No Longer Imprisoned By Fear – Devotional

Hello friend,

^”Have not I commanded you? Be strong, vigorous, and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9 (AMPC)

So often in my life I have allowed fear to rule over me. Sometimes I was aware of the fear and sometimes I was totally oblivious to it. Fear has had a way of controlling me. What I would do, what I would say and even who I would become had all been influenced by my fear. As I reflect on it I can’t help but wonder:

How Many Opportunities Did I Miss?

I have allowed fear to hold me back from pressing forward in my life.  This fear kept me stuck and at times I became unmovable. Even when the circumstances were uncomfortable, fear grounded me.  In many ways this fear was protecting my pride and ego while the real outcome was imprisoning me in my selfishness.

If I didn’t walk in these opportunities, then I wouldn’t fail.  Fear of failure has always been huge for me. But what if I didn’t fail? What if I took the risk to step out of my fear(s) and press forward? I have learned that whether I fail or whether I succeed, in the end they are both successful.  God has promised us that. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” —  Romans 8:28 (NIV)

How Many Relationships Did I Not Experience ?

There have been times when I have walked away from relationships due to fear. Sometimes it was based on a fear that they were going to walk away first and sometimes it was based on a fear of confrontation.

For the longest time in my life I struggled with a root of rejection and feared being rejected “one more time”. As a result of this fear of rejection I would isolate and not reach out to others or I would even reject them before they could reject me. God has done some amazing healing in my life and I am comforted by the scripture: “So do not fear, for I am with you; and do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; and I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” — Isaiah 41:10 

How Much Fun and Joy Did I Miss Out On Because of Fear?

 I am a true introvert, however there have been times in my life that I stayed away from socializing with others due to walking in fear more than due to being an introvert. Being afraid of other people’s opinions of me is a fear that to this day, I continuously work on.  This fear is based in my insecurities and I see it rise up in my life when I am feeling insecure in the situation that I am in and in who I am.

In order to combat this fear I have learned to remind myself of who I am in Christ. One way that I do this is by reading through the New Testament and everywhere I see either, “In Him” or “In Christ”, I insert my name.  By inserting my name I am claiming that scripture as a direct promise from God to myself.  In addition I will do a monthly scripture writing exercise on “Identity In a Christ” (click on the link).

Lessons Learned To Fight Fear

 I have learned to do it afraid and to continue to do it afraid until I am no longer afraid. 

This is a process and sometimes it takes longer than I would like. However once I overcome the fear — the victory is sweet.

 To look at what could happen and not always focus on the negative.

I am in charge of my thinking and I can either choose to focus on the “what if’s” in a negative way or I can focus on the “what if’s” in a positive way. A lot of my “what if’s” are just a tactic that the enemy uses to ground me from pressing forward in my life. I declare today (and everyday): “I am not going to allow the enemy to control my life.” How about you? Are you going to declare this as well?

To encourage myself before quitting or even starting.

We all need encouragement and often times we wait for others to do the encouraging. I am able to encourage myself and often that means feeding my spirit with the Word of God and asking the Holy Spirit to help me do what it is in front of me to do.

Stop allowing others to speak into my life and be more concerned with what God says about me than what others are saying.

I don’t have to accept everyone else’s opinion.  The only opinion that truly matters is God’s.  Spending time in prayer and digging into His Word helps me to  not get trapped in my own insecurities.

To take a leap of faith and know that God will be there to catch me in case I fall.

God has promised: “The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. — Psalm 37:23-24 (NIV)

Pressing Forward Out Of My Fear

Knowing this and realizing that I have a choice that I need to make on an ongoing basis. I ask myself: Do I choose fear? Or Do I choose faith?

Today I choose to let go of fear and embrace faith. I make the choice to do it afraid and in essence walk in faith and in freedom. I choose to stop being so afraid of what could go wrong and start being positive about what could go right.

The enemy is full of lies and I am no longer going to listen to the lies. I am choosing to listen to what God says about me and not pay any attention to what others are saying. Learning who I am in Christ is now a priority in my life and I am focusing on moving forward each and every day.  I don’t have to take big strides in moving forward – baby steps will bring progression too.

Today I am choosing to not allow fear to control me and imprison me. I am choosing to walk in faith and be free.

What are you going to choose today?  

Prayer

I invite you to pray this prayer with me.

Father God, thank You for walking with me on the path of my life’s journey. I am so grateful that anytime I feel even a tinge of fear that I can turn to You. You have given me so many gifts and golden nuggets in Your Word. Today I cling onto the promise that You have not given me a spirit of fear but of power, love and self control.

Lord, I ask that You help me walk in the confidence that only can come from You.  I lean on Your promise that all things are possible for those who believe in Christ Jesus. Thank You Lord for never leaving me, nor forsaking me. Today I am choosing to lay down my fears at the foot of the cross and walk in faith. I am choosing to resist the devil and his lies and submit to You, Your ways and who You say I am. Lord, help me to continue to press forward into all that You have for me. I love you and am grateful for Your love for me. In Jesus’ Name ~~ Amen 

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Do you struggle with “fear”?  Are there some fears that you need to lay down on the cross?  Ask God to help you start walking in faith as you cast your fear aside. Let me know in the comments as I would love to hear from you and pray for you too.

Interested in reading more of my devotions? I am including a link for you:

Devotions

Blessings

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