OVERCOMING FEAR…….
Fear, as the dictionary points it, is the unpleasant feeling you have when you THINK you are in danger. It also means being frightened of someone or something because you THINK that they will harm you. Furthermore, it says that fear is a THOUGHT that something unpleasant MIGHT happen or MIGHT HAVE happened. And you fear that because you THINK that it is possible or likely.
Fear. There’s an endless list of the different phobias known to man. From fear of darkness to fear of homosexuals, you name it and you will be surprised to know that such phobia exist.
Fear is always present. We can never discount the fact that we feel them. Even the bravest of men experiences fear. Courage is even defined as not an absence of fear, but the decision to do something dangerous or difficult despite the fear.
Fear becomes evident when we don’t know. Ignorance is the breeding ground of fear. We don’t know, so we fear. We fear the darkness because we can’t see and we don’t know what’s in that darkness. We fear animals and insects because we don’t know how to deal with them. We fear people we are not familiar with. We fear exams because we do not know what the questions are. In short, we fear something or someone because we DON’T KNOW so we THINK.
Fear comes from ignorance. Ignorance is an issue of the mind, because knowledge comes from the mind. If we notice the meaning of fear, it has something to do with what we THINK.
Somebody said that in order to solve the problem, we have to know what the problem is. Now that I know what fear is and what causes it and where it comes from, I know how to get rid of it.
To get rid of fear, I have to educate my mind. If I constantly think of the things I fear and feed on my fear, I will always be a prisoner. But I have to free my mind by educating it. The apostle Paul said, Whatever is true, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy ?think about such things.Furthermore he also said, The truth will set you free.
If one fears something or someone, they have to KNOW about that fear in order to face it squarely. We have to TRAIN OUR MINDS what to think and be careful what to feed it so as not to magnify whatever fear we have.
If I fear snakes, I study about snakes and their behavior. Then I will know where they exist, which species are poisonous and aggressive and everything. If I fear homosexuals, I get to know them befriend some and find that they’re the funniest people to be with. If I fear the future and constantly worry about it, then I have to make clear, feasible goals do my best and get ready for some mistakes along the way. Anyway, mistakes are not that lethal.
Fear freezes us to experience what we ought to experience. What our destiny should be.
Isaiah 41:10 states: Do not fear for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God.We educate our minds, yes. But nothing beats the fact of knowing that the Almighty works on our behalf. This chases all my fears. It works both ways: educate our minds, then, trust Him to do the rest.
If there is one fear that needs to be encouraged is none other than the FEAR of the Lord. The Fear of the Lord as the Bible states is the beginning of wisdom. Fear that is mentioned here is not the fear that religion superimposes upon us mortal men portraying God as One Big Cosmic Bully that would squish us with His flyswatter when we do something wrong. Fear here is brought about by the knowledge that we love Him therefore we are afraid to hurt Him. We love Him because he first loved us by dying on the cross for each one of us. And it goes on: There is no fear in love but perfect love drives out fear. He loves us perfectly, for always and for eternity. And with this I end with Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:17-19: I pray that you may have the power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge.
