Fear is an emotion that we often experience. Some fear is healthy and keeps us out of trouble. The fear of stepping out into oncoming traffic and the fear of putting your hand into a hot fire are healthy fears. It might be better to say that those insights are wisdom. If a person is having chest pains radiating down the arm, he should be afraid to ignore it. It is a warning that something serious may be wrong. There are people who invite trouble because they don’t pay heed to healthy fear. But some kinds of fear are unhealthy and only torment us and prevent us from making progress.
The list of crippling fears that steal our quality of life is endless. How can we experience freedom from tormenting fear? I believe the only way to overcome fear is to live boldly. Boldness enables us to confront our fear and refuse to let that emotion rule us. Actually, courage is said to be progress in the presence of fear. The feelings of fear are real and can be very strong. Fear is one of the most powerful negative emotions we encounter throughout life. The longer we permit feelings of fear to rule us, the stronger they become. A person ruled by fear is said to have a spirit of fear. In other words, she functions and makes most decisions on the basis not of faith, but of fear. Those with a spirit of fear are prone to think of the worst thing that could happen rather than the best. The list of “what-ifs” is endless, and the fear of the unknown keeps them frozen in place and unable to make healthy progress in life. We all experience fear from time to time, but that is quite different from living with a spirit of fear.
I don’t believe we should put up with any fear that is not healthy. When we feel strongly that we are to take a certain action, perhaps an action that God is leading us to take, and fear tries to stop us, we must “do it afraid.” I have shared this simple but powerful principle in some of my other wring, but it is impossible for me to teach on fear without it. Confrontation is usually necessary for freedom. Satan works very hard to steal the freedom Jesus has provided for us, and we must be prepared to aggressively resist him at all times.
The best response when you feel fearful is to say emphatically, “I will not fear.” I cannot promise that declaration will make the feeling of fear disappear, but it does let the devil know where you stand, and it is a way of reminding yourself that you have a right to live boldly, without letting fear rule you. The feelings of fear will evaporate little by little as you confront them, but they are not likely to go away on their own. Fear is the number one tool used by Satan to keep people from being in God’s will and enjoying the life He has provided.
There are thousands of different fears, but the principles of how to defeat fear are the same no matter what kind we are dealing with. Following are some of the fears that are prevalent in people’s lives.
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