Fear is a condition I have battled with for many years. I used to be afraid of being in the spotlight;
afraid of sharing my thoughts with most people; and afraid of looking or
feeling stupid. Looking back, I now
realize that my fear was limiting my growth.
A fearful life is an unfulfilled life.
Fear was keeping me from sharing my insights with the world. It was keeping me from offering my gift of counseling
to those in need of it. Overall, fear
kept me from stepping outside of the box and walking into my destiny. Fear was actually attacking my destiny. The spirit of fear is an intruder. It is trying to steal from us what God has given us. God's spirit is one of love, power, and a sound mind.
I thank God for speaking to
me and highlighting areas in my life that need improvement. One of these areas for me was fear. The bible instructs us hundreds of times not
to be fearful. In Galatians 1:10, the
apostle Paul states, “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or
of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please
people, I would not be a servant of God.”
This verse ministered to my
spirit. I learned that most of my fears
concerned how others would view me or potential comments they would make about
me. Fears of being misunderstood and
embarrassed were hurting me. These fears
were also killing my ministry. However,
the above bible verse illustrates that seeking the approval of man, should not
be my priority. Instead, my focus needed
to shift to pleasing God. Changing my
focus from man to God provided so much freedom for me. This shift broke numerous spiritual and
mental chains in my life that were holding me back from reaching my
potential.
It helped me to become comfortable and more confident in my own skin. It also helped me become more willing to connect with others.
It helped me to become comfortable and more confident in my own skin. It also helped me become more willing to connect with others.
When I
recognized my fear and began to address it through prayer, I noticed that
people began to comment about how confident and self-assured I am. The people around me noticed the changes even
before I did! However, they were
slightly wrong. I’m not confident in
me. I’m confident in the God I serve. I know that He loves me deeply and is my constant
companion. I know with Him by my side,
there is no reason to be afraid. My
confidence in God is unlocking various doors in my life (including this blog!). Every so often, feelings of fear do begin to
creep up in my mind. However, I remind
myself of the word of God. Then, I remember
that I have no reason to fear. I also
recall that I am commanded not to fear.
Seeking God’s approval instead of man’s approval was one of the first steps
I needed to take in order to walk into my purpose.
If you are
struggling with fear, it is my prayer that you be freed from it. I pray that the spirit of fear be broken off
of you and that you walk confidently into your destiny. #BreakOut
This post really spoke to me. It's crazy to read about someone else having the same fear as myself. This fear has crippled me for years, but it wasn't until reading this post that I realized I can do something about it. The journey to learning to reframe my thoughts to not fearing what other people think, but what God would think has been a struggle for me to remember. However, this post has served as a new motivation and reminder for me. Thanks for this! BDT
ReplyDeleteBrittany, thank you so much for your comment! I'm glad that this post was encouraging to you!
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