This week's session in my bible study was very personal to me, it touched the core of my being because it unveiled my enemy number one. Fear can be one of the most paralyzing, clenching, gripping and suffocating emotions you can ever experience; fear, when given reign, dominates your way of living, the things you think , say and decide to do.
It will take you to places where you feel abandoned, suspended, immobilized like a cork in a whirlpool, with no where to go or hide. It will not let you enjoy today but loom over you to dread tomorrow. It will take over every area of your life like a virus, like a weed, growing without control, spreading its infectious branches and choking up every shred of hope.
Fear will be fed and fueled by doubt,hopelessness, unbelief and will birth a sense of despair where once lived safety and comfort. To walk in fear will impare your judgement of the future, reality and everything that is factual and true will blur to the point of becoming all you can see. Fear is also a magnet that attracts every negative emotion around you.
Fear is to some, enemy number one, it lurks in the darkness of our souls where no one can see, in the hidden parts where we don't allow anyone. To others, it becomes a faithful companion that puts a sour taste on everything that resembles joy and happiness. We all fall captive, we are all victims at some point or another, fear takes no prisoners. It makes you a coward. It renders you helpless and incapable to act in defense of yourself or those around you. It leads you to selfishness , seeking self preservation at all cost. It turns you into a person that you don't even recognize. We are so many times reminded not to fear in Scripture and yet so many times we are deaf to that voice and let the noise of our "what ifs " silence it. Worst case scenarios become the only scenario.
I want to live free of the impending fear of death, illness, loss of a loved one, tragedy, disappointment, betrayal... Imagine a life without fear! I think the most damaging effect of fear is that it leaves you dangling on the thread of uncertainty and doubt , saying that God in heaven is NOT sovereign and is NOT in control of your life.
In my journey to overcome fear , I don't consider I have arrived, but I'm on my way there , I'm not fear free at the moment , however, I'm seeing my enemy for what it is, I don't deny it anymore and I'm getting ready to face it, grabbing the courage that's being offered. I want to only fear the Lord and never be just afraid.
God is always there to save us when we fall prey to fear and give us the victory to live in freedom.
I want to encourage you to watch this video by Beth Moore on the Esther: "It's tough being a woman "Bible Study that my friend Jasmine is moderating on her blog. It opened my eyes and shed so much light on this subject. She explains it better than I could ever do.
Here's the link : http://jasminecucuta.blogspot.com
"To look at the face of fear head on and not retreat requires courage, a courage that is not found in our own human strength but is offered" - Beth Moore
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name, you are mine..."
Isaiah 43 :1-3
"There is no fear in love. But perfect love cast out fear...The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18
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