Sunday, July 26, 2009

Fear Factor!

"Elijah was afraid and he fled for his life."

I guess if Elijah, one of the greatest prophets of God, could be afraid of a wicked queen then we shepherds may struggle with fear now and then.

The question then becomes not if you become afraid but when do you become afraid?

Fear can have a paralyzing affect on our ministries. When I asked over a hundred pastors what they were afraid of the following answers were given:

1. "I am afraid of failure"
2. "I am afraid of becoming irrelevant."
3. "I am afraid of losing control."
4. "I am afraid that my family will not measure up."
5. "I am afraid of losing people."
6. "I am afraid that people will find out I'm not as spiritual as they think I am."
7. "I am afraid of history repeating itself."
8. "I afraid of what people think of me."

There are many more fears out there so you can fill in the blank.

Paul gave some good advice to a fearful and timid young pastor Timothy. "But God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline." NLT

There is great power in the truth. The word of God is powerful. Fear is essentially believing a lie. Paul tells us to fix our minds on truth. What lies are you buying into?

Perfect love casts out or drives out fear. Fear and Love cannot coexist. When we understand specifially how much God really loves us fears have a tendency to melt away. When we trust in that love our faith becomes our reality. When is the last time you sat down and truly contemplated the love that God has demonstrated in your life?

Paul reminds us to think with sound judgment in Romans. This takes discipline. Paul also tells us to take every thought captive. Are you being proactive in the battle for your mind?

It all starts by facing your fears rather then rationalizing or running from them.

The good news is that God met Elijah in his fear so that he got up off the mat and continued to fight the good fight.






We must discipline our minds to focus on truth.


2 comments:

  1. When I start to get these types of fears I think, "what is the worst that could happen? It's just not all that bad if...I refuse to be embarassed about failure. We all fail at times, it is life. God will bring us through. I don't think I always become stronger, but I am always more at peace with God.
    Dale

    ReplyDelete
  2. Woops!I failed again...Embarrassed
    Dale

    ReplyDelete