I can’t think of a better topic for my first post than “fear”. The most common commandment in the Bible is “fear not”. In fact, that phrase or variations of it occur 365 times in the Bible! God knew that we are constantly reverting to fear instead of relying on His strength. That’s why He knew He needed to repeat the phrase over and over again–one for every day of the year!
When I knew I wanted to start a blog, and also hope to tackle other ideas that can actually turn into entrepreneurial business ventures, I was consumed by fear. Of course it may seem acceptable that when we are starting something new, there will be an element of fear because of the element of uncertainty.
Yet as a Christian, I really felt bad for the Lord because I don’t think this is fair. Fear does not come from the Lord, it comes from the enemy. Complete trust and faith in the Lord will never produce fear! And yet I was consumed by it. The pathetic thing on my part was that I KNEW the Lord was guiding me to start a blog and to finally start to execute the other ideas He has put on my heart. It was clear as day for years that He wanted me to listen to Him and this was where He was leading me. Yet over and over again, I allowed Satan to whisper in my ear and conjure feelings of fear, to the point that I was listening to him instead of my Savior. It filled me with doubt and in effect, procrastination.
But the Lord tells us, “Fear not!” The Bible doesn’t, “fear not, except when you are faced with problems or uncertainty”. We are never supposed to live in fear regardless of the circumstances!
The Lord is helping me to conquer my fear and to rely on Him going forward. In hindsight, I can objectively see my foolishness in paralyzing myself in fear and worry when I have the God of the universe telling me He is with me every second of every day. If you can relate to this, as I imagine you can, I pray that we can become stronger in our walk of faith. I no longer want to be held captive by fear, and I am giving it to the Lord in prayer. Beyond that, it is so empowering to remember Who is on my side! He is breaking the chains that Satan had successfully placed on me and instead of feeling anxiety, stress and fear of the unknown, I feel invigorated and confident each day that the Lord will lead me. If I am obedient, He will not fail to unfold His plans for me. He has it all figured out, and I have nothing to fear. Not now or ever.
Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Joshua 1:9