Overcoming our Fears

In the midst of all that has happened in the last year, I hear something, and I sense the presence of something that the enemy is trying to use to bring defeat to our nation and to the Body of Christ, and it is an underlying current of fear.

A natural result of unrest, the unknown, the unexpected is fear. And it can get to any of us. Fear is something that cripples us, it paralyzes us and keeps us ineffective in what God has called us to do.

I think the greatest fear we face is the fear of the unknown. We can’t bear to not know what is going to happen next. Even if what happens next is going to be bad, atleast we’ll be prepared for it.

Well, I am here to remind you that fear is not from God. Our God is a God of Hope, not fear. I want to talk about we can overcome the fear in our lives.

We serve a Faithful God, who never leaves us. He is a God that never sleeps, and is always completely aware of every detail of our lives.

So, for the body of Christ, the unknown doesn't have to be a place of fear. It can be a place of faith and hope.

We don’t know what tomorrow brings, or what each day will hold for us. Neither did those men and women who went to work on September 11th many years ago, like every other day in their lives.

See, tomorrow is not promised to any of us. We have today, and our todays are not destined to be lived out in fear.

It’s not even about the past, either. We can’t control the past, nor can we afford to be crippled by fear from the events of the past.

Our focus now is to live today, love today, serve God today, and the rest is up to Him. Living for God with all your heart allows us to live each day as though it were our last, because it may be.

“For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, love and a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

These are His gifts to every believer:

POWER - His power, his strength, through the Holy Spirit in every situation.

LOVE - His love, that looks beyond faults and sees needs with eyes of love… “Perfect love casts out all fear.” 1 John 4:18

SOUND MIND - the truth and wisdom and guidance that comes only from the Word of God.

If we’ll just get ahold of these three things, our lives will change dramatically.

Isaiah 41: 10 says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

There are going to be hundreds of circumstances in our lives where fear will have to the opportunity to take over. We can’t stop life from happening to us, what we can control is our response to life’s ups and downs.

The term “Ground Zero” is become a common phrase for American’s…and many have attributed it’s meaning specifically to events of September 11, 2001.

Ground Zero is a term that has been apart of mankind’s experience for thousands of years. Because it basically means, “The point of impact, the moment of devastation, the place of disaster.”

How many have ever had a Ground Zero in their lives before?

That moment in time when the worst possible scenario happened, the most dreaded thing, the breaking point, the bottom.

We all have at different, yet very real levels.

In 2 Chronicles 2, a King named Jehoshaphat had a Ground Zero a

approaching him, really a moment of the uncertain, the unknown, the place where fear dwells and attacks our spirit.

How did He respond...Prayer, Praise, Power!

Do you think he was afraid? Do you think David was afraid? Absolutely, but they didn’t let fear rule. They chose victory in Jesus!

And that is the choice each one of us have in our lives. Will we give in to fear, and become paralyzed and ineffective, or will we look to God, our Father, and walk in His victory for our lives?

Psalms 27:1 says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though a army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.”

“I sought the Lord and he answered me; and he delivered me from all my fears.” Psalms 34:4

In the past decade, we have seen and experienced the gammet of human emotion. We have been filled with fear, anger, hopelessness and doubt. We have also experienced times of great joy, pride, honor, resolve and faith.

We have seen the American people take a long hard look at what life is really about. Some giving their lives to God, others, in anger, moving further away.

At times, church attendance has grown, there seems to be a growing sense of purpose as a nation, and our eyes were turned to God. The important things in life took precedence...family, friends, freedom, faith!

We prayed in our schools and couldn’t wait to pledge allegiance to our flag or hear the National Anthem sung at a ballgame.

Why? A response to the natural disasters wev experienced and witnessed around the world, the economic crisis, sickness in our families…life happening to us?!

Well, now they tell us that maybe church attendance in back down, and maybe people are getting back to normal, and maybe praying, or pledging allegiance or singing together isn’t necessary anymore.

“We’re fine now and it’s time to get back to what is important...achieving our goals, building our dreams, getting ahead, living our lives.”

Well, I don’t believe it. I believe that we are on the verge of the biggest revival this world has ever seen, and we need to stand up and encourage ourselves in God and walk in Faith.

Friends, we must choose God, we must choose Faith. Don’t let the fear of the enemy in for a moment. We walk by Faith, not by sight!Faith is made of 2 vital elements...TRUST and OBEDIENCE.

In the face of fear, in the face of the unknown, we must walk in Faith, which means we choose to TRUST God at His word, and then we choose to OBEY whatever that word asks us to do.

We have Hope and Faith and Confidence even in uncertain times, because God is with us.

God is our refuge , our strength, our strong tower, we run to Him and are saved. He is an ever-present help in times of trouble. We don’t need to be afraid.

Instead, we need to be in prayer, with a heart of thanksgiving as Philippians says.