Fear & Freedom

What is fear?

Fear is different for everyone.

Maybe fear is caused by an animal or small spaces.

Maybe fear is caused by someone, like fear to upset your boss or your parent. Maybe you have fear of germs or of things like heights and or speed. Maybe your fear is fear of something happening.

They are all fears that to oneself is very real and affects you emotionally and physically.

Did you know Fear can cause Health issues. It can cause long-term cardiovascular problems, and immune system dysfunction. It can also cause gastrointestinal issues, sleep disturbances, PTSD, and even depression. It can cause issues with your cognitive impairment too. It  truly reduces the quality of life.

We all have lived through some sort of fear.

I know I have. I still struggle with a few of them and pray daily that the Lord will give me strength and comfort. My fears have been roaches and spiders, “Jesus take me now” fear, haha. Fear for my kids and their safety. Totally a normal mom thing right??

But what if I told you that you didn’t have to fear anything ( seriously though fear nothing).

What if I told you that your fear is irrational and you are not only falling into a sin, but you are not living in faith.

God shows us in many books and verses that - not that we don’t have to - but that we SHOULDN’T fear.

Isaiah 41:10, very often spoken, says FEAR NOT, for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand..

1 john 4:18 says in the first line that there is no fear in love, but perfect love cast out fear.

DISMAYED: means “distress or feeling alarmed.” What it means in the Bible is to not be filled with fear and anxiety to the point of losing courage.

To break it down more DISTRESS means to have “extreme anxiety or sorrow or pain.”

Does your fear causes you to lose courage?

Does it cripple you and or make you freeze?

Do you feel physical pain? You    know that shocking sensation when your heart stops for a second?

That’s all flesh driven.

It’s the part of us that needs to be forced to align with God.

Then there’s the Fear that gives us FREEDOM and is a healthy fear..

I know, now it’s sounding crazy and not making sense, but hold on for a second and stay with me.

Healthy fear. What is that and how does it possibly bring freedom you just went over how bad fear is?

Healthy fear motivates us to take action, like avoiding dangerous situations and helps us create healthy boundaries. It can foster respect and understanding.

We are to have a HEALTHY fear of God, which leads us to have reverence which means a deep respect and admiration and appreciation.

It’s what pushes us to obedience and is a cure or antidote to sin and fear of man and the world.

Gods word makes a connection for us that GODLY fear is wise and gives us protection. Remember HEALTHY fear motivates us to avoid  dangerous situations which then saves us from our temptations.

The reason unhealthy fear is a sin is because you are not giving it to God, and you are not having FAITH that God is who He says He is and He is not keeping His promise to protect you. You aren’t living aligned with the Holy Spirit.

You shouldn’t just read the verses but live them, and if that’s true which God says it is, then you aren’t believing and or being obedient to His word.

Like in Proverbs, which really is our wisdom book, it touches everything and is a road map in itself how to overcome and become more like Jesus. It also tells us what NOT  to do.

Proverbs 1:7 says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise  wisdom and instruction.”

Proverbs 14:26 says “In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence and his children ( aka us) will have refuge.”

That’s where freedom comes in.

We are free in Christ, His love and our healthy fear creates freedom in our lives..

It says in Galatians 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm,  and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. “

So our FEARS really are slavery, and you can then see how the mental and physical states we are in when we have fear has us captive. Anything that takes over our minds, and or body, that doesn’t align with Christ is us being in sin and not living in , or aligned, with the Holy spirit.

Faith=Freedom

Freedom=Peace

You can’t have peace if you are living in fear and are stuck in sin.

But a HEALTHY fear of your Heavenly Father, who wants nothing but good things for your life, puts you in a place of spiritual respect. That is where your alignment with Jesus Christ sets in.

FREEDOM. What is freedom in a worldly view.

It’s a do what I want,say what I want, be what I want.

We all know where that gets us.

SIN. It gets us in the middle of sin. We become Prideful, Angry & Combative, a State of Selfishness.

But Freedom in Christ - wow - well that’s true freedom..

It brings us peace and joy.

It brings us to a place of LOVE and surrenderance

It changes our mindset and our soul comes to a place of Christ filled vs Flesh filled

My closing statements is this, and advice is this,

REBUKE the spirit of FEAR.

Command the flesh to submit.

SPEAK LIFE over your state of being, whatever that fear in the moment looks like.

Speak freedom.

Speak the verses above, or other verses, over yourself and your situation.

And most importantly, speak truth and Gods promise over yourself.

I am a child of the one true King who has an army of angles surrounding me. He holds me up in his hand and shelters me in love. God is my refuge. Speak his names over yourself and there meaning

Jehovah Jireh- The Lord will provide

Jehovah Shalom- The Lord is peace

EL Shaddai- God almighty the all sufficient one

Immanuel- God is with us..

There’s power and freedom in the name of our Heavenly Father…