, we are human. However, we have a choice to trust God through every circumstance that comes our way. We have a choice to let God be bigger than our fear. The bible has a great deal to say about fear.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
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What a comforting thought. God is with us through everything, wherever we go, in any and all circumstances. We have no need to be afraid. God wants what is best for us. So, you can be sure that whatever situation you face, it will eventually work out for your good and in the meantime, God will be with you to help you through it. Lets not be like the ancient Israelites who chose to fear rather than trust God.
I will leave you with this quote from Beth Moore,

“Faith is not believing in my own unshakable belief.
It is believing an unshakable God when
everything in me trembles and quakes.”
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We have a choice. Will you choose to let God be bigger than your fear?

 

[Catfish]

Yes, fear can take the word of God right out of your mouth. 1 Kings 19 is a prime example of what your talking about, and what I love about it is how God works with Elijah in Elijah's fear. There is a lot of interpretations on this most are the same, I like them, I like mine too.-> Elijah is deathly afraid of Jezebel, so much that he runs away. Fear so great that he forgets what God has already done through him, and all he wants to do at the moment is die in his fear. Our understanding and patient God knows exactly what has got a hold of Elijah and deals with it in God's understanding and patient way. He gets Elijahs strength built up for a journey that Elijah is taking, a 40 day journey. Surely after 40 days Elijah has had some time of reflection, God preparing him for his journey, the events that led up to this, but he seems still very much afraid of Jezebel and what she said she was going to do to him. He is in a cave in Horeb, the mountain of God, he is rested up and our understanding Lord asks him “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah answers in fear “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” I think our loving God wanted Elijah to hear himself, not that God needed to hear that. God tells him to go out for He is about to pass by. There was the wind, earthquake, and fire, that God caused but was not in. God was in the comforting still small voice that Elijah went to meet. God asks him again “What are you doing here, Elijah?” I think that Elijah realizes that after hearing all that destruction going on outside caused by God and that He is my ally, I am afraid of Jezebel? So, I think the second time Elijah answered God the tone wasn't the same as the first, God wanted to lovingly get that fear out of Elijah to where Elijah's second statement though said with the same words was a request for help. “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” Now Elijah has that confidence back, Then God sends him on his way, and gives him help.