You Have What It Takes To Do It Afraid
by Joyce Meyer
Fear is an enemy that torments the soul and seeks to steal our life. Conquering it is not something that we do in one day, or even in 1,000 days. It is something that we conquer one day at a time with God’s help. I still confront and deal with fears that try to make me think I need to do more, or try harder, or be nicer. Fear can show up unexpectedly. One of our goals should be to recognize it so we can deal with it right away.
Recently, I was waking up at about 2 or 3 in the morning and then having difficulty going back to sleep. After two nights of that, I found myself going to bed with a vague sort of fear that it would happen again, and sure enough it did. After about three nights of the same thing, God reminded me that I could pray and resist Satan, the source of all fear. According to God’s Word, the sleep of the righteous should be sweet (see Proverbs 3:24). I prayed immediately and went back to sleep and have not had any problems since then.
If you have difficulty thinking about resisting Satan, let me remind you that Jesus did it. We have His power and authority over the enemy, but authority is useless if it is not exercised.
Being free from fear doesn’t mean that we will never experience it or be confronted by it. It means that we are committed to not allowing it to rule our lives, and when necessary we will do what we need to do, even if we have to do it afraid.
Each fear you confront becomes a small victory and prepares you to face the next one. Each time you feel fear and decide to “do it afraid,” you will enjoy your new freedom so much that you will soon be totally unwilling to do without it. You will become determined to end your days of slavery to fear. That does not mean that you won’t still need to confront your fears, but it does mean that you will be more and more willing to keep confronting them.
When You Fall, Get Up and Keep Going!
The Bible says that the righteous man falls seven times and gets up again (see Proverbs 24:16). I love that scripture and I am greatly encouraged by it. Even the most righteous person fails to do everything he knows to do all the time, but he is committed to not giving up.
Even if you have a weak moment, that doesn’t mean you have lost your victory. If we give up, even God can’t help us because we receive His help through faith, not through hopelessness. We need to stay positive, hopeful and filled with faith, and when we do we can overcome anything with God’s help. I often say that anyone can succeed if they refuse to give up!
Some fears are more deeply rooted in us than other ones are, and for that reason they may be ones we will need to be more aggressive against. Mine is the fear of making people angry. My father was always angry, and I never really knew if I had done something to make him that way or not. I would like to be able to say that after all of these years of teaching others, I no longer have to deal with this one fear, but that’s not the case. However, the good news is now I recognize it and I deal with it, so I still have the victory.
Being able to recognize the lies, deceits and strategies of the devil is so important. We should always be ready to resist him at the onset of his attacks. The longer we let a fear remain, the more difficult it is to get rid of. So make a decision to be a person of action. You have what it takes to win!
Armed and Dangerous
The Word of God says that we are more than conquerors through Christ who loves us (Romans 8:37). You are armed with the truth of God’s Word, and you are dangerous to the devil as long as you keep lifting up the shield of faith and actively applying the truth that you now have. We have what it takes, but must be active and never give up!
Don’t be impatient! Possessing the full freedom that is yours in Christ is a journey. It is something we gain and then need to maintain. Always enjoy your progress instead of merely looking at how far you have to go. Today is a new day, and every day you can be one step closer to conquering your fears!
Adapted from“Living Courageously” by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2014 by Joyce Meyer. Reprinted by permission of FaithWords, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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