I’m always amazed at the lack of fear my kids have. They walk over logs high over creeks, my daughter rides horses, and my son pitches in baseball games. These things can stir up fears in me.

Fear can be good. It can serve as an alarm bell that something is about to happen or is happening that we need to flee from or be careful around. It may keep us from doing something we shouldn’t do. It really wouldn’t be a good thing if we were to wake up with no fear anymore, but let’s just use our imagination for moment.

Unreasonable fear or faithless fear can keep us from doing things we should do, so a good question to ask ourselves and to use as a tool in evaluating our fears is this:

“If I woke up tomorrow with no fear, what would I do first?

Perhaps the first thing you think of is an important piece of your life that you should look at.

If you think of quitting your job, you shouldn’t necessarily just not go to work! Perhaps you could evaluate why you had that desire. Depending on your reason, you might want to begin looking at other work or move towards figuring out what work would suit you and the way God created you.

I know from looking at my own life that we can develop fears that are unrealistic or do not line up with biblical truths that we want to live by. These kinds of fears have actually kept me from doing things I believe God has called me to do.

Do you have some kind of fear that rules over your heart and keeps you from doing something God might be calling you to?

Maybe it would help if we’d first just realize that fear is God-given, natural response to things that should frighten us. It can keep us safe from dangers. If you have fear responses, that means your body is working the way God designed it, but we are called to not live in fear, let it take root in our hearts, or let fear rule over us. We are to be people of faith, not panic. The bible’s call to “Do not fear” appears over one hundred times in the pages of scripture, perhaps because God knows how scary the world is that we live in.

He knows that, as humans, we care too much what others think of us. He knows that we understand that any day could be our last.

He knows because He lived and died among us and He was tempted by fear just like we are. He did not ever let it rule over Him, though.

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Hebrews 4:15

Even Jesus agonized about what He was going to experience as He prayed in the garden the night he was betrayed. He knew He would be facing the darkness of the sin of the world being put on Him, yet He turned toward the Father in the midst of that. Fear did not take root in His heart.

It’s understandable that we will agonize, worry, and even be afraid of things in this world, but this isn’t where we want to stay or live.

What did Jesus do when He faced the darkness?

He turned to the Father and passionately poured out honest prayers. He then allowed Himself to be carried off by Roman soldiers, to be beaten, and to be crucified and buried so that He could rise again for our hope and future.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Hebrews 12:1-2

Jesus turned to the Father and endured the cross and was ultimately blessed and blessed others.

Let us not turn away from the Lord in our fears or try to conquer them in our own strength. Our thirst for safety will not be quenched.

Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
    and makes flesh his strength,
    whose heart turns away from the Lord.
He is like a shrub in the desert,
    and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
    in an uninhabited salt land.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
    whose trust is the Lord.
 He is like a tree planted by water,
    that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
    for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
    for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Jeremiah 17:5-8

Jesus trusted and He continues to bear fruit in the lives of those He died for.

Yes, let’s take care and be wise about our fears. Don’t throw caution totally to the wind! Pray and seek the Lord’s guidance about your fears. This question should be used only to help pinpoint things we might not be doing (or doing) because of fear alone. In those cases, it would be good for us to turn toward God and pray about them. Let’s evaluate if we need to take steps toward trusting God instead of fearing circumstances, man, or things.

Paul said this,

“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

Galations 1:10

Let us face our fear of man and worldly things by taking steps toward the Lord and toward the kinds of things He clearly calls us to in scripture and towards serving Him in the ways He may be calling us.

When we find that we do fear, let’s remember that we have a great high priest who sympathizes with our weakness and knows the way forward. He has shown us what it looks like to live an abundant life without the control of fear. He gives us grace in our time of need.

Asking questions is a great way to coach yourself and your loved ones. How could you use this question this week to help you, your spouse, a child, or a friend?

If you are a parent who struggles with fear or how to parent well, I have a great book for you called Like Our Father.

Instead of focusing on parenting techniques, this book is about who God is, who we are in light of that, and how His character forms our parenting. I’m having a drawing for this book from my e-mail newsletter list on May 21st! Sign up before then for a chance to win Like Our Father by Christina Fox. All of my subscribers will be entered!

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If you are experiencing parenting frustration, I would love to work with you on that. I offer affordable coaching to women including a free initial consultation. Please visit my website or send me a message so that I can answer any questions you have about coaching.

amy@cornerstonechristcenteredcoaching.com

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