2021-03-20
Job 3:25 NKJV
Do you ever fantasize about solutions to problems you fear may or will come your way? Ironically, when you do, what started out as an unfounded fear can turn into a real problem because you expended energy on wasteful thinking instead of productive action.
Joe Tye, author of Never Fear, Never Quit, says: “Wishful thinking is the lock that fear puts on the prison gate. Fear lets you indulge yourself, for a while, in flights of wishful thinking. Somehow, you think, something will happen to make the problems go away. By the time you wake up, it’s too late. What you feared has happened, and fear has defeated you. The only way to escape from the prison of fear is action. You cannot wish your way out, you cannot wait your way out. You can only work your way out. Every time you escape the prison of fear, you grow stronger” (emphasis mine).
Fear has no benefits and no upside. It either pushes you in the wrong direction by producing nervous energy that causes you to do your worst in new situations, or it saps your energy as you fight its paralyzing effects.
Psychologist Randall B. Hamrock observed: “In twenty years [of practice] I’ve talked with, tested, and given vocational counsel to at least 10,000 young men and women. One characteristic that almost all had was the tendency to sell themselves short.” Don’t let fear rob you of your potential. Don’t let it make you smaller than you really are. Believe God for great things, then step out and attempt to do them in His strength. If you do, you’ll succeed. Guaranteed.
Soul food: Job 24-28; Matt 24:26-35; Ps 13; Prov 8:14-16
2021-03-19
Psalm 27:1 NKJV
Relationships. Social anxiety is a very common fear, and it can have an impact on our relationships with others, whether that’s relationships with family, friends, work colleagues, or even just a random interaction with someone we don’t know. We can worry about what other people think about us, we worry about doing something stupid, or what others might say to us or about us. Our fears of being hurt or humiliated can lead us to avoid other people and distance ourselves.
But God designed us to be part of a community, where we can draw on the love and support of others: ‘Let us not neglect our meeting together…but encourage one another’ (Hebrews 10:25 NLT). When the fear of other people’s opinions means we try to be something we’re not, we reject what God created us to be. If we find we’re having to pretend in order to fit in with a group of people or to maintain a friendship, it’s probably worth asking God if we’re surrounding ourselves with the right people. Proverbs 29:25 says: ‘Being afraid of people can get you into trouble, but if you trust the LORD, you will be safe’ (NCV).
Our worth isn’t based on what other people think of us, it’s based on what God thinks of us – and He loves us unconditionally. We need to hold on to that fact whenever we feel social anxiety building. Let’s choose to rely on God’s opinion and God’s love before anyone else’s, and join in with the psalmist’s words: ‘The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?’ (Psalm 27:1 NKJV).
Job 21-23; Matt 24:15-25; Ps 116:12-19; Prov 8:10-13
Psalm 27:1 NKJV
An old adage says, “Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is.” It exaggerates the problem, and as a result, you expend valuable energy in ways you shouldn’t. For example, sometimes you avoid things that can’t really harm you at all. Like the man who returned to his vacation cabin from a hike, badly scratched and bruised. “What happened?” his wife asked. “I met a snake on the trail,” he answered. “Don’t you remember,” his wife responded, “the park ranger told us yesterday that none of the snakes up here are poisonous?” Her husband replied, “They don’t have to be poisonous if they can make you jump off a twenty- foot cliff!” Clearly the man’s fear – not the snake – was the problem.
Charles Spurgeon once said, “Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but…today of its strengths.” As long as you allow fear to take the wheel, you’ll never go where God wants to take you, or discover and develop the talents He has placed within you. And here’s the great thing: God will help you to confront and conquer the fears that are controlling you.
David the giant slayer, author of Psalms and Israel’s beloved king, often found himself with his back to the wall. Writing about such an occasion he said, “Make haste to help me…Lord” (Psalm 38:22 NKJV). “Be pleased…to deliver me” (Psalm 40:13 NKJV). But David knew who to turn to: “The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” When God is the source of your strength, you can face your worst fears and overcome them.
Soul food: Job 21-23; Matt 24:15-25; Ps 116:12-19; Prov 8:10-13
2021-03-18
Joshua 3:13 NLT
To enter the Promised Land, the Israelites had to cross the River Jordan at flood stage. Were they afraid? Wouldn’t you be? Nevertheless, the only way to reach their destiny was to do the very thing they feared!
When you let fear take hold, you become even more fearful and end up creating a debilitating cycle that works like this: Fear breeds lack of action. Lack of action breeds lack of experience. Lack of experience breeds ignorance. And ignorance breeds fear. It makes you afraid to do the very thing that would be beneficial to you.
Taking action means you’ll have to move into the unknown and do the untried – and that can be scary. But if you give in to your fears, you won’t move forward. You don’t receive the benefit of what you avoid, nor do you gain the valuable experience that will make your life better. As a result, you remain ignorant about that area of life, and ignorance always breeds more fear, making it that much harder to push ahead and get things done.
Harry Truman remarked: “The worst danger we face is the danger of being paralyzed by doubts and fears. This danger is brought on by those who abandon faith and sneer at hope…by those who spread cynicism and distrust and try to blind us to our great chance to do good for all mankind.”
Somebody said fear is the darkroom where all our negatives are developed. It’s interest paid in advance on a debt you may never owe. And it undermines faith – in yourself, in others, and in God.
Soul food: Job 18-20; Matt 24:1-14; Ps 116:1-11; Prov 8:8-9
Job 3:25 NKJV
Career. If we don’t have a job, we worry about finding one. If we do have a job, we worry about keeping it. Before we even get on the career path, we worry about grades and exam results that could make or break our plans for the future. We tend to root a lot of our security in our jobs, which can leave us vulnerable when things go wrong with them. We need a more solid foundation, and we have one in God.
Psalm 16:8 says: ‘I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me’ (NLT). When we root our security in Him, it’s much easier for us to keep our fears and worries in perspective, and to know that even if the worst happens, He’ll bring us through it.
Being a Christian doesn’t mean an easy life, and although a lot of our fears won’t ever happen, there will be times when, like Job, we cry out ‘What I dreaded has happened to me’ (Job 3:25 NKJV). But God can bring something good out of the bad times: ‘In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose’ (Romans 8:28 NIV).
We might have to lose a job in order to discover our true calling. We might have to walk through a season of unemployment in order to learn to trust God and lean on Him more. Our plans for the future might have to be broken down in order to let God’s plan guide our lives. As long as we make Him the foundation of our lives, we won’t be overwhelmed by our fears.
Job 18-20; Matt 24:1-14; Ps 116:1-11; Prov 8:8-9
