Three Ways to Overcome Fear
Fear is gripping. It is paralyzing. It causes stress and anxiety. Fear has the power to control us mentally. And it can completely dominate our lives without us even realizing it.
God never intends for the Christian to be controlled by fear. Christ defeated Satan on the cross. He has already won the victory. When we are living in fear, we are failing to avail ourselves of the victory that has already been claimed.
Fear does not originate with God but with the devil. It is rooted in his lies and deceptions. However, God has given us the necessary resources to overcome fear.
In II Timothy 1:7 we see three ways God has given us to overcome fear,
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;
but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
We Overcome Fear: With Power
Recognize God has all Power
We have an all-powerful God. He is able to overcome any fear we have.
There is no power existing on this earth that is not within the realm of His control. Just knowing this, should help calm our fears.
I no longer keep up with the news on regular basis because of the fear it created in my life. When we focus on what is going on in the World instead of the fact that God is in complete control, fear will overpower us.
Psalm 147:5, “Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.”
Jeremiah 32:17, “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:”
Realize the All-powerful One is with us
Not only is God OMNIPOTENT (all-powerful), this very power is living inside and indwelling each and every believer. What an amazing thought! He is always with us, and He promises that He will NEVER leave nor forsake us.
Even when we are in the midst of the storm. Even when our circumstances have blinded our vision of His presence. He is still right there with us. We just have to believe His Word and trust Him. Of course, that’s easy to say, but hard to do.
When we focus our thoughts and minds on His truth, eventually our hearts and emotions will follow. Meditating on His promises is vital during times of trial and testing.
Matthew 28:18, 20 “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth…and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Hebrews 13:5, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
Rely on His Power
God gives power to the weary. He gives us strength to endure our trials. He will often bring us to the place in life where the only thing we can do is to rely on Him. When we have no answers, we must simply trust and have faith.
God is glorified the most during times when it is apparent that victory has only been gained through His power.
Isaiah 40:29-31,
“He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
When we rely on the power of the Holy Spirit who is dwelling within us, we will experience the strength to overcome every fear we experience.
We Overcome Fear: With Love
The Comforting Work of Love
Romans 8:28,
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
By claiming the promise found in Romans 8:28, many of our fears will be washed away. Realizing God has a purpose in every trial will bring comfort to the fearful and hurting heart. When we love God and are committed to following His purpose for our lives, He will use EVERY circumstance in our lives for good.
Even the bad things. Even our mistakes and areas where we have messed up.
Reading through the Old Testament, without already knowing the end result, will make you wonder how God’s plan was ever accomplished. Even His chosen people couldn’t obey Him and do what was right. The lineage of Christ is so full of people whose lives were a mess.
While we do have a free will and are not puppets in the hand of God, He knows how to take our choices and to work out His perfect plan. If He could use all those imperfect people and make it to the cross, He can take the pieces of your life and work out His intrinsic plan.
Only a loving God could use imperfect people to accomplish His perfect plan!
We overcome fear by knowing God is working ALL things for good in the lives of His children.
The Connecting of Love
Romans 8:35, 37-39,
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
As a child of God, we are eternally connected to the boundless love of Christ. No power on heaven or earth can cause a breach in this connection.
It is eternal. It is unmeasurable.
God’s love stretches to the extent of eternity past and to the furthest point of eternity future. It is a bond that can never be severed.
As the hymn writer wrote:
O love of God, how rich and pure;
how measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure,
the saints’ and angels’ song.1
The Casting Out of Love
I John 4:18,
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”
I believe the most beautiful picture of love is that of a father holding his newborn child. The child is at peace in her father’s arms because she knows she is loved, protected, and safe from any harm. This perfect love a father has for his child casts out fear.
When we are afraid we can run into the loving arms of our Heavenly Father knowing that we will be safe and protected from all harm. There is no greater picture of perfect love than of God’s love for us, His children.
God wants to replace our fears with His unconditional perfect love. He gave His own life so that we would not have to experience the greatest fear a person can have – fear of death. Those who have been born into His family have no need to fear death. Because He has promised us the gift of eternal life.
When a person puts her faith and trust in Jesus Christ, she experiences an overwhelming peace and security made perfect by the LOVE of Christ. This perfect love casts out and overcomes all fears.
We Overcome Fear: With a Sound Mind
Capture Our Fearful Thoughts
In II Timothy 1:7, “sound mind” is referring to moderation and self-control.
How do we overcome fear with moderation and self-control?
Fear begins in the mind. It comes when we allow our imaginations to run wild with thoughts of what might happen, or thoughts of worry over that which we have no control.
It comes when we start doubting and worrying instead of turning to God in faith.
Charles Spurgeon said, “The worst evils of life are those which do not exist except in our imagination. If we had no troubles but real troubles, we should not have a tenth part of our present sorrows.
When thoughts of fear and worry enter our minds, we must capture them by taking control and not allowing our minds to continue to dwell on them. By bringing every thought captive into the obedience of Christ, we can conquer our fears with the Lord’s strength.
II Corinthians 10:3,
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”
Change Our Fearful Thoughts
When we meditate on God’s Word, our thoughts will be turned to the Lord instead of our fears and worries. During times of struggling with fear, I would suggest that you find some verses to memorize and meditate upon.
“If we want the Word of God to have authority in our life, there is only one way – obey it. If we want the Holy Spirit to have authority in our life, there is only one way – Obey Him. [When] we…obey impulses of fear or doubt or resentment, what will have authority over our minds? Fear, and doubt and resentment.” (Tom Marshall)
Conclusion
I would like to share with you this simple acrostic for you to remember when experiencing fear in your life:
F – Focus on Christ, not your fears
Remember to keep your eyes focused on Christ. When you focus on the problem instead of Christ, it will be bigger than you can handle. When Peter took his eyes off Christ, he started to sink. He began focusing on the storm instead of on Christ.
E –Exercise your God-given power
Remember that we have power over our fears through Jesus Christ. “God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power…”
A –Arm yourself with the Word of God
Memorize and meditate on God’s Word so that when worry, fear and doubt creeps in; you are armed with the Word of God. Just as a soldier would not go into battle unarmed, we should not go into battle without being armed with the Word of God.
R –Rest in the Arms of Christ
Find peace and security by resting in the arms of Jesus. Deuteronomy 33:27, “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.”
Click Here for FEAR Acrostic Printable
Isaiah 26:3,
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
God will not necessarily deliver us from every fear, but He will give us the enabling resources to overcome our fears.
Let’s find strength by claiming the power of His promises!
This stuff is ideall good and helpful; thank goodness that God is indeed in control of everything and with that said I know that I,m safe in His hands.
It helps knowing God is always in control!
Julia, I really appreciate that you included the idea that we need to replace the fear with good thoughts from Scripture. We often miss this part and then wonder why we can’t stay out of that pit. Thanks for sharing on Grace & Truth. I’ll be sharing on social media!
Yes, that is a crucial aspect! Thanks for sharing!