Fear.

fear

/ˈfir/

noun

1. The feeling one has when danger, pain, or trouble is near

2. The feeling of being worried or excited; or of wanting to run and hide

3. The feeling of being uneasy

• Where does it come from?
• What feeds it?
• How do I deal with it?

There are many things in this life that can cause fear in our hearts. Simply because we do not and cannot control every area of our lives. We have all experienced fear when it comes to our jobs, marriages, families, health, money, and the future. People who have controlling temperaments also usually have very high levels of fear. However, from a Christian perspective fear is a sin. Why? Because God provides for everything we need in this life.

2 Peter 1:3 NASB seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

Therefore, every time we fear, we sin because we question His ability and don’t believe that He can do what He promised to give us. When we want something for ourselves and don’t get it, we start to get afraid. We believe the lie that if we don’t get what we want, we will have problems and experience pain and trouble. In order to avoid this pain, our minds try to figure things out and we get focused and obsessed with changing our circumstance. Once we get focused on the problem, we lose focus on what God has promised and we then become controlling and anxious.

The truth is – when you fear, you believe the following lies:

• God is not doing His job
• God’s promises and solutions are not enough
• “I can do a better job at solving my problems than God.”

But at the end of the day, your efforts will be in vain and may even cause torment.

As a Christian, the foundation of our faith is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When you give your life to Christ, you give Him permission to lead and guide your life, even when it means to lose your life. This is exemplified in the baptism. When you go under the water it’s the outward expression of your death and the spiritual position you took in identifying with Jesus’ death.

So if getting baptized means you have given yourself in death to Christ and have placed your hope in the resurrection, what is the real problem when things don’t go your way? Our inability to trust God. When we can’t believe that God will be there for us; this is what feeds our fears. We all have hope for something. But when you stop putting your hope in God, you will definitely have to find something else to hope in.

So what can you do? The Bible says that perfect love casts out fear. When your heart continues to believe that God loves you in spite of what you don’t see, your heart will rest that He will keep His promises. As you grow in this understanding, fear’s grip on your heart will lessen. Your ability to face fear will increase even in the face of death.

Your salvation is about bringing glory and attention to God. We bring Him glory when we decide to trust Him even though challenges come. Our ability to hold on to His promises even in the midst of suffering and death shows others that He is good and trustworthy.

John 16:33 These things have I spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world.

Put your trust in the promises of God.

Sincerely,

Damalie Namale

Lead Counselor