Four Steps to Overcome Fear

Sometimes looking back makes us remember what matters most.  For this reason, I recently made myself slow down, meditate and really evaluate my goals and accomplishments of the past year.   This helped me gain a fresh perspective before I rushed into the New Year with a new resolve. During my time of reflection, I noticed a common theme woven throughout the entire year that seemed to continuously hold me back from fully achieving all the plans God had for me.  This theme was FEAR!

Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by a sense of danger.  Experts say when we feel danger our natural response is Fight, Flight, or Freeze.  Fear has definitely caused me to freeze in my tracks or run away like a dog with his tail between his legs. Fear has gotten me off track, kept me prisoner, and lied to me far too much this year, but I refuse to let fear get the last laugh.  So I began to seek God through prayer and repentance. As I surrendered my fear to the Lord, scales seemed to fall off my eyes and love and hope started to fill my heart. Right then and there I determined- NO MORE! Fear has got to go!

I can’t imagine that I am alone in this battle against fear especially since fear is one of the most common tactics the enemy uses to hinder God’s people from reaching their full potential.  Maybe you had a goal this year that remains unfulfilled because you were too timid to do anything about it. If so, do not be dismayed because you can redeem your time and start some action steps to fulfill your dreams.  Those steps will require you to find your courage so you can overthrow fear in your life.

One of my favorite quotes is by Dale Carnegie.  He declares, “If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it.  Go out and get busy.” Friends, take a leap of faith, get busy and bravely overthrow fear! If you have allowed fear to hold you back, then join with me and rebuke fear.  

Four Steps Needed to Rebuke Fear and Loosen its Power in your Life:

1. Expose Fear!

Lara Casey stated, “To name your fears is to destroy them.” When we expose our fears we bring them to the light allowing God the opportunity to destroy the influence we have given them in our heart and mind.  Stop letting Satan have that foothold of stealing your peace and destroying your life! I’m taking back my life STARTING NOW by listing things I have been afraid of:

• I don’t have what it takes to lead at a higher level.
• People won’t like me if they really know me.
• I need to be perfect to please people.
• To cope with disappointment I must return to old negative habits.
• If I step out in faith I may lose everything I have built the last two decades.
• I am afraid to be vulnerable and admit my fears for the whole world to see because people will judge me.  

Whew, even now anxiety and dread linger because I just admitted all that! Nevertheless, God has revealed to me that there is freedom in bringing things to the light.  If you, too, allowed cold feet to keep you bound then take a stand against fear. If I can do it then so can you! Now is not the time to tremble and make excuses. Instead be courageous and expose the fear.  When you do you will loosen its power over your life. Take this step of faith and watch what God will do.

2. Activate Faith!

When we expose fear, we activate faith and make room for God’s Word to reside where fear used to.  About ten years ago there was a huge neighborhood fight on my block. My friend and I sat safely inside my house looking through the blinds of my front room window at the neighborhood drama, when all of a sudden something incredible happened.  My husband grabbed his shofar (huge horn the Hebrews used in the Old Testament) and trembling he stepped outside into the middle of the street and passionately blew it. Then he began to pray and take authority over the violence. Needless to say, by the time the police showed up they were no longer needed because God already moved on the hearts of the people and the violence ceased. The miraculous happened that day not because my friend and I were peeking through the window but because one man stepped out in faith. The lesson we can learn from this is we can’t just pray away fear – we must step out in faith!

Faith always moves the heart of God.  It is time to take action and walk by faith, not by sight.   I don’t know about you, but I am going to take some actions steps and end 2018 strong, by disarming fear and giving the Devil NOTICE!  With the shield of faith in my hand, I am ready to finally move forward in obedience to God. How about you? Are you ready to grow in your faith and declare God’s truth and receive His love?

3. Embrace Love!

The Bible says in 1 John 4:18 (NIV), “There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” God’s love is greater than my insecurity and my inability will not limit God’s ability to move through me.  Let that sink in! God loves me in spite of my fears, faults, and failures. His grace really is sufficient in my weakness. As a matter of fact, it is my insecurities that actually strengthen my call because God is in the business of qualifying the unqualified! God’s grace is made perfect in my weakness!

Friend, if you too find yourself drowning in your own insecurities then take heart because God is bigger than your insecurities.  He loves to use the unlikely and the least of these so that He will get the glory. Look at all the insecure people that God moved mightily through in the bible, such as Gideon, Moses, and Esther.  Come on friends, these saints of God are there as our example! If they can conquer their insecurities and allow the love of God to propel them into their destinies, so can you. You may struggle, but here is a secret – so does everyone else! Don’t allow your struggles to become your safe spot and stop you from moving forward with God!  Stop speaking about your insecurities and start declaring God’s love! You’ve got this! Through Christ, you will overcome!

4. Declare Truth!

Have you heard the popular Christian song by Zack Williams, “Fear Is A Liar”?  If not you should listen to it because it is anointed and may even set you free! My guess is fear has lied to you too.  Fear has probably kept you from walking in your full potential. For instance if you think you’re not good enough, you don’t know how to succeed, you don’t have what it takes, or that no one truly loves you, then you have allowed fear to lie to you.  Or maybe you consider everyone else to be smarter, more capable, and better than you. Again this is a lie from the enemy. To defeat deception in my life, God oftentimes leads me to speak the truth over my situation. I say things like, “Yes I still have a lot of growing to do, but I am still on the Potter’s Wheel and God is not done with me yet,” and, “Thank you God for my past victories, but I believe my greatest days are still ahead of me.”

Join with me, find your freedom, uncover your fears and loosen the enemy’s grip over your life.  Give the devil a black eye by exposing fear for what it is…a dirty little liar! It is not too late to find your victory!  Once you reveal your fear and activate your faith, then embrace love, and replace lies with the truth of God’s Word. When you do that, fear will lose its grip on you. Find your freedom and kick the enemy right in his butt!  And if you feel extra bold, share your fears with us in the comment section. Your boldness may bring you freedom and it could encourage someone else to find their freedom too!

2 Timothy 1:7 NET Bible “For God did not give us a Spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.”