Paralysis By Fear

Yesterday at Bible study, we were discussing fear and how it can poison our hearts and paralyze our lives. Fear, if it is allowed to take root and have control, will rob you of opportunity, freedom and fulfillment. However, it is one thing to know about fear and a completely different thing to know how to conquer it.

Breaking free from the power of fear in your life is not easy sometimes. When you have been living afraid of something, letting go of it can be a battle. But it is battle that you have the authority to win in Christ. When you shatter the hold fear has over you, you will never live the same again. First, though, you must be willing to face it and defeat it:

Understand the distinction between feeling fear and being afraid.

In Joshua chapter one God commanded Joshua not to be afraid. To be strong and courageous. He promised him that he would never leave his side. He did not tell him that it was wrong to feel fear. Feelings do not have the power to dictate who you are or what you do unless you give them that power. To say that feeling fear is the same as being afraid is to say that feeling lonely is the same as being alone. Or that feeling insecure is the same as being inadequate. Sometimes feelings are just that: feelings. Don’t give them more power than they deserve and you won’t end up bowing down to them. In some cases, all it takes to be free from fear is a choice to do what you need to do even if you are fearful doing it.

Recognize the lie behind the fear.

The truth will set you free. Any thoughts that are causing you to remain bound are not rooted in the truth; they are lies. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the lie that is fueling your fear. If you are afraid of being alone, have you forgotten God’s promise never to leave you or forsake you? If you are terrified of failure, have you believed a lie that you have to be successful by the standards of others in order to win the approval of God and man? If you are scared that you are not going to be able to pay your bills or provide for your family, have you bought into the lie that God does not care enough to take care of you? Have you forgotten that He is you source and your provider?

No matter what the fear is, there is a lie at the root of it. Dig it out so you can move forward.

Search the Scriptures to find the truth.

Just as light defeats darkness, lies are conquered by the truth. Most of the time, it is not our lack of prayer, Bible reading or time with God that is responsible for our fear (though sometimes it is), it is a lack of understanding about what we believe to be true. Once you have identified the lie, you have almost won the battle. Any mindset that sets itself up in opposition to the truth of God’s word is built on a foundation of sand. Once confronted with the truth of His promises, it will crumble.

Do you believe you will always be bound by addiction? Seek the truth about God’s promises of freedom and victory.

Do you believe that you have messed up too completely to start again? Cling to the promises of grace and mercy.

Have you resigned yourself to always being sick? Search the word for the promise of healing.

Repent and stand firm.

It is not feeling fear you need to repent for. It is living in it. Believing the lie instead of having faith in God and in the power of His Word. Find your truth, choose to agree with it and stand firm on it until breakthrough comes.

Stop feeling guilty for feeling fear. Recognize the lie, seek out the truth, repent for not believing God and start standing in faith. Your deliverance is on the way.

What other ways do you know of to overcome fear?

Marked: An Excerpt

Happy Monday everyone! Here is an excerpt from my eBook released a couple of weeks ago. There is a link at the bottom if you would like to download the full version.

Blessings!

After everything I endured growing up, I had no idea that the first eight years of my marriage would be the hardest years of my life. We battled not only against my husband’s addiction to pornography, but against poverty, rejection, loss and depression. At times, I thought I would be crushed under the weight of daily life. We had a long, hard road ahead of us if we ever wanted to walk in true freedom.

When pornography invaded my marriage, I realized how much of a betrayal it is. Having a husband with this addiction is not just about what he is looking at. It is about being cheated on without the actual affair. It is about feeling inadequate every moment of every day. It is about believing that no matter how little you eat or how much you work out, you will never measure up to what he is looking at in secret.

Feelings of worthlessness were creeping in. I hated what I saw when I looked in the mirror. I wanted to be intimate with my husband but at the same time, I never wanted him to touch me again. I felt like a child being robbed of her innocence all over again. I began to question if I should have married him if this was what I had to look forward to for the rest of my life. On the outside, we were the perfect couple with the perfect marriage and the perfect ministry.

On the inside we were broken and ashamed.

For eight long years we fought this battle. I had seen deliverance so I believed it was there. In the midst of the anguish, God gave me an unfailing love for my husband and an ability to persevere in prayer long after I wanted to quit.

Yet even as I prayed, my self-worth was slowly being chipped away. I began to fantasize about being married to someone who would not put me through the pain of what I was dealing with. I could not be intimate with my husband without wondering who he was actually seeing or thinking about. I had never felt so ugly in my entire life. I wanted to leave but by this time we had three children and I could not imagine putting them through the pain of losing their father.

I turned to God and asked him to step in. I prayed that He would deliver my husband and we could move forward into the dreams we had. But He didn’t. I felt like God was turning a deaf ear to my cries. Little did I know that in the midst of my deepest pain, He was doing more than I could have imagined. I started to notice that when I would find evidence of pornography in the house, it would hurt less. Before long, my husband’s addiction lost the power to control me. God began to build me back up even as my husband continued to look elsewhere. He restored my worth and kept a guard around my heart. I was able to pray for my husband without feeling betrayed.

For another two years after God stepped in and placed a guard around my heart, my husband remained bound. I saw how desperately he wanted to be free and I realized how much it bothered him to know he was hurting me. He desired to be pure. He wanted a right relationship with God.

He was on his face crying out for healing and deliverance, and I was crying out with him. We were determined that our marriage would withstand the onslaught no matter how long it took.

Our freedom came through years of tears, prayer and struggle. Many times, we wanted to quit. Believing that we would one day be free often felt like an impossible task but the One who promised us freedom is faithful. When we were too weak to fight, He fought on our behalf. When we were ready to admit defeat, He stirred up that one last ounce of determination in our hearts. It was never easy, but it was worth it.

Eight years after the fight began, we emerged victorious. Our home is now completely free from addiction. Our marriage has been strengthened and renewed. We have a dream and a vision for our future. God is at the center of our family and we have a faith that cannot be shaken. God is our redeemer. We have seen deliverance and we will spend the rest of our lives sharing what He brought us through so that you will see it too.

Never give up until your struggle becomes your testimony.

To read my complete testimony, click here to download your FREE copy of Marked: the story of a desperate girl and the God who redeemed her.

Has God Forgotten?

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29 NIV

How long has it been since you saw Him? Felt His presence? Witnessed a miracle? Heard His voice? Had a prayer answered?

If it has been so long that you cannot remember when the last time was, you are not alone. Sometimes true faith requires that we continue to believe even when we do not see.

In your most desperate seasons, when you feel dry and alone, it becomes easier to doubt the promises of God.

When the Word tells you God will provide and yet, month after month, you are struggling to make ends meet, fear creeps in. When you do not know if you will be able to afford to keep your home, how could you possibly take comfort in promises that do not seem to apply to you?

When you are gripped by the power of addiction and no matter what you do, you cannot break free, you wonder why you seem to have no power to overcome sin the way you have been promised. If Jesus sets people free and free indeed, why do you remain bound?

When your marriage is falling apart and everything you do to save it only makes it worse, you wonder where the deliverance of God is. If marriage is so close to His heart, why doesn’t He care about yours?

When your children have strayed from the path and keep getting closer and closer to danger, you feel like God is turning a deaf ear to your cries. If He cherishes the prayers of the saints, why is He ignoring yours?

When sickness has taken over and healing will not come, you begin to feel overlooked and abandoned. If God promises healing, why are you still sick?

God has not forsaken you. He is not withholding good things from you. He is not angry. He is not punishing you. He is not ignoring you. He has not forgotten about you.

There is no 4-Step formula to unlock the promises of God. Nothing I say here will cause you to wake up in the morning with a new set of circumstances. There are no right words to pray, no approach to spiritual warfare that you have not learned that holds the answers you have been missing all your life. Faith is a struggle that often requires believing past the point of wanting to quit.

He is working while you are waiting. When you do not see, He is increasing your faith. In the midst of the dryness and the silence, God is still there. One day, morning will dawn and the promise will come.

For now, believe even when you do not see. Keep crying out to God. Keeping seeking. Keep worshiping. Declare the Scripture like it was written for you. Hold tight to the promises until they come to pass. Do not relent until breakthrough comes.

How do you keep believing when God seems absent?