If you are just reading this be sure to read “Living with Emotions Part 1” and then “Living with Emotions Part 2“. As you know the first part was an overview and the second part was all about anger. This third part is going to be about fear. Yes, fear can be good but it can also destroy you depending on how you handle fear.
I will start with why fear is good. Have you ever heard the story that when a baby touches a hot burner, they will never do that again? That is how fear can help us. A good form of fear keeps us from jumping in too deep in certain situations. Fear can help us see things we normally would not see.
Imagine if you had absolutely no fear so you walked to a cliff and no one told you that you can die? Without fear, you could literally walk off the edge and die. But if you had some form of fear you would know not to do that.
There is also a healthy form of fear when you are growing up and you are scared to get bad grades because of your parents. So many times you did right in order to stay away from your parents’ bad side. The sad part is that kind of fear almost doesn’t exist today because of how kids are being raised, but that’s a whole other subject for another time.
Then there is fear in college that if you don’t do good, you may not get a good job and you will destroy your future. You want to do good so you do extra things in order to have a brighter future. Some people have no fear for the future. Those are the people that do no work and down the road you learn why they had no fear when their lives are destroyed.
On top of that, you have the fear of God. This is a very healthy thing because it is the respect that you have for God. This is what he wants for you, but he wants a healthy kind of fear. Not the kind that if you don’t do right then he will destroy you. Some people believe that but that’s not how God is. He wants you to respect him. He wants you to love him. He wants you to show that you fear him through your daily actions. God can do what he wants and thank God he doesn’t and usually gives us mercy. I mean even bringing Christ, his only son, in to save us all is a form of mercy.
Now for the tricky part, the fear that is bad. Fear taken to the extreme can cause you to become immobilized. It can create a sense in you that you can’t do anything. How many times do you see TV shows built around phobias where they are trying to help the people. You and I may think those people are crazy but in reality their fears are very real to them. We may not understand that but in their mind it is real.
We can even look at some people that allow small things to stop them. It is usually fear. Fear stops more people from living a God-Inspired life than any other issue I believe. Fear stops people from their calling. Fear stops them from pursuing the woman they want to marry. Fear stops them from wanting to be married. Fear stops them from speaking in front of a group. In fact, they say the fear of public speaking is the biggest fear people have.
I hear Christians many times say that they need to pray over that. Then you talk with them days later and they say they are still praying or they are waiting on a sign from God. I don’t care what the issue is, many times fear is stopping them. God may have already told them the answer, but they are allowing fear to stop them from taking the next step.
I talk with many people and as we talk, I find out that they believe they are called to ______. I then ask what are you doing to move closer to that vision? Many times they are waiting on something. I am always like if God has already told you his vision, then what’s the problem? Again, it’s fear and in reality the fear of the unknown.
Fear will destroy you if you allow it to. When God calls, it’s time to JUMP! The Faith of jumping in is where you learn to trust God. You can’t move forward if you have fear in your heart. People who live by Faith may have the same fear you have, they just do the action anyway. Action cures fear every time. Until you take action the fear will stay with you. The longer you take to take action, the stronger your fear becomes.
I have heard many times that all fear is (False Evidence Appearing Real). Is that not true? I could probably write another 5000 words or even a whole book on this subject because fear is real in many people. Fear is holding so many people back.
Isn’t it time to live your life with less fear? Isn’t it time to move forward even with the fear inside of you? When you have no fear, you lose track of the mission God has set you on. Fear is important because it shows that you want to do your best and fear at its worst will hold you captive!
Ask God to help you have a healthy form of fear while at the same time not allowing fear to control you. Ask him to give you the courage to move forward in faith even though you may have some fear toward his vision for your life. Ask him to help you see when fear is real and when it’s just an illusion. Ask him to guide your heart through all the mess that fear may cause so that you can live the life you have been called to live! AMEN!
Living a God-Inspired Life,
Chris Benton
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