Overcoming Fear - Part 1 Introduction

I recently shared a devotional on fear with a ladies group. I thought I would post my notes from it on here. Hopefully, it will be a blessing and encouragement to you. 

II Timothy 1:7

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power,

and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Introduction:

            Glorianne Gibbs tell of a story:

“When my husband and I were just newly married we were sitting in our VW bug in the parking lot next to our apartment building that actually was an old, infrequently used church’s parking lot that, as apartment renters, we were allowed to use. We were just sitting there enjoying each other’s company and intensely talking, not noticing anything but each other as the twilight of a late October evening was settling in. it was a cold October, and we were pausing to warm up before making the long walk to our apartment. The side of the church facing us was windowless, and we were several hundred feet from the road and any passerby.

Suddenly our whole car shook and we looked out to see that a gang of about fifteen fierce looking older teenagers had appeared and surrounded our car. They kept circling the car and rocking it with more and more momentum until we were afraid that it would roll over. I was terrified! My husband could in no way get out of the car to confront them as they were armed with chains and knives and we were living close to where the Cleveland riots had occurred that past summer. Tempers and hostilities had not cooled as fast as the weather that year. We just held hands and prayed as they rocked our car and yelled at us! It was a horrible experience and I actually thought they were going to kill us. Then, just when I thought the car was definitely going over, they suddenly stopped, banged a chain once more on our roof and sauntered away across the parking lot.

When I think of fear, the first thing that comes to my mind is a child being afraid of the dark. This is probably one of the first fears that many people face. As a child, you probably experienced a number of fears. Children are generally much more open and willing to discuss their problems. However, as we grow older it seems like we have less of a tendency to really talk about our struggles.

I think that we have the attitude as adults we should be tough and not have any fears. I have often seen decals on vehicles that say, “No Fear.”  I think we are the “No fear” generation. This is just an attitude of pride – that we can first of all, handle our problems on own; and secondly, it is a denial of God for we are to have a healthy fear of Him.

 Some fears that you may be dealing with or have dealt with in the past:

·        Darkness

·        Sickness

·        Trials

·        Death

·        Personal or family safety

·        Of man/public speaking

·        Failure

Going on the mission field, I have many fears to face. Things are bad enough in our own country, yet even more so in most other countries. I have a decision to make as to whether I am going to let the fears control my life or trust God for the outcome.