Choose Your Fear

Fear is defined as: to expect or worry about (something bad or unpleasant).

Innate fears vs acquired fears:

We are born with two fears: fear of falling and fear of loud noises. All other fears are learned. We are taught to fear or we have experienced something in our lives that created fear. Fear is said to be an acronym for false evidence appearing real. One study found that sixty percent of things feared never take place. Ninety percent of things feared are considered insignificant issues. Six million three hundred thousand Americans have a diagnosed fear. God says He has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline (NLT).

Godly fear: 

There is another fear that is healthy — it’s the beginning of wisdom. That is the fear of the Lord. This fear is not being afraid; it’s not fear of His wrath or a fear of eternal damnation. It is an affection for God — a reverence of Him. This is a healthy fear which is consistent with strong faith, great joy, and true courage. It’s an awesome dread of displeasing God — a deep respect of God.

Choosing your fear: 

People today believe they can become wise by life experience and academic knowledge alone. You get to choose your fear. One choice leads to the fear or fears the world brings: fear of flying, fear of failure, fear of death, fear of the dark, etc. There are so many of them. We can and will overcome our fears when we submit to the fear of God, when we serve Him because He is good and we respect Him enough to purpose to live by His word. The fear of the Lord is given to us when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. The fear of the Lord has no bad consequences with it — only hope.

So, let’s choose the fear that will bring blessing to our lives — the fear of the Lord.

Just a thought,

PSS

Have you ever doubted? I know I have. Doubt means: to call into question the truth of; to be uncertain or in doubt about; to lack confidence in, distrust.

Asking the whys:

Doubt goes in two directions. The first direction it leads to is unbelief. Unbelief is the opposite of faith. The other direction it takes leads you to the truth, to a greater belief in God and His word.

George Bernard Shaw said, “Any belief worth having must survive doubt!” We doubt — don’t we? We ask the whys: Why did my friendship end? Why did God not help me when I was being abused? Why can’t I find a spouse? This is all doubt.

Blaming God:

The children of Israel believed God did good and evil. But we should know better. We know God gives us only good and perfect gifts, and it is the devil who does evil. But as the Israelites did, people today blame God. We all doubt at one time or another. We will at times blame the circumstances — they are too hard or too big.

Believing God: 

The truth is: doubt at times will grow into great understanding if we never quit seeking God. When someone allows doubt to become unbelief, they are really questioning God’s ability to perform. If you doubt yourself too long, then it turns into an unbelief of yourself — you will lose hope. We may all doubt ourselves, our abilities, but we should never allow it to turn into disbelief.

There is always hope with, and in, God.

Just a thought, 

PSS

Good advice is not always godly advice.

The highest standard:

We should weigh every decision against the word of God. When faced with a problem or a tough decision, we should go to the word of God and take our counsel from it. When we are at a crossroads in our life, what we put our trust and confidence in is important. It is the difference between life and death, success and failure, overcoming or being conquered by something or someone. You are the only one who can decide for your life — no one else can decide for you. 

What you believe in:

What a person believes is very important to their life. IF you choose to believe in the word of God, and you have complete trust and confidence in the word of God, it will bring life to all your being. Proverbs 4:22 NLT says, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. This is speaking about the word of God.

The final say:

Allowing God’s word to have the final say will keep you safe, protected from making decisions that could cause harm to your life and well-being. God’s word is full of wisdom — we must hold on to it, trust in it, and have confidence in it.

It’s your choice. You choose whom you will serve.

Just a thought,

PSS

Fear is one of those emotions that causes us to be overly safe in our lives. It can be a result of hurt, disappointment, or tragedy. Whatever the cause, it’s not a place where we should camp out. Too many of us spend our lives in fear. We take no chances, and we try to control everything and everyone around us.

Focusing inward:

Fear manipulates us into giving up on others and living a life that only focuses inward. We should strive to live a life that not only improves our lives, but the lives of those around us as well. A life of service and helping others is a life well lived.

Living life to the fullest:

Protecting ourselves from life’s misfortunes and making sure we never get hurt again isn’t living life to the fullest as God intended. When you serve others and pour yourself into it, you’re bound to get hurt from time to time. But isn’t the risk worth it? One day we’ll stand before the only Judge that matters and have to give an account for our lives. What would the Judge say to the one who declares, “Lord, I played it safe and didn’t take any chances. I looked out for only myself and made sure I didn’t risk anything”? How can He judge that?

Trusting God:

It’s all about loving life and trusting God with it. Step out in faith and help others by serving in the kingdom!

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark — professionals built the Titanic.

— Author Unknown

Just a thought,

PSS

When we make mistakes, when we blow it, when we fail — because we all will — we cannot allow these mistakes to define who we are.

Failure is not the end:

Failure is not the end if we are willing to follow Jesus. Life is worth living. We will all blow it from time to time — no one is perfect. When we do, we have hope because of what Jesus did for us.

Don’t go back to failures: 

When we walk with Jesus and then walk away (backslide), we tend to go back to our failure. We tend to go right back and do the things we used to do. We don’t fall back to something new but something we have been delivered from. So, we must be aware of this so we don’t get deceived.

Curve balls come from nowhere:

Life will throw us a curve ball at times. Things come out of nowhere. They catch us off guard and, if it is painful enough, can sidetrack us. We begin to blame God somehow, and when we do, we will go back to our old life. It is sad that if things don’t go the way we want, we will walk away from God. We don’t have to — we choose to.

So, let us all realize as followers of Jesus we will be loyal to Him — our whole. Because of the price He paid for our sins, life is worth living.

Just a thought,

PSS