Fear has controlled my life for many years, and sadly, the cause of many drastic and irrational decisions of my past. It hit me every second of the day and the hidden culprit behind many of my worries & anxieties. I have left relationships, jobs and frustrating situations all in the name of fear. Fear that they didn’t love me. Fear that I couldn’t handle the job. Fear that things would never get better. Fear that God wouldn’t take care of the situation and I had to save myself. I spent endless hours trying to figure out how to fix situations before my fears became a reality. It has been a horrible cycle for years, and something I simply got tired of controlling my life.
I remember talking to a friend of mine, and I asked, “How do you stay in situations that are rough?” They responded, “Because I know there is hope. I know eventually, it will get better.” For some reason that really hit me. Hope.
The bible reminds us in Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, evidence of things not seen.”
The bible also reminds us in Proverbs 23:18 “There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.”
The bible reminds us over 365 times that we should not fear nor worry. Why? Because we should always have hope, not only in our future, but in the one who loves us. But, somehow, we still fear. We still worry. The more I thought about it, I realized that fear is an inclination that we don’t trust God with our lives. But beyond that, it also shows we don’t believe He loves us. We don’t truly understand the weight of His love for us. If we truly believed that God loved us, we would never fear. Because we know that we have someone who will ensure we are always loved, safe, protected and provided for, even when the situation may sometimes speak differently.
I want you to think of a moment in your life where you had to totally trust someone that loved you. Maybe your parents. A spouse. Or maybe your children. Now, I want you to put yourself in a room by yourself. It’s dark. You don’t have a clue of what’s going on, but you hear the breath of someone in the room. The next second, you here a dog barking ferociously. You don’t know where it is. You don’t know how to get out of the room. You just hear the aggressive dog and you are unsure if it will come your way. It gets louder and louder. Closer and closer. You body tenses up in fear of its attack.
Randomly, you hear a voice say, “The dog you are hearing is in a box. The only way it can get to you is if the loved one you brought here decides to press the release button on the cage. You have nothing to fear unless they decide to push the button.”
Immediately, you think of who the loved one is on the other side of the button. You think of the control they have on making the choice to release this ferocious dog, or keep him caged. Then, you remember who they are.
You remember how much they love you. You remember the many times they protected and provided for you. You think of the times they came and saved you out of multiple situations and kept you from harm. You remember how even in bad situations, they helped you and nurtured you back to a good place. You then; stop and breathe. The bark of the dog becomes softer. Actually, it even begins to whimper. You are not bothered by it as much as before. You are comforted. You are relaxed. Why? Because you remembered how much they love you.
This is how we must be with God. This is how we conquer fear. This is how we conquer worry. When that job interview comes up? Remember your God loves you, and if it’s the best for you, He will open the door. When that bad health report comes in, trust that God is the ultimate healer, and whether it’s on this side of the earth or not, you will be healed. When your partner abandons you and you don’t know how you are going to make it, remember that God said all your needs will be met and even the hairs on your head are numbered. That He will never leave you nor forsake you. Whatever the situation, remember how much He loves you and let God’s love for you overshadow your fears. Fear is a liar. The lie that God doesn’t love you. The lie that He won’t take care of you. The lie that you don’t have a hopeful future. When you have God, you always have hope and you are always LOVED.
What lie have you been believing that causes you to fear?