Most people who are not living right
are motivated by fear.
The devil is just as happy
to SCARE YOU into sin
as he is
to DARE YOU into sin.
You may be living in fear if you are experiencing hopelessness, constant worry, or inability to trust.
(1) HOPELESSNESS or thinking that things will never get better. It's also known as stinkin' thinkin'. Hopelessness ignores the truth expressed in Jeremiah 29:11-14.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
(2) CONSTANT WORRY. It is said that worry is the interest we pay on borrowed trouble. What good does it do to worry? After all, worry never prevents a problem from occurring; rather, worry often causes more problems. Furthermore, worry ignores the truth of God's goodness and providence as expressed in Matthew 6:27-34.
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
(3) INABILITY TO TRUST God and other people. Okay, now, you've been hurt, disappointed, let down by other people, right? Well, so has everyone else. In fact, you may have been the source of someone else's hurt, disappointment, and let down. And you're right, it's going to happen again. It's not just a possibility or a probability; it's a CERTAINTY. But here's something to consider: your lack of trust won't prevent it from happening. All that you will accomplish by not trusting others is isolation - walling yourself off from being blessed by and being a blessing to others.
So how do we STOP living in fear?
Answer: By strengthening our faith.
So how do we strengthen our faith?
Answer: "Faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing by the Word of God."
Romans 10:17
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