Overcoming Fear Again

     "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."  2 Tim. 1:7.  Fear will try to stop you, paralyze you, make you choose another route, make you quiet, and stop you from moving ahead.  We are told there are 365 "Fear Nots" in the Bible, one for every day, because fear will try to rise up against you every day.  One day when I was starting to preach, fear came over me.  Fear told me I couldn't do it.  Fear had almost convinced me that it was impossible for me.  But I remembered 2 Tim. 1:7, and I began to quote that verse over and over.  I told the devil to go, because God had not given me a spirit of fear.  After I stood on that verse, fear left me, and I was encouraged to go ahead and preach the gospel.
     Fear will come up against you again and again.  The fear of public speaking is said to be the #1 fear.  It is the fear of rejection, and the fear of failure.  It is being concerned about self, and what people will think of me.  Pro. 29:25 says, "The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe."  Fear is a snare, a trap, to keep you from stepping forward into what God has for you.  When the 12 leaders were sent to spy out the promised land, 10 came back with a report that made the children of Israel afraid.  Their report of doubt made the people cry and wish they could return back to Egypt.  Joshua and Caleb encouraged them and told them not to fear the people, for God would give them the land.  But fear stopped them, and those who feared never did enter the promised land.  We must not make our decisions based out of fear, but we must move in faith, believing what God has said to us.  It wasn't the giants that stopped the people from entering the land, it was their fear.
     In Matt. 14 we read that Jesus made the disciples get into a boat to go to the other side of the lake.  In the middle of the night a storm came up that made the disciples think they would die in the storm. Jesus knew they would encounter this storm, and still He invited them to come.  There are things that Jesus will call you to do, knowing that those things will cause fear to rise up in your heart.  But these experiences are meant to teach us to trust God, and lean more closely into Him.  When anxiety tries to grip your mind, it is time for your trust in God to rise up to a new level.  Recognize the fear, and begin to take steps against it.  Read the Word, and pray, and don't shrink back in fear.  Rise up in faith and move forward toward that fear.  You recognize the fear, and say, "Oh, it's you again."  Now you know that God has something good ahead for you.  FEAR stands for "False Evidence Appearing Real."  Faith has no power when you rise up with faith in God, and take a step toward the fear.   Faith is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to trust God and step forward.  "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me."  Ps. 23.