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Transcript:
Hello, welcome to Walking in Step with God. I am Steve McDonald. Today we explore the topic “Overcome Fear” as we continue our series “Living a Courageous Life”. We all experience fear in one form or another. Some fears help us and keep us safe. For example, fear helps us to detect threats and risks so that we can keep ourselves out of harm’s way. There are other fears that can be crippling and difficult to manage, especially fears related to situations that we feel we have no control. Fear can arise following a medical diagnosis. Fear can take hold when we are concerned for our safety. Fear can take hold of us when we don’t know what the future may bring.
Today, we are going to explore three ways to overcome fear. Let’s discuss how our walk with God can equip us to face our fears and feel confident and secure.
Before we dive in, why don’t we take a quick break? I will be right back.
Welcome back. Let’s continue discussing 3 ways to overcome fears. Overcoming our fears is not easy. It requires confidence, courage, and in many ways trust in someone or something other than yourself.
In our walk with God, we must remember that God did not create us to be dominated by fear. Let’s look at 3 ways we can approach overcoming our fears.
#1 Give it to God
Often, the source of fear is the feeling that we don’t have control of a situation. We are afraid that if we do not have control, some form of harm will inevitably come to us, especially when we need to place our well-being in the hands of another.
When we are feeling fearful or anxious about a situation, we can give our situation to God. We can share our fears, our anxieties, and our uncertainties about a situation with the One where nothing is impossible.
When we hand over our situation to God, we can know that He knows every single detail of our circumstances and knows the best way to handle it as well as the best outcome for all parties involved (not just yourself).
#2 Seek God’s will
When we are experiencing fear and giving a situation to God, one of the most important things to do in the process is to seek out God’s will.
God’s will is perfect. God’s will is flawless. God’s plan is the perfect plan. When we are facing fears about a situation, we need to remind ourselves that there is no reason to fear if we simply seek to follow God’s will.
Consider this. If we are feeling afraid, it is likely because we are fearful of an outcome that we do not want. We may believe that we know what is best for us, but only God truly knows what is best for us. If we believe that God knows best and pursue what God knows is best, we can move past our fears knowing that we will be led to a path and plan that has the best possible outcome.
For example, following a job interview – should we be fearful and anxious about getting the job, or should we seek God’s will for that job opportunity? Should we be fearful that will be rejected from the job if God knows the job is not good for us? Instead of being fearful that you will not get the job, focus on seeking out and finding God’s will for a job role. In doing so, you know that a job search is simply a matter of being led to a job role that He knows is right for you.
I was recently in this same scenario. Following a job interview for a role I desired, I found myself drifting into fear of rejection. Instead, I turned to seek out and learn of God’s will. I asked Him to touch the hearts and minds of my interviewers to offer me the job if and only if the job role is in alignment with His plans for me. I also asked Him to prevent my being offered the job if the role takes me away from His plans for me. In this situation, I may be eager to learn of the interviewer’s decision, but I know the outcome will be aligned with God’s will – not my own.
#3 Believe and trust in God
When we have given our situation to God and made a decision to seek God’s will, we must also believe and trust in Him.
We can believe and trust in God because God created us. God loves us more than we can imagine. We know that He desires for us to experience a joy-filled life. One with abundance, peace, and love.
If we know this and believe this, we can find courage and overcome our fears with the knowledge that we can ask God for help with any situation as we seek to learn His will. In seeking God’s will, we can rest assured we are aimed in the right direction for any situation that we may encounter in our lives.
All that being said, believing and trusting in God is a process. It will take patience and practice. Believing and trusting in God requires shifting away from our default behavior. We will of course experience ups and downs in life, but keeping our eyes upon our Creator is the only way we will be -fully- equipped to face and overcome our fears.
Wrap Up
In today’s message, we have explored 3 ways to overcome fear. We learned how important it is to give the situations that cause us anxiety and fear to God. When we are facing a situation where we are feeling concerned about the outcomes, let us hand over our situation to God. We discussed the importance of seeking God’s will. God’s will is perfect. God’s plan is perfect. The sooner we learn of God’s will and His perfected plans, the better off we will be. When we are dealing with fear, part of handing our situation to God is seeking out His will. We discussed the importance of believing in God. Once we have handed our circumstances to God and prepared ourselves to learn of His will, we must learn to trust in Him – knowing that He seeks for us to experience the best version of our lives according to His plans for us.
Fear is a part of life and in some cases, fear is an important part of our humanity to keep us safe and out of harm’s way, but other fears were never meant to be a normal part of everyday life. God did not create us to be creatures of fear, especially when it comes to the trials and tribulations we will all face in our lifetime.
If there is a situation in your life where you are experiencing fear, give it to God and seek out His will. Know that God is with you, will comfort you, and equip you to overcome.
Are you interested in discovering more about the guidance offered in this message? Learn more in the companion article Going Deeper with the Word: Overcome Fear
