Casting Out Fear

Fear causes us to live small lives and miss out on opportunities that God puts in front of us. Fear scrunches us into a little ball of mediocracy. Fear stops us from “being all we can be.”

Isaiah 41:10, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

There will always be moments when fear is the natural response to worldly things that happen around us. But I am not thinking of the life-threatening events when fear overwhelms; I’m talking about the day to day encounters. I’m talking about things like fear of failure and fear of rejection, and fear of humiliation. What I am talking about is living a life worth living. I am talking about having the courage to stretch your boundaries, experience God’s power, and live the story He wrote for you.

1 John 2:15, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.”

Formula for Change

How do we get from who we are to who God made us to be? A formula called “The Beckhard-Harris Change Equation” states that the value of the new state has to be greater than the value of the old state plus the cost of change before change can effectively occur.

Beckhard-Harris would say, Your dissatisfaction with the life you are currently living, plus a vision of what the new life would look like, plus knowledge of how to get to that new life, has to be greater than what you feel you are giving up.

Let’s put this in Christian terms; The value of an eternity with Christ has to be of greater value to you than that of your current life on earth, plus the cost you put on changing. Until we realize that the experience God has written for us is so much better than the life we have planned for ourselves, we will never reach our true potential and will always live desperate lives. If you are a slave to fear, this equation is out of balance. If your vision of a Christ-centered life is blurred, you won’t move forward.

1 John 2:16, “For everything in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but the world.”

Our Current State

We have to accept that we live broken lives. Much of the stress and dysfunction we experience daily is not life; it is life without Christ. We have become so accustom to comparing the quality of our life with the lives around us that we have missed how broken those lives are. It is not about being less dysfunctional than the Jones. The bar is a lot higher than that. Troubles and challenges will come, we know that, it is how we respond to those events that defines our experience on earth and it’s eternal significance.

The Desired State

Now we have to come to believe that life with Christ is a life worth fighting for. Spending eternity  with the author of the universe is exceptional in and of itself, but as a cowboy once said “I’m not afraid of being dead, it’s the dying that worries me.” We still live on a blue spinning orb. We still have to get up every morning and live. Our desired state has to include God’s plan for us while we are here. God made us; he understands what we are experiencing. God created us not just to survive but to thrive. He did not put us here to see what we could endure. God created us to blossom and grow. He created us to be light in the darkness.

Taking the First Step

Once we see the vision of what life could look like, we need to create a plan to achieve it. We have to know our first step. Once we know it, we have to commit to taking it. Each of us is dealing with our own set of fears. Each of us will attack this a little differently. All of us should have the same objective; get in synch with God’s plan. Some may join a bible study. Some aren’t there yet, what they need is a close Christian friend that can help guide them. All of us need prayer and support through the scriptures. For change to take place you have to take the first step.

Matthew 11:30, “For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Change is more about believing in the results than putting in the effort. Change is more about having the faith to let God lead than making an effort to take the lead.

What did Jesus say?

John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Isaiah 43:1, “But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”

The Psalmist said, “I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”

Our greatest fear should not be what the world around us fears, but we should fear the lost opportunity to be truly happy living the life God has planned for us.

Don’t be afraid of what God asks you to do; embrace it. More than just embracing it, thirst for it. Make it your mission to stretch your experiences, learn more, be more; grow into a genuine person of God.

Psalm 37:4-14, “ Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will do this:  He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.”

Life Worth Living

God wants your heart to burst with Joy. He wants to fill you with His spirit to where you can scarcely breathe. He wants you to hate sleep at night in anticipation of what the morning will bring. He wants you to live a life of purpose and meaning. He does not want you to fear the world. He has already overcome the world.

1 John 5:5, “Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”