Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 11:33 am
Do It Afraid!
by Joyce Meyer
Fear! Has it ever been a problem for you, holding you back from moving into areas that could enrich your own life and the lives of others? There is a solution.
One of the many benefits available to Christians is freedom from fear. When we avoid making changes or confronting issues in our lives because of fear or dread, we need to remember that God has promised to go before us and bring us through victoriously as we obey Him.
When we’re facing a job interview, for example, instead of being afraid that we’ll make a bad impression and fail to get the position, we need to ask God to prepare the heart and mind of the interviewer and help us present ourselves in the very best light. When God "prepares the way," we can trust that whatever happens will turn out for our good according to His perfect plan for us.
The Bible tells of a man named Abram who trusted God in spite of his own personal fear. Now...the Lord said to Abram, Go for yourself [for your own advantage] away from your country, from your relatives and your father's house, to the land that I will show you (Genesis 12:1).
How would you feel if God told you to leave your home, your family and everything that is familiar and comfortable and head out to an unknown destination? Full of fear? That’s precisely the challenge Abram faced—and it frightened him. But God's words to him were, "Fear not." It’s the same message He gave to Joshua when He called him to lead the children of Israel to take the land He had promised to give them as their inheritance (see Joshua 1:6-9). And to all who set out to follow God's plan today, He says, "Fear not."
Elisabeth Elliot, whose husband was killed along with four other missionaries in Ecuador, says that her life was completely controlled by fear. Every time she started to step out to minister, fear stopped her. Then a friend told her something that set her free. Her friend said, "Why don't you do it afraid?" Elisabeth listened and took that advice. Together with Rachel Saint, the sister of one of the murdered missionaries, they went on to evangelize the Indian tribes of Ecuador, including the very people who had killed their loved ones.
Many times we think we should wait to do something until we are no longer afraid, but if we did that, we’d probably accomplish very little for God, for others, or even for ourselves. Both Abram and Joshua had to step out in faith and obedience to God and do what He had commanded them to do—even though they were afraid.
I believe the words fear not simply mean don't run. So the solution to fear is simple: Rather than bowing our knee and giving in to it, we must stand firm against it, knowing that God has gone before us and prepared the way.
This is precisely what God wants us to do. Even if our mouth is dry and our knees are shaking, we need to keep asking God to strengthen us. We need to determine that our lives are not going to be ruled by fear but by the Word of God.
As we saw before in Genesis, God gave Abram a tall order. He said, "Pack up and leave everyone you know and everything you’re comfortable with and go to a place I will show you." If Abram had bowed his knee to fear, he never would’ve fulfilled his destiny to become all God created him to be—the father of many nations.
In the same way, if Joshua hadn’t overcome his fear and been obedient to God's command to lead His people into the Promised Land, they never would’ve enjoyed all that God had prepared for them.
Giving in to fear alters God's best plan for your life. So use the power of God's Word to do what He wants you to do...even if you have to do it afraid! The rewards are great.
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by Joyce Meyer
Fear! Has it ever been a problem for you, holding you back from moving into areas that could enrich your own life and the lives of others? There is a solution.
One of the many benefits available to Christians is freedom from fear. When we avoid making changes or confronting issues in our lives because of fear or dread, we need to remember that God has promised to go before us and bring us through victoriously as we obey Him.
When we’re facing a job interview, for example, instead of being afraid that we’ll make a bad impression and fail to get the position, we need to ask God to prepare the heart and mind of the interviewer and help us present ourselves in the very best light. When God "prepares the way," we can trust that whatever happens will turn out for our good according to His perfect plan for us.
The Bible tells of a man named Abram who trusted God in spite of his own personal fear. Now...the Lord said to Abram, Go for yourself [for your own advantage] away from your country, from your relatives and your father's house, to the land that I will show you (Genesis 12:1).
How would you feel if God told you to leave your home, your family and everything that is familiar and comfortable and head out to an unknown destination? Full of fear? That’s precisely the challenge Abram faced—and it frightened him. But God's words to him were, "Fear not." It’s the same message He gave to Joshua when He called him to lead the children of Israel to take the land He had promised to give them as their inheritance (see Joshua 1:6-9). And to all who set out to follow God's plan today, He says, "Fear not."
Elisabeth Elliot, whose husband was killed along with four other missionaries in Ecuador, says that her life was completely controlled by fear. Every time she started to step out to minister, fear stopped her. Then a friend told her something that set her free. Her friend said, "Why don't you do it afraid?" Elisabeth listened and took that advice. Together with Rachel Saint, the sister of one of the murdered missionaries, they went on to evangelize the Indian tribes of Ecuador, including the very people who had killed their loved ones.
Many times we think we should wait to do something until we are no longer afraid, but if we did that, we’d probably accomplish very little for God, for others, or even for ourselves. Both Abram and Joshua had to step out in faith and obedience to God and do what He had commanded them to do—even though they were afraid.
I believe the words fear not simply mean don't run. So the solution to fear is simple: Rather than bowing our knee and giving in to it, we must stand firm against it, knowing that God has gone before us and prepared the way.
This is precisely what God wants us to do. Even if our mouth is dry and our knees are shaking, we need to keep asking God to strengthen us. We need to determine that our lives are not going to be ruled by fear but by the Word of God.
As we saw before in Genesis, God gave Abram a tall order. He said, "Pack up and leave everyone you know and everything you’re comfortable with and go to a place I will show you." If Abram had bowed his knee to fear, he never would’ve fulfilled his destiny to become all God created him to be—the father of many nations.
In the same way, if Joshua hadn’t overcome his fear and been obedient to God's command to lead His people into the Promised Land, they never would’ve enjoyed all that God had prepared for them.
Giving in to fear alters God's best plan for your life. So use the power of God's Word to do what He wants you to do...even if you have to do it afraid! The rewards are great.
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Thanks!!!