Monday, February 09, 2015

Fear is a Bully



Have you ever noticed what a bully fear is?  It keeps me from stepping out in faith and trying something new.  It makes me doubt my experience and abilities.  It reminds me that “I’m not good enough” and never will be.  It keeps my focus on the past and not the present, much less looking with hope toward the future.  It make me doubt my ability to learn, grow and improve.  It makes me hesitant to take a risk because I might fail and look really stupid.  An unhealthy fear makes me doubt God.

Fear keeps the focus on me, not God.  Seeing fear at work in a loved one is painful.  The encouraging words I try to speak are not heard, they are drowned out by fear. 

So how can I combat that bully fear?  Beat down with the truth from God’s word.  Truth about who God is and what He has promised in the Bible.  Truth about who I am in Christ. 

Defeating a bully make take time.  Defeating fear is worth all the hard work and effort.  

The fear that we should retain is a holy reverence and fear of God.  That is a wise and prudent fear I want to retain. 

What would life without being bullied by fear look like?

2 comments:

Jim Habegger said...

I've been struggling with this too. I sometimes repress some of my thoughts and feelings, and parts of my personality, from fear of people around me disapproving of them.

susanwalkergirl said...

Dear Jim,

When I started thinking about writing about fear I thought I was seeing fear in someone else's life. When I wrote it out the Lord showed me how I have let fear dominate my life.

Through God's work and His word alive in us, may we not let fear have an unhealthy hold on us. May we fear God first and foremost.

Lord bless...Susan

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