Tag: #fear

A Life Free of Fear and Worry

Fears and worries are two of the biggest challenges of life. It begins when we come into the world. You can see the fear and worry in a baby and they let everyone know by their crying. They cry if they are fearful they won’t be fed or they become anxious if they can not see momma. As we grow older we don’t become less fearful but we just learn to not express our true feelings. We learn to cover up and pretend but on the inside the fears and anxieties grow. Will we be able to do what we need to do to make it in the world? What will the world be like? The list is endless of our fears and worries. Then if we add on to that all of the fears and worries that everyone else thinks we should have then it is no wonder that some people have a nervous breakdown. The Lord never intended life to be that way.

Thus says the Lord,
“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh his strength,
And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
“For he will be like a bush in the desert
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A land of salt without inhabitant.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
And whose trust is the Lord.
“For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit. Jeremiah 17:5-8

There are basically two choices in life. We can choose to trust in the One and only God, the Lord God, who is our Maker and Creator. He fashioned us and He made us to have a love relationship with Him. He made each of us to trust Him and to be His child. The other choice is that we can trust in ourselves or others and allow our heart to turn away from Him. All of us come into this world with our hearts turned toward God. We choose to either respond to Him and trust Him or to turn away from Him and trust in something else, whether it is science, knowledge, people or ourselves. Everything and everyone, other than the Lord Himself will let us down and disappoint us. The Lord is the only One who can satisfy our souls because we were made to know Him and to be loved by Him. The Lord is also the only One who can set us free from fears and worries. This freedom will only come to those who trust in the Lord God. The word Lord means Master, so the person who trusts in the Lord must allow Him to be their Master. The word God usually refers to Savior. When a person trusts Him to be their Master then He becomes their Savior. He will save them from their fears and worries and be their Provider and Protector forever and always.

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” Romans 10:9-11

Once a person calls upon the Lord then He is with them forever. He will never leave them or forsake them. All others may forsake them but He will not. You can trust in the Lord now and forever. He becomes your Lord and you Savoir and He is a present help in time of trouble. Call upon the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaiah 41:10

for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” Hebrews 13:5b

A Life Free From Fear

Two of the factors that motivate all people are fears and rewards. People will do or not do something out of fear. Rewards are also a powerful motivation to move people to do or accomplish what they otherwise would not do so. Rewards are a positive motivation and usually tangible. Fears are generally felt and can be either real or perceived. However, perception is reality to the one perceiving so fears that are felt are real to the person who feels or experiences them. Fears are intangible and are a negative motivation. Fears can control actions, people and even control destinies if one gives in to them. However, no one likes fears nor being controlled by their fears. Whatever controls a person is what enslaves him. Is freedom from fear a possibility? Yes, very much so and that freedom can become a reality.

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

Freedom from fear can only come when someone or something greater than the fear takes control of a person. The fears must give in to the greater power. A person, within themselves, do not have the power to set themselves free from fear. Jesus Christ has the authority and the power to set a person free from fear. He came for that very purpose. He came to set people free, free from the forces and influences that control, bind and enslave them.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18,19

Jesus Christ came to proclaim release to those held captive by their fears and anything else that enslaves them, whether it is real or imagined. Not only did He come to proclaim release but He came to set every person free. This freedom is a gift that He offers to any who will come to Him and receive it. When God sent Jesus Christ into the world He looked with favor upon us.

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, I John 4:16-18a

Jesus Christ is God’s expression of His perfect love. When we come into a personal relationship with God then we experience God’s perfect love and that perfect love casts out all of our fears. His love replaces the fears that used to control us and His love begins to control us, our actions, lives and destinies. His love is perfect and when we come to know His love we need not fear anything. His power is greater than any other power in the world and His power can keep us in His love.

By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. I John 4:13-15

When we receive Jesus Christ into our life then He gives us His Spirit. His Spirit will always remain in us if we are His child. His Spirit and the spirit of fear can not abide in the same person. The spirit of fear leads to slavery and the Spirit of Christ leads to freedom. The spirit of fear is not of the Lord and the one who fears is not controlled by the Spirit of the Lord.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19

Do you struggle with fears? Come to Jesus Christ. He will cast them out and cause His love to take the place of your fears. You will be set free. He came for this very purpose and this gift of freedom is for all who will call on Him.

