Have you ever felt so paralyzed by fear that you stop doing activities that you have normally easily done?
That’s where I’ve found myself recently.
Things that I never thought twice about doing, I’ve now started obsessing about the way I should do it, or if I should even do it at all. I’m creating safety measures, which ironically is playing into my fears, making them even harder to overcome.
I realized the habits that I was creating for myself. As I opened my Bible, it opened to a devotion titled ‘Facing our Fears’. A song came to mind that I hear on the radio – ‘I’m no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God’.
It was time to face my fears and what I had been telling myself recently: I can’t go to this appointment by myself – because what happens if… The more I obsess over the what ifs, the bigger my fears become. When I made the first steps to tackle that fear, and realized I had made it into a bigger thing than it needed to be. But that’s precisely how fear steals our joy.
A scripture comes to mind, ‘There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.’ 1 John 4:18 NIV
And another: ‘For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (fear), but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline’. 2 Timothy 2:19 NIV (emphasis mine)
Are there areas in your life where you are paralyzed with fear and cannot get yourself to do the things that you need to do? I suggest speaking with God about them. And if you have dealt with these fears on your own for a very long time, I suggest speaking with a professional who will be able provide guidance.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you that fear is not of you. Thank you that you can reveal to us when our behaviors are trying to keep us ‘safe’ but doing more harm than good. Father, I ask that you help us to face our fears in a healthy way so that we can live the full life you have in store for us.