Do you live in fear?
You can stand and face your fear square on with these tips.

When there’s a catastrophic event or a tragedy like the horrific school shooting in Florida many of us find fear paralyzes us.

Events like this cause parents to hold on tightly to their kids.

Students and adults alike are worried about the future and about potential violence entering their smaller worlds, like schools.

And this event is just one of many gone awry in our world.

Jesus said in the midst of very tumultuous and troubling times… not entirely unlike ours…

“Don’t ever worry about tomorrow. After all, tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Matthew 6:34

When it seems the world as a whole is spiraling out of control… remember…

there is nothing to fear… because God is with you.

But.  But.  But.

I know…

Do not allow your mind to go off on all kinds of tangents.

Instead… focus on TRUTH.  God’s word.

Do not be afraid—I am with you!
I am your God—let nothing terrify you!
I will make you strong and help you;
I will protect you and save you.
Isaiah 41:10

God is our strength.  God is our help.  God is our protector.

The battleground of fear is not in our politics, the media or whatever happens in the world.

The battleground of fear is in our heads.

Fear is a head game.  The enemy knows it and knows that as long as either of us maintains our focus on fear and what we fear we’re withering imbeciles.

Strong language, I know.

Consider how fear reduces our ability to think straight.

Consider how useless we become when we are overcome with fear.

When we are fearful we have a choice to make.

1. We can give in to our fears and allow them to overtake us… set up camp… and render us totally useless.  OR…
2. We can choose to trust God.  It may take every fiber of our being to do that… but we win (and fear fails) when we do.

This verse is short and sweet.  And if you struggle with fear it’s a great one to memorize and write on a small business sized card to keep in your wallet, at your desk, or in your coat pocket. I also created a printable for you to download, print out, and frame as a continual reminder.

I trust God,
    So I am not afraid.
Psalm 56:4

Download your FREE 8×10 I trust God PRINTABLE here.

Fear is an awful thing.  I have areas in my life where I especially struggle with fear.  Especially fear of the unknown and winter driving.

Where does fear repeatedly strike you?

A special friend was given an index card prayer that her mom had written for an elderly friend.  It doesn’t speak directly to fear, but it does speak to having complete trust in God.  This thoughtful seasoned friend knew my friend was struggling and so she sent wrote another copy of the prayer for herself and sent the original, well-worn index card, penned in her mother’s hand to her as an encouragement.  I’m blessed that she shared the words from her mother’s index card prayer with me.

I Believe that with You, Jesus living in me today by the Holy Spirit, my life can be calm, restful, happy and peaceful… I believe that You will order the affairs of this day if I hand control over to you. I do that now and refuse to take anything back into my hands… I commit myself and my day to You. In faith, I go into this day with quiet (godly) confidence as my strength….  In Jesus Name, Amen.

I encourage you to write this prayer down on an index card, too.  Place it in a somewhere you can refer to it often, if not daily, like in your car.  You might pull it out just after you pull into your parking spot at work and prayerfully read it out loud before stepping out of the car and into your workday.

It’s a centering prayer.  One that helps us center our hearts and minds on the Lord. It reminds us Who is the source of our ultimate trust. When God is our center, fears will still come our way, but they don’t have to take camp in our minds and souls.

And then when fear sweeps in… remember to let fear hear you say this to your loving, strong, protecting God…

When I am afraid,
    I will trust you.
Psalm 56:3

It’s JoyDay!

 
Please join me in thinking back over the past week and counting seven things for which you are thankful.  This simple exercise of counting and giving thanks together in this space is something we do each week to reset our compasses and put our eyes back on the Lord.

I’ll start…

Thank you, God…

1. for being our strength, help, and protector so that we can say, “NO!” to fear.
2. for sunshine and melting snow.
3. for your touch of healing on Tim’s back.
4. for a wonderful night out with my dear sweet friend. 
5. for extra work and the double blessing in it because though it is hard, I am helping someone.
6. that You are faithful, loving, kind, and always with me.
7. that You are our redeemer, restorer, and rebuilder.  Trusting you for good things ahead.

Now…it’s YOUR turn!

List your ‘seven’ in the ‘share your extraordinary thoughts’ section below.  You’ll be glad you did.

Thank you for stopping by and leaving your sweet thoughts.

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