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Thursday, September 11, 2014

Conquering Fear

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
 
2 Timothy 1:7 NLT

Recently my son rode his first kiddy roller coaster. Needless to say, I was one proud Mama watching my normally shy four year old smiling from ear to ear with his dad after his first ride. My heart rejoiced as I snapped a picture of his moment of triumph, hands raised with a goofy grin on his face. I couldn’t help but wonder, is this really the same kid? Just thirty minutes before, he had passed up race cars because
they seemed too scary. Now he was riding roller coasters with his daddy with no fear.

Seeing my son conquer his fear made me wonder how many times I have missed out on opportunities in the past because of fear. Yet there are so many verses in the bible telling me, fear not.

During the last month and a half I’ve had two opportunities to speak at a local college. I was excited but terrified at the same time. I kept going through a long list of things that could go wrong like, what if I shutter, freeze or accidently hiccup in the middle of my speech?

The fear controlled me until I turned it over to Jesus. After a lot of prayer and preparation for the first speech I felt much better. I knew if he’d opened the door, he would help me walk through it. I may have gotten tongue tied once or twice but in the end, both speeches turned out to be very rewarding experiences. Jesus helped me conquer this fear and gave me the opportunity to share my faith in a way I never thought possible.

This weekend at church my pastor preached a message that really hit home. It was about God asking us to do things that stretch our faith—things that seem beyond our human ability. It made me think about the fears that always held me back and made some things seem impossible. The wonderful thing is, when we allow God to work through us, the impossible becomes possible. It becomes His victory—His triumph.

Just like I rejoiced watching my son conquer his fear, I can imagine how our heavenly father feels when we let Him help us conquer our fears. There must be some great rejoicing in heaven when that happens, don’t you think?

Thank you for reading and keep Shining for Him!

6 comments:

  1. Rachel,
    I also have learned to hand my fears to God! He is our rock, our fortress, our help in time of need. Praise Him!
    Thank you for using the gift that God has given you....you are a source of encouragement for me and I'm sure many others. Keep shining!

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  2. Thank you for the encouraging words. I'm glad that God blessed you through reading this post. Blessings to you today.
    ~Rachel

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  3. Rachel, it's just wonderful how you turned your fears over to the Lord. So proud of you for speaking to the college groups!

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    1. Thank you, Cheryl. It's so funny, I never thought I'd want to speak in front of people but it seems that God has opened this new door for me. I'm excited for more, if the Lord wills. I hope you have a blessed day.

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  4. This is the first of your posts I've read. I like what you say and how clearly you made you point and got me to thinking about it.

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    1. Thank you, Norma. I'm glad you enjoyed reading it. It means so much to hear comments from readers so thank you your encouraging words. Blessings to you tonight. :)
      ~Rachel

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