How Has Fear Impacted Your Life?
Fear results when we take our focus from the Lord and put it on ourselves. Imagine the inner freedom we’d enjoy if only we’d keep our eyes on God.
True or false: Fear lies at the root of many of our behaviors.
If you said, “True,” then you’re right.
I remember, as a young mom, trying to keep my house immaculate. Why? Because I wanted people to think well of me (translation: I feared they might think I wasn’t perfect).
Also as a young mom, I ran a home daycare and taught piano lessons concurrently. Why? It wasn’t that we needed the money.
It was that I was afraid we’d fall short by month’s end plus I felt I needed to prove my adequacy to family and church friends. After all, many of those women my age were working outside their homes and managing nicely. I figured I ought to at least do something besides raise my kids lest I appear incapable.
Fear drives our behaviors
Fear can cause us to miss new opportunities—we say no because we’re afraid of failure. It can also cause us to say yes to too many opportunities—we say yes because we’re afraid of missing out. It can cause us to behave like the life of the party, or it can turn us into a wallflower. It can cause us to gain more weight than we ought to, and it can cause eating disorders.
The Israelites were a scared bunch. Fear caused them to seek a human king rather than trust an invisible God to care for them.
“But when you were afraid of Nahash, the king of Ammon, you came to me and said that you wanted a king to reign over you, even though the LORD your God was already your king” (1 Samuel 12:12 NLT).
Why would they do that when God had demonstrated His power and presence to them in some pretty incredible ways? Fear clearly drove their behavior.
Fear results when we take our focus from where it belongs—on the Lord—and put it on ourselves. And then those behaviors begin. Imagine the inner freedom we’d enjoy if only we’d keep our eyes on God.
Action Step
How has fear impacted your life?
Complete this sentence: The fear of _______________ has caused me to ________________________________.
Jesus came to set us free. Today, invite Him to set you free from fear and its power over you.
Know you are loved,
Grace
Order your copy of Moving from Fear to Freedom: A Woman’s Guide to Peace in Every Situation and discover practical steps for facing and overcoming some of the top fears women face today.
Available wherever Christian books are sold or order your autographed copy here.
Order your copy of Moving from Fear to Freedom: A Woman’s Guide to Peace in Every Situation and discover practical steps for facing and overcoming some of the top fears women face today.
Available wherever Christian books are sold or order your autographed copy here.
Finding I’ve pushed down fear and other emotions. It affects my relationships with people, decisions I make and has affected my ability to work. I don’t trust too many people. I guess it’s time to be vulnerable and be honest with God and those He has in my life.
Yes, fear can affect us in more ways than we even understand. In relationships–we might fear being vulnerable, so that will cause us to be closed to others. We might fear being taken advantage of, so we’ll have trust issues. We fear someone might shine brighter than ourselves, so we put them down or make jokes at their expense. Fear is huge. Thanks for sharing. You made yourself vulnerable 🙂