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Fear is not God's Gift
Psalm 18:1-2 'I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge...' (NIV)
 We've all had our share of fears and anxieties in life. Yet, according to the Bible, fear is not God's gift to us, it is something that came into the human experience only with the fall of humanity from grace. Our first forebears only felt fear when they'd distanced themselves from God and his good purpose for their lives. The Bible is clear that only a relationship with Jesus Christ can really rid us of fear. His perfect love casts out all fear. Once we've come into that experience, though, we need to keep applying the standards of God's word, so that we overcome longstanding fears. God's word can help us to improve our self image, but we must let it. For a start, we need to find ourselves doing something right. Many people receive God's forgiveness, but they go away hanging on to feelings of guilt and personal ineptitude. They expect to fail, they set themselves up for a fall. To overcome fear and worry, we must stop rehearsing in our minds our many failures. We must remind ourselves that we have a new nature at work within us – the very nature of Jesus himself. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is living within us, working to please God the Father through our lives, just as Jesus did. Concentrating on failure robs us of energy and the confidence that faith in God will, over time, naturally bring to our lives. So, stop reminding yourself of how weak you are and start telling yourself how strong God is in you.
Prayer: 'Father, I know that fear is not your gift to me; it's not something you want to become a normal part of my life. So, help me not to concentrate on my failures, but to let your image of who I am, written in your word, permeate my thinking.'
© 2003-2004 Mal Fletcher
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