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“For God hath NOT given us the spirit of fear; but of POWER, and of LOVE, and of a SOUND MIND.” (The Apostle Paul, 2 Timothy 1:7, KJV)
Fear (definiton) – “…a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or IMAGINED”
Sweaty palms…
Accelerated heart rate…
Uncontrollable shaking of your body…
These are some of the symptoms of a little emotion that we have all been a victim of — FEAR.
Fear is something that affects us all (some more than others)… and when it is operating at it’s strongest capacity… fear has the capability AND the power to keep us in bondage… and to keep us from progressing in life.
Sometimes fear is justified — such as if you are being chased by a rabid dog, that is foaming from the mouth… or perhaps if you are being chased through the dark woods by a chap wearing a ski mask & wielding a big, nasty axe… 
The definition of ‘Fear’ is to have an emotion that distresses you because of danger, pain or evil… whether the threat is real… or IMAGINED!
Let’s focus on the IMAGINED threat real quickly if I may…
We people, have the uncanny ability, of creating FALSE threats in our lives. I’ll go further and say that Satan is the cause of these feelings of false threats.
Why do I say this? Because the Bible tells us that God NEVER gave us a spirit of fear. And if God didn’t give it to us… then who did?
Ding, ding, ding! If you answered ‘Satan’, then you’ve won a prize! LOL
My Experience with FEAR
I remember back in high school in Omaha, Nebraska… I was a pretty good sprinter. At the end of the track & field season in my senior year, I was competing at the District Championships.
That day, I had just run a TOUGH relay race… and had gotten pretty beat up in that race.
Well, less than 10 minutes later… I was scheduled to run a 400-m dash. If I had finished that race in the top-4 positions… I would have qualified for the State Championships for that event.
But the problem (well at least the problem that I made up in my head) was this… I was running up against some of the FASTEST boys in the state in my heat.
I was scared and in fear because: (1) The HIGH level of competition I was facing… (2) Because I felt that my minor injury would make me lose, and lose badly… and (3) Because I was assigned to Lane 8 — which anyone familiar with track knows is the worst lane assignment you can draw!
But guess what. When I look back on it now — the BIGGEST reason why I was in fear… was because I was scared of being embarassed in front of the large amount of people that came to the track meet that day!
I didn’t want to be that guy who came in last place… and everybody laughed at. So you know what I did? Because that spirit of FEAR was SO strong in me… as soon as the gun blasted to start the race — I ran out of bounds and disqualified myself.
Instead of conquering that demon — I chose the easy way out, which was to GIVE UP. I chose to disqualify myself…
What About You?
How many times have you given up on a dream of yours because of FEAR? How many times in life have you not gone to apply for a job or position… because you feared that you didn’t have the right credentials or know the right people?
How many times have you allowed opportunity to escape you… because a false sense of FEAR crept up into your spirit… and defeated you before you even stepped on the battlefield, because you were SCARED of what people would think about you if you failed?
How many times in life have you “disqualified” yourself… just as I had done in the track meet?
Fear causes us to turn little molehills into mountains! Fear causes us to turn little pebbles into huge boulders.
Guess what friend?
God has NOT given you a spirit of fear! But of LOVE, POWER and a SOUND MIND!
He has given you a spirit of LOVE… so that you can serve your fellow man knowing that God is ALWAYS on your side… and will never leave you!
He has blessed you with a spirit of POWER… so that when problems or issues that seem to be much LARGER than you arise against you — you have the confidence that the God who is inside of YOU… is greater than any man, situation, boss or devil in hell!
And finally, God has blessed you with a SOUND MIND… a mind that thinks the thoughts that Christ Jesus thinks, has the mind that Christ has, and is NEVER timid or passive. When God comes up with a thought to advance, progress or create something — He ALWAYS acts upon it!
So instead of thinking “What if I fail?” in life and being in fear because of that… change your thought process and start thinking, “What if I succeed?!”
Don’t worry about what other people think about you. Who cares what they think anyways, right?! If you want to become GREAT in life — you MUST be willing to take some calculated risks… because fear will always keep you from taking those good type of risks.
Walk by faith and not by your sight! Don’t allow opportunity and growth to escape you any longer.
Know that whatever or whomever it is in life that has you in this false sense of perpetual fear is a lie… and it is NOT bigger, nor is it badder than the God that you serve!
Take a chance today… even if it feels uncomfortable to you — and expect God to move mightily on your behalf!
-Daniel Wiafe
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Wow! What an encouraging read. Thanks for posting. But what if one fears success as much as failure?!!
I have read ths article and some others and am still struggling with the fear of approval from others how terrible is that being a believer in Jesus knowing its His approval that counts yet struggling with others.It cripples me and prevents me from going to church and living life.