Daily Devotional : Fear

I have always thought of fear as a feeling. Because you know, something goes wrong, or you face some uncertainty, and you feel afraid - right? Then I had an experience with fear that went above and beyond a feeling. You know how it is - you are thinking about the situation, worrying, worrying, you go to bed, worrying. You finally fall asleep. But then in the dead of the night, when all is quiet, this 'thing' wakes you up. Its not just worry - its raw undiluted fear. It starts to speak to your mind at that time, and oh, the things it says! Tells you what a miserable failure you are. Tells you how you will not make it, tells you how your situation is irredeemable. Tells you how insignificant you are, how worthless you are. Grinds your self worth and self esteem into the mud. Hmmmm! If ever you are able to go back to sleep, you are discouraged at best, at worst you are terrified! Then I understood - fear is a spirit. Its a devilish, insidious, dark, twisted spirit. And you have to deal with it, the only way you deal with spiritual things - by the word.

When you are being tormented by fear, worry, uncertainty, loss - the unknown, uncertain future, know that you are not alone. GOD is with you. And you have the tools to deal with that horrible spirit.

There are a few major tools to use:

I) Speak the word. There are a few bible verses to use. Shout them out to that spirit. It knows authority when it hears it. It will back off, it has no choice. Which verses?

I Tim 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind

That is the most common, and frankly effective one. Personalize it. claim it. Say it, believe it. I refuse to own this fear! It is not mine. It is not from GOD, so I reject it. GOD has not given me a spirit of fear!! Hallelujah!!

Instead of fear, go read some verses that remind you of the power and character of GOD Like

a) Psalm 27

and

b) Isaiah 43: 1-7

II) Music: I am a melancholic, a deep feeler - ( if you have no idea what that means, you need to check out the book spirit controlled temperament by Tim Lahaye). I identify really well with the biblical David, because dude knew how to encourage himself in the LORD (I Samuel 30: 6)

How did he do that? With psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Even on days when prayer is hard, there is nothing like a great song with uplifting lyrics to lift your spirits. Nothing at all.

SO try this:




or this:



or even this:



Yes, Whitney Houston. That song can only be a prayer! It has gotten me through many a hard day believe me!!

I am not going to lie, I have a catalog of "songs for the night" (Psalm 42:8), and one day I will share them with you - music so powerful that it literally lifts you up from the depths. Good music - its an amazing tool for spiritual strength!


III)Pray. Pray as much as you can - it can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. GOD always hears you. HE will never leave you, HE will never forsake you. HE will always love you.

As the word says:

Phillipians 4: 6-7.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

IV) Seek help:

Never be afraid or ashamed to seek GODly counsel. We were not made to walk this christian walk alone. Sometimes all you need is somebody to pray with you and you are able to see things from a christian perspective. Seek a GODly person to talk about your fears with and to pray with. Afterall, a problem shared is a problem solved!


Have a wonderful, fear free day.

GOD bless you.