What Are You Afraid Of?

Fear.

It's something we all have experienced.  That intense feeling of dread..apprehension...anxiety.  Your palms get sweaty...your heart races...you try to find a way out of the situation...you have a panic attack. 

Sound familiar???

It is DEFINITELY familiar to me.  Although, I do have to admit that I am scared of some unusual things.  Well, actually, they do send me into a panic.  Bees for one thing.....I absolutely hate bees and wasps.  They will cause me to start running wildly in the opposite direction.  Second is dentists.  Yes.  I hate the dentist.  And not just hate.  I go into an absolute panic attack.  And not because of the drill...no that part isn't bad.  It's the x-rays I hate.  (Yes, I am unusual.)

But beyond that, there's many other things that cause me to fear.  The enemy is always attacking me with thoughts that cause the fear to start creeping in.  Sometimes I don't dwell on the thought and take it right to God.  Sometimes, I admit, I do dwell on it....and that very quickly spirals into a deep fear that hinders me from doing what God wants me to do.

Fear is paralying.  Fear hinders you.  Fear will keep you from the path God wants you on. 

God has been really challenging me lately about fear.  Fear is keeping me from what God wants me to do.  Fear is hindering me from moving forward. 

So today I spent a few hours at the church...alone....just me and God.  I wrote down all the ways the enemy is attacking me with fear.  It filled a whole notebook page......with one fear per line.  Then I felt God telling me to pray about each and every one.  It's amazing as I went down the list how I could see exactly how the enemy is attacking me.  It's amazing how a lot of the fears are related to each other.  It's amazing how deep the fears went after so long of not giving them over to God.  It's amazing how MANY fears I found inside of me.

After I reached the bottom of the list, I knew exactly what I needed to do.  I tore the paper into about a hundred pieces.  I tore my fears up and I laid the pieces on the altar.  And I did NOT take them back! 

PEACE.  Peace.  Peace.  Overwhelming peace is what came next. 

No longer do I have to keep these fears.  In fact, I never was suppose to carry them at all!  I am determined to never take these fears back.  I am tired of being afraid.

Yes, I'm sure the enemy will tempt me with those thoughts again.  I am sure it will be hard.  But I am also completely sure that God will help me through it.

If you are dealing with fears, I encourage you to do the same thing I did.  Write them down, pray over them, and then give them over to God.  COMPLETLY over to God!  Don't pick them back up again!

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." -2 Timothy 1:7