Fear. It seems a certain amount of it is healthy. It keeps us from getting too close the edge of a cliff, reminds us to buckle our seat belt in the car and knows how to be careful when hanging out around a campfire.
But a lot of what keeps us up at night isn’t as much about staying safe in risky situations, but about the things in life that could make our life harder. Will disaster or disease invade my comfortable existence? Will I have what I need or what I want in life? Will I be left alone? Will I be accepted?
Fear is something we can’t escape, but God does give us a remedy. FAITH. Here are a few concepts to keep in mind when fear comes obnoxiously crashing into your day.
FAITH is knowing who we are.
Knowing that we are a child of the one true God, created with an eternal purpose that begins right here on Earth helps you overcome fear. It starts now, where you are. You don’t have to wait until you know more, become healthier or grow more spiritually. Focus on what God has planned for you. Talk to God and read His word to find things He wants you to do. When we follow Him, we can trust God with whatever comes our way.
FAITH is knowing who God is.
God is everywhere. He knows everything and He has all the power. He also wants what is best for your life, so whatever comes your way is for a purpose. Trust that He is working something we may not understand.
FAITH is remembering God’s faithfulness.
Sometimes purpose is hard to see when we are in the middle of something difficult, but when we can look back on what God has done for us in the past and remember the ways He had brought us through, it gives us confidence to go on.
God’s Hall of FAITH
Hebrews chapter 11 is often known as the “Hall of Faith”. It is a list of people from the Bible who overcame fear, trusted God and followed His plan, even when it didn’t make sense. Noah gave the world a new start by building an ark when it had never rained. Sarah became the mother of countless generations in her old age. Moses was rescued from the Egyptians when God held back the water of the Red Sea and they walked through on dry land. We can look to these stories of faithfulness and countless others in God’s Word to remember how big God is.
Focus on what is good, true and lovely.
Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things.
Philippians 4:8
So much of what we fear, we’ve built up in our own minds. We’ve told ourselves lies about ourselves and others. When lies creep in, fight them with scripture. We know that the words of the Bible are truth.
God is bigger than the Boogie Man
There’s an old Veggie Tales song that comes to mind whenever I hear the line “God is bigger.” It says…
God is Bigger than the Boogie Man. He’s bigger than Godzilla or the monsters on TV. God is bigger than the Boogie man and He’s watching over you and me.
It’s just a simple kid’s song, but it reminds me about what to focus on. God is watching over me. If God is for me, who can be against me?
And about those “monsters on TV” Sometimes those scary shows and movies can be fun, but there is something to be said about what we let into our minds. I’m not just talking about horror films and scary stories. Even the news can bring ideas into our head that we would not have otherwise known to fear. Crime shows and murder mysteries capture our attention, then come back to haunt us when we’re walking to our car at night. Like anything else, what we put in our mind is what we focus on, so the more often we can put in what is good, true and lovely, the more often our mind will be conquering fear.
They say that 90% of the things you worry about never happen. I’m not sure that’s a scientific statistic, but it’s a good concept to consider. The time we spend worrying would be much better spent moving forward, being thankful, or helping others. And when one of those things we would have worried abut does happen, we can be confident that God will be there to see us through it.
ACTION PLAN
Make a list of verses and Christian songs to get in your head next time fear attacks!
Click her for a few verses to get you started.
Check out this playlist for conquering fear.
Read More in the God Is Bigger Series
God is Bigger Than My Expectations
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