Dealing with Fear
Wisdom from the Tuesday Ladies Bible Study
If we allow it, our fears and anxieties can launch a coup for control of our minds. The imagery brought forward at the ladies bible study was that of an old tape recorder or video player that keeps replaying the same images and messages over and over, even when you want them to go away. “What is going to happen?” stories, and, “What if?” questions plague the mind and can rob us of the peace the bible promises for God’s children.
We do not want to just hit the stop button; we want to outright delete these plaguing fears.
The biblical antidote for this assault on our mind starts with the last half of 2 Corinthians 10:5, “…take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.” It is not enough to pray that God would relieve you of those fears; we need to stand against them. We take captive, and we make them obedient to Christ. We seize any thought that goes against the knowledge of God by the throat, cast it to the ground and stomp on its head. Okay, I am embellishing a little to make the point that we forcefully do this. We refuse to allow these thoughts entry into our heart. And if they already have gained access, the first part of 2 Corinthinans 5 comes into effect; “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.” This is the removal of strongholds. We do this with weapons of divine power; prayer and the speaking of God’s truth against those lies in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Once this is accomplished, we need to fill the space created by the removal of fears and anxiety with the presence of God and the truth of the Word. Reading it, studying it, memorizing it, speaking it out over your life. Praying it into the situation you previously found yourself fearful over. The time you wasted worrying over something, dedicate that time to praise and worship.
Great wisdom from our great ladies!
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God bless all of you this week!
Pastor Ken (currently coming to you from the land of 74.9 cents per litre gas!)
Fear….Ah yes , an old acquaintance of mine. I know….’ it ‘ well. I was raised in a house of fear. Just like we call our church buildings a ” house of prayer “, the building I lived in I can call a ” house of fear “. People in the world, or , non-believers may use the term ” haunted house ” especially if they walk through the building and feel…’it’ . Watch a non-believer’s reaction as the walk through a church building . There is ‘ something there ‘ , and they feel… ‘ it ‘ . Christians know what that ‘ something there ‘ is . Non-believers don’t and they are afraid .
I can look back now through the years and tell you when ‘ it ‘ all started for me. I was five years old; I was treated like a ‘ big boy ! ‘ ; until my Dad died of lung cancer. Then our lives turned upside down and fear found a new house to dwell in. All I had was me, my imagination , our daily activities , and that ‘ something there ‘ to help me navigate the growing fear in our lives.
I did not have bible verses to read , I left my Anglican church real early in life, had a difficult time paying attention. So for the next ten to fifteen years I used the only tools I had to keep from being consumed by…’ it ‘ . Until one day …..