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;  for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” Romans 10:9-11

A Life with Stability

A basic need in a person’s well being is for there to be absolutes that do not change. The world changes, people change, relationships change, finances change and nearly everything else is subject to change. However, people need hope and an anchor for their soul, so that when life changes or storms come they have something that keeps them secure and stable so that their life and emotions are not like the waves of the sea.

God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Psalm 46:1-3

God is the only One who does not change. A person who takes refuge in the Lord does not need to fear. The Lord will be their strength and He is a present help in time of trouble. The Lord does not say that trouble will not come but rather He promises those who look to Him that He will be a present help in their trouble. The Lord will be with them in their trouble. A person who takes refuge in the Lord and looks to Him will not fear even though the earth should change and the mountains slip into the sea. The Lord is able and will help those who look to Him to be their refuge and strength.

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law. Deuteronomy 29:29

God reveals Himself to mankind through the Scriptures, which are God’s inspired Words. It is through God’s Words that we come to know Him.

But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. II Peter 1:20,21

God’s Word does not change. God’s Words are who He is. We can trust what He says in His Word, the Bible. We can build our life on His truths found in His Words.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. John 1:1-3

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

Jesus Christ is God’s revelation of who God is. Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ was in the beginning and He is God. All things came into being through Him. The Word became flesh and God manifested Himself in Jesus Christ and lived on earth. Jesus Christ was not created for He is God and He is the Creator. Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, the Father. God is One. Jesus Christ and God the Father are equal. This is a mystery and it is infinite. Man can not fully understand God for man is finite. We may not be able to fully understand God, for if we could then we would be like God, however, we can fully trust God. God has revealed Himself to us that He is good and He is love. He also is all powerful. Nothing is too difficult for Him.

Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You, Jeremiah 32:17

When we feel confused or doubt, it is because we do not know the Lord. He wants us to know Him and when we know Him then we can trust Him. We know the Lord through His Word, the Bible. He wants us to trust Him. We can trust His love, His knowledge and His power. We do not need to fear.

But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. Matthew 22:29

The more we trust Him then the more we will not fear. The more we know Him then the more we can trust Him. The Lord wants us to not just “know about Him” but He wants us to know Him intimately. The Lord wants us to have a love relationship with Him. This love relationship comes about through Jesus Christ. When we receive Him into our heart and life then we come in a relationship with Him. It is when we begin a relationship with Him that He is revealed to us. For this reason, those who are skeptical or cynical or doubting can not know Him. It is when we turn to Jesus Christ in faith that we see Him and see His love, power and faithfulness. We begin a relationship with Him through coming to Jesus Christ in prayer through faith.

Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; Acts 3:19

Repent means to turn to God from whatever we were looking to or doing to give us comfort, stability, purpose, security or any other significant need and desire in life. God has made us to be in a relationship with Himself. At one time, everyone believed in God because the Lord puts the belief of Him in the hearts of children, that they might come to Him. However, for whatever reason, if one did not come to Him as a child then the light of God starts to grow dim and then even dimmer as time goes on. Since a person can not live without love and significance a person starts seeking love and meaning in other ways. These are always invalid substitutes for the real thing, which is God alone. Jesus Christ is the only One who can satisfy us and fill the emptiness within our hearts and lives. He is the only One who never changes. His love is a constant and He came to love us with an unconditional love. Just as a person can not live without love, a person can not live with guilt. Jesus Christ is the only One who can take our guilt away. Not only does He take our guilt away but He also takes our shame and our sin. He makes us clean on the inside and fill us with Himself and His love.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. I John 4:18

It is our fears that bring instability and the Lord is the only One who can cast out all fear. He never changes and His love never changes. We can trust Him completely. When we come to Him then He casts out our fears and gives us the stability that we long for and the peace that we need. He becomes our stability, our refuge and our hope when He becomes our Lord and our Savior.

And He will be the stability of your times, A wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; Isaiah 33:6

My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence. II Samuel 22:3

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast…Hebrews 6:19a