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“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
"Fear" is mentioned 385 times in the Bible. It is defined as "an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat." Fear is an emotion. Emotions can bring us closer to God, or move us further away from Him. We must learn to rely on the Word of God, instead of on emotions like fear. Emotions deceive us, but God’s Word is truth.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
God asks that we put faith in things unseen, things which He has given other evidence to prove its existence. Jesus is a good example. We have not seen Jesus, but there is an abundance of evidence to prove His existence--we can’t deny Him.
We all struggle with fear. We are afraid to take the path less traveled. We want to walk where everyone else walks, because it seems safer. If we were not afraid to step outside of our comfort zone, we would grow closer to God. We need to learn to do those things that are commanded of us, as opposed to succumbing to the fear of uncertainty.
Pastor Todd King sums it up, "Being afraid is fear, the evidence of believing a lie."
Fear keeps the Christian community at bay. When we worry about offending others by speaking our beliefs in love, it keeps us from acknowledging Christ. So many times, the opportunities to tell others about Jesus are lost to fear. We believe the lies of emotion, more than the truths of God.
When you are afraid, ask yourself, “What does God say about it?” To know the answer to this question, we must know what the Word says. We need to prepare ourselves by learning and studying God’s Word. Becoming familiar with the Word through passages and sayings heard at Sunday school and church isn’t enough--we must to study the Word to show ourselves approved, to know God’s opinion.
What is holding you back? Stop believing the lies of emotion, and trust Jesus. Don’t let fear choke the faith out of your life.