Controlling Fear
By: Alisha Headley
“Greater is the one who lives and moves in you, than the one who prowls around you, the one who seeks to destroy the perfect plan that the greater One has for you.” – 1 John 4:4
Satan has many tactics. He’s strategic and clever. He won’t always engage in an all-out war against us. His tactics are subtle. And from the very beginning with Adam and Eve, he used subtle deception to lure us away from the truth: the truth of the Word of God.
Satan doesn’t want us to know and believe these truths because the truth not only “sets us free” according to John 8:32, but living in truth equips us and enables us to defeat the lies and deception giving us a life of victory. Satan loves to keep feeding us lies to keep us in fear. Fear is an emotion that held me captive for most my life.
The dictionary defines fear as: “a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.” Did you notice the words describing threat? REAL or IMAGINED. For women, we often imagine and think the worst, rather than seeing clearly what’s really happening. I am so guilty of this.
Many of us live controlled by fear. For years, fear plagued my life. Leaving me in an internal prison, based of mostly imagined situations. What are some of your fears?
Fear I hear often from friends:
- I fear I’m not good enough
- I fear I won’t be a good mom or wife
- I fear I’ll never get married
- I fear I’ll let people down
- I fear my husband will leave me
- I fear losing a loved one
- I fear rejection
Friends — let me remind you that Scripture is truth because the Word of God is truth. The Word of God is full of promises and truths like today’s verse. Yes, we live in a fallen world. Yes, Satan and his army are real and he “prowls around you…seeking to destroy the perfect plan” God has for you. He does this by whispering lies to you until they become fears, sometimes paralyzing fears. But read the first part of today’s verse: “Greater is the one who lives and moves in you.” When you accept God into your heart and life, it is then that “Christ lives in you” (Galatians 2:20). He is greater than any fear, any worry, and any lie that you have believing over your life.
Steps to overcoming fears:
- Take some time and identify your fears. As you’re doing this, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you where your fears come from.
- Release your fears to the Lord. Give them all to Him trusting that He’s faithful.
- Replace those fears with truth. God speaks about fear all throughout His word. He knew we would struggle with fear here on earth, so He equipped us with biblical tools to help us overcome them.
- Claim victory! It may take time to overcome fears especially if they have plagued you for years. But start speaking victory over your life because one day those lies and fear will be replaced with truth and security. Because remember – “greater is He that is in you than that one who lives in this world’. (1 John 4:4 NLT)
Be patient in this process. The enemy has been feeding you lies for years, perhaps the same lie your entire life. So, it may take time to overcome these fears, But victory is ours and in Christ, we have the power through Him to overcome them all. Be encouraged – freedom is waiting for you on the other side!
