There are seasons in my life that I feel crippled by fear. The majority of my life has been an extremely whimsical adventure. As fun and exciting as it sounds (and is, mostly) it can also be full of anxiety, uncertainty and the paralyzing terror in not knowing what’s to come.
In order to combat the negative thoughts that can creep into my head as I think about my future, I’ve discovered that looking to Jesus for guidance is my greatest weapon. After a conference lead by Andi Andrew, I’ve gotten a much better view of my fear vs. my faith.
You see, fear is a custom made weapon designed by the enemy to cripple us and rob us of the freedoms and certainties that we are called to live in through Jesus Christ.
What is it for you? Is it a fear that you’ll never have the career that you want? A fear that you aren’t enough? A fear that you’ll never get married or have a family of your own? Is it a fear of what others think about you? A fear of rejection? A fear of unwanted or unexpected anxiety?
If I had to condense this post into one sentence it would be this — Have vision and faith instead of fear.
Now, I know that you’re thinking, “Lori Ann, that sounds really nice, but that’s much easier said than done… How could I possibly latch on to that Truth and make it a reality for my life?”
I’d say this: Stop partnering with lies and reject what the enemy has to say about you and start locking arms with Jesus and His unwavering Truth.
By locking arms with Jesus, that calls for better knowing and believing his Word. When we read scripture, we’re told over and over again the things that we’ve received in and through Him. Things like sanctification, joy, peace, a future, acceptance and love. That’s your territory! When you trust Jesus, your territory is no longer anxiety; it’s the love of God. All you have to do is step into your inheritance. Fear and anxiety is no match for the power of the Lord.
God’s love is more than a beautiful, free gift. It’s a key weapon that we have access to in order to unlock ourselves from the various prisons of fear that we can so easily find ourselves in.
1 John 4:18-19 says this, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”
We have to get good at recognizing the things that are not from God. This verse says that fear is correlated with punishment… If I know one thing about my Jesus, it’s that He is no punisher. Choose to step out of fear and into Freedom by allowing God’s love to cast out the anxieties in your life. The devil wants to punish us, but God wants to perfect you in His love. That’s good news! You just have to allow Him to do it!
So. How do you engage the weapon of Love?
The best way that I’ve learned to counter my fear is by understanding and bathing myself in the relentless nature of God’s love.
It’s so pure. So kind. So good. In spite of your current relationship that you’re doubting… In spite of the uncertainties at your work or in your schooling… Regardless of the circumstances… He is ever steady – always in your corner and passionately pursuing you as He longs to be the Lord over all of your thoughts, all of your concerns, all of your work, and all of your life. He is so after you. You have to allow God to come inside and break down the walls that you’ve built so high. “God’s love is pressing around you on all sides in this very moment – you just need to allow Love to take its rightful position in your life.”
Another thing that’s enabled me to rid myself of the weightiness of life is not only knowingGod’s love for me, but trusting God’s love and allowing myself to step into and experience true freedom. As Christians, “we live from God’s love, not for it.” In other words, there isn’t anything that you have to do to earn His love. There’s no performance you have to do to receive it. It’s forever yours for the taking.
Just look at John 1 – You want to know how relentless His love is for you? How trustworthy it is? The Word became flesh and blood and it moved right into the neighborhood of your life. God wanted relationship with you so badly that He sent His son to become human. He wanted to feel what you feel. He wanted to walk through the same pains of life that you do. Jesus was rejected. Jesus experienced loss. Jesus was hungry. He suffered. He was shamed. He was abandoned and ridiculed. No one understands you like He does, and even still, no one loves you like He does. It’s my prayer that you allow that Truth to be bigger than your fear tonight.
And lastly, try this: break all of your agreements with fear. When you have a contract with something, it’s only natural that the next step is to move in to it. We aren’t called to move in to fear and live in anxiety. Instead, declare that you are moving out of fear and choosing to step into Jesus’ perfect plan for your life. Be wide-awake to where you are. You have everything that you need in order to resist the devil and His temptations. When you completely submit your life to God, you belong to His Kingdom and have all of His heavenly and eternal weapons at your disposal.
Psalm 91:2 says, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
What are you dwelling in? Is it in the shelter of the Most High? If not, whatever it is that you’re dwelling on, you’re dwelling in. Where your mind goes, you go.
Stop allowing yourself to live in anger, depression, anxiety and fear by using excuses like, “Oh, well, it’s always been this way.”, “I’ll be fine – it’s just a season.” or “It runs in the family.”
NO! When you speak like that, you completely render the power of the Cross ineffective in your life!
What has Love come to do?? Bind you? Chain you? No. It’s come to heal you! The Cross served a purpose and it was to free you from your chains of addiction and sin and filth and fear. Look at the nature of Jesus and trust that His ministry and His ability to save you is far greater than Satan’s ability to entangle you in distress.
“He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3
“Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.” Hosea 6:1
Friend, if you get anything out of this, get this: Jesus’ love restores you and puts you back together. It’s that powerful. It redeems you. It repairs you. He upholds you and He keeps you. He forgives you and His love covers you, always. There’s no place that you can go or run that His love will not find you.
To end, I’m just going to leave you with a verse out of The Message translation that has rocked my world as I’ve been on a journey to become victorious over my fears and my anxieties:
“Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.” Ephesians 5:1-2
For those who are struggling with fear or anxiety tonight, here’s a prayer for you:
“God, flood these people’s life with Your perfect love. For every person who is bold enough to say that they are plagued with fear, I pray that you would deliver them from the things that are paralyzing them and disabling them from living in Your complete freedom. I pray that the peace and the love that You have for them is so enveloping that they are unable to deny the power of your healing. Give them a tangible change in their lives and surround them with people who will lift them up and encourage them to step into all of the good that you have for them. You’re a good, good Father and we’re trusting You to do what only You can.”
Amen.