What is your greatest fear? I will wait while you think about the answer to this question........... No, seriously...................
Some of us will be quick to answer we aren't really afraid of anything. For others the answer could be anything from spiders to public speaking. Some fears are rational. Some spiders can actually kill you, but the daddy long legs on your back porch is not one of them. If you have a fear of public speaking, why is that a fear? What is the worst that could happen? People might disagree with what you say? Maybe you could get heckled? All in all, there is nothing deadly about this act. I am using this as an example because for a long time I would list public speaking as a major fear. However, I think the area God wants to use us greatly is usually the same area satan attacks. If your story is one that will lead people to Christ, satan wants you SILENCED! You are a threat to him.
Maybe there is a profession you feel God is calling you into, but satan tells you people will laugh at you if you pursue that calling. I know so many people who are in jobs that have little or nothing to do with the call God has on their lives. The fear of losing finances keeps them there. I know this scenario quite well because several years ago it was my own situation. I had the fear of not being able to provide for my girls (ultimately it is God who provides everything, not a job), a fear of what people would think of me if I left such a "good" job (if I told you some of the comments and questions I received you would be shocked at what some people will say, even those within the church body), and a fear of what would come next.
Another area in which I see so many women live in fear is the fear of being alone. We (I say "we" because I have been there myself) stay in ungodly relationships out of a fear of being alone or the fear that we may never date again if we end this relationship. What we fail to realize is that by remaining in something that God cannot bless, we are preventing a relationship that He CAN bless! I was in a relationship with someone that I loved dearly, but was convicted about the physical aspect of the relationship. I knew we had to stop. I had suspicions of how this would go over with him, but my desire to be pleasing to God was greater than my desire to please this man. He "understood" why we had to stop being intimate, but within a month the relationship was over. His true character was revealed to me. Ladies, you do not simply want a man to "understand" your desire for purity, but a man who will not intentionally lead you into sin. A close male friend of mine shