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!