{Day 20} Fear & Worry

I always get chills when God speaks to me about certain things. I know what you’re thinking, ‘wow, she really hears the Lord’s voice?!?’ Nope. I don’t. Or I never have {that I know of}. But I hear him speak to me through other people, verses, things I read, etc. It always happens like this … one day I’ll read a verse, then totally randomly {or not!}, I will be sitting in church and hear the EXACT same verse, then I will pick up a book I haven’t read for MONTHS, a book I really enjoy, but got busy and set it aside and haven’t picked it up at all – so I pick it up and start reading somewhere in the middle where I left off and right there, it’s the SAME verse again!

Do these kinds of things happen to you? I know it’s not by chance! I know that these are things the Lord really wants me to hear, so He places in my path over and over and over again until I finally get the message that this is something really important that He really needs me to pay attention to! {Some times I can be so dense or hard headed!}

So lately the word that keeps coming at me is FEAR. Last spring we did a Bible study on the book Fearless by Max Lucado, this fall I read about a new book out by Angie Smith called ‘What Women Fear’, today I read this fantastic post by Kelly at Kelly’s Korner … THEN, get this, I literally click from Kelly’s post over to Lora’s post and KAPOW, there it is again – the subject of fear/worry! Oh and just in case, I didn’t quite get the message yet – ANOTHER post about fear today from Ann at A Holy Experience! Crazy, right?! {There have been other little things like devotions I have read, blog posts, verses that friends have shared on FB, etc. All pointing towards the issue of FEAR and trusting God. I just love it when He does that!

I gotta tell ya, fear is one topic that I DO NOT have figured out. In fact, the older I get, the more I feel mild anxiety, worry or fear over many silly things.

What kinds of things do I fear? Someone breaking into my house, something bad happening to my husband or daughters, someone close to me {or myself} getting cancer, getting in a major car accident … and the list goes on and on and on.

Fear seems natural when you’re a Mom. After all, you’re responsible for the well being of these little children and there is a crazy world out there that you feel you have to protect them from – why wouldn’t you feel somewhat fearful or worried about that?!

But how can I choose to live a JOYFUL life, when I’m constantly plagued by fear or worry? The thing is, I can’t. Fear and worry can consume me, they can take over my life … IF I let them. If I allow my thoughts and fears to get carried away and don’t do anything to stop them, they will take me down. And my joy, goes right down the tubes as well.

So what are my two biggest allies in fighting fear and worry?

1. Prayer

2. God’s Word

Prayer:  NOTHING brings me more peace, when I’m feeling worried, stressed or fearful, than when I stop whatever I’m doing and PRAY! Just committing the issue to the Lord and leaving it in HIS hands, helps calm my heart and fill it with peace that only comes from knowing that God is in control.

God’s Word:  The other thing that always helps me is reading and meditating on God’s Word. The Bible is FILLED with verses about fear and worry.

One day I was struggling with fear and worry so bad that I decided to look up as many passages I could about the topic and write them all out. I came up with a TON and I’m sure there were still many more in the Bible that I didn’t get to.

Here are just a few I want to share with you today, perhaps you could write a couple out and put them in a special place to remind yourself of God’s promises when you’re tempted to fear?

“Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.” Proverbs 3:25-26

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail, they are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23

“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3

“I called Your name, O Lord, from the depths of my pit. You heard my plea; do not close Your ears to my cry of relief. You came near when I called for You and You said, DO NOT FEAR.” Lamentations 3:55-57

Today, on our way home from Awana at church, our car suddenly started making this really weird sound. It was only the girls and I in the car and without my husband there I immediately began to be filled with fear. What if it was something seriously wrong with the car? What if the car was going to blow up? What if we couldn't make it home? Why aren’t there any car shop places open at 8:30pm so I could just stop and ask someone else to listen to the weird sound? I didn’t want to create a sense of panic with the girls, but I couldn’t stop that dreadful feeling of fear. Should we drive the car home or just park it at church and call my hubby to come get us. It wasn’t exactly nearby and would be a huge inconvenience to him if it turned out to be something silly. As we pulled out of the parking lot I said to the girls, ‘let’s pray’. I knew in my heart that I would not be able to drive that car home if I did not let go of my fear. We prayed. We asked the Lord to get us home safely and keep our car from bursting into flames or any other crazy thing. And suddenly that peace was there. It filled my heart and allowed me to drive calmly home and not worry. {Yes the sound continued for the whole drive. My hubby thinks it’s something related to the heating/cooling system.}

Today’s Challenge:

In what situations are you holding on to fear or worry? What things do you need to give over to the Lord? How are these things keeping you from enjoying a FULL, joy-filled life? Pray about them! Commit your fears and worries to the Lord. Write them out, bring them before the Lord and lay them down at His feet. Write out some verses that fill your heart with His peace and post them around your home to remind you to choose peace over fear and worry.

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