Week 2: Dealing with Fear

Scripture: Jesus said: “Trust in God, trust also in me” (John 14:1)

Spiritual Exercise When we fear we are not trusting God. We fear when we feel our life or stuff which supports our life is threatened. Many live in a constant state of anxiety and worry (both of which are the step-children of fear).

Over the next few of days ask the Holy Spirit to help you answer these questions. It might be good to have notebook or a journey to write down your thoughts and reflections.

1) How does fear manifest in my life? Drinking too much, over eating, talking too much, nail biting, it is good to see how fear, worry and anxiety looks in your life! If you are not sure they do ask someone, who knows you well, to tell you how they see fear, worry and anxiety work out in your life.

2) What is the ‘root’ of my fear, worry or anxiety? Again we ask the Spirit to show us if there is some event or incident in my past where I aloud fear ‘to take hold’? I know one friend who did this realised that that the death of a parent when they were young aloud a deep anxiety into his life which now, as an adult, manifested in a anxious need for order and neatness and a dread of not achieving it.

If you feel the Spirit is revealing an incident to you follow this pattern of repentance.

a)   Recognise Ask the Spirit to show you if there was some sin in the above event. Did you make an inner agreement with yourself never to trust anybody (including God) ever again? Was there someone who failed you in love? Someone who should have been there but wasn’t We need to forgive them, and until we do this we are allowing sin to take root in our lives. You need to confess it and repent of it.

b)  Repent Out loud say to God you are sorry for you sin and wish to turn from it. If there is anybody you need to forgive then do so now. Again, out loud, speak to that person as if they were in the room with you, and tell them that you forgive them, release them from any debt they owe you, and pray God’s blessing upon them.

c)   Receive Now, again out load, thank God for his forgiveness. Claim that forgiveness in Jesus Name. Knowing that as we confess our sins God is faithful to forgive us all our sins (1 John 1:8-9)

d)  Renounce If we have allowed something like fear to take root in our lives for some time we have to consciously ‘break’ and ‘renounce’ its power over our lives. As Jesus rebuke fevers and illnesses as if they were living things so to with these strongholds we need to tell them where to go! So, praying out loud again, pray something like this: “In the Name of Jesus Christ my Saviour and Friend I now come against Fear in my life, I break your power in Jesus Name and tell you to get out of my life forever. I pray this in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

e)   Renew Paul says in 2 Timothy 1:7 that “God hasn’t given us a spirit of timidity (fear!) but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline.” Let’s now ask the Holy Spirit to fill and ‘replace’ the spirit of fear with the Spirit of Love. Amen Lord Jesus. Do it now!