Meyer - Living courageously: you can face anything, just do it afraid

Fear! Has it ever been a problem for you? Has it ever held you back from moving into areas that could enrich your own life and the lives of others? I am sure your honest answer is yes because everyone is visited by fear at some time or another. Keep this in mind: If you have ever dealt with fear, or if you are dealing with fear now, you are not alone. Fear is one of the biggest problems that we all must face if we truly want to live life to its fullest.

But I have good news for youthere is a solution to fear!

One of the many benefits available to Christians is freedom from fear. But in order to receive that freedom, we have to be prepared to face fear head-on. When we avoid making changes or confronting issues in our lives because of fear or dread, we need to remember that God has promised to go before us and bring us through victoriously as we obey Him. I believe a close relationship with God is the solution to living boldly instead of fearfully.

I sought (inquired of) the Lord and required Him [of necessity and on the authority of His Word], and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

Psalm 34:4

Throughout Gods Word we are instructed not to fear. The statement fear not is found continuously throughout the Bible. God did not expect His children not to feel fear, nor to never be confronted by fear, but He does expect us not to submit to fear. We can and should resist it in the power of God. We are called by God to live courageously, boldly, and obedientlynone of which is possible unless we are willing to recognize and deal with our fears.

Courage is not the absence of fear; it is fear that has said its prayers and decided to go forward anyway. I was tormented emotionally and prevented from doing many of the things that I wanted to do for many years simply because I was waiting to not feel afraid, but then I discovered that I could do it afraid. You see, the freedom we have in Christ is that we can do anything we need to do because He is with us. He has gone before us and paved the way, and He promises to never leave us nor forsake us. It doesnt matter how we feel; we can boldly go forward in faith, trusting God. When we confront our fears with faith in God, we might still feel the effects of those fears, but they cannot stop us. Fear must eventually bow its knee to courageit has no other choice.

The different types of fear are so numerous that I doubt they could even be counted, but they all have the same solution: Put your faith in God and go forward doing what He instructs you to do. Gods power is available to us and is received through faith. Faith takes a step and believes that God will meet it with the power to follow through. As the Israelites traveled toward the Promised Land, they found themselves with the Red Sea blocking their way and the fierce Egyptian army rapidly coming up behind them. They felt afraid and began to complain, wishing they had never left Egypt at all. Moses told the people, Fear not; stand still (firm, confident, undismayed) and see the salvation of the Lord which He will work for you today (Exodus 14:13). In the midst of what seemed to be an impossible situation, God told Moses to go forward, lift up his rod, and stretch it out over the Red Sea and part it.

Moses had to take a step of obedience while still feeling afraid before he witnessed the miracle-working power of God doing the impossible. I wonder how foolish and afraid Moses felt when he stood with a rod in his hand holding it out over the water. What a foolish action it must have seemed to be in the face of such a huge dilemma, and yet the Red Sea did part and the Israelites crossed over safely, while God simultaneously destroyed the enemy that had caused them to feel fear in the first place. This was indeed a true miracle but one that would not have occurred unless Moses and the Israelites had been willing to do it afraid.

Please dont miss this very important point: We take a step to be obedient to God while we feel afraid, and then that releases the grace (power) of God to do what needs to be done.

If you are looking for a way to never feel afraid again, then this book wont help you. But if you are ready to say good-bye to fear and learn to live courageously, I believe you will receive the spiritual tools you need to do so. It is your inherited right as a child of God to live life to the fullest and to enjoy it. Be expectant as you begin your journey to learn to conquer fear and be all God wants you to be, so you can do all that He wants you to do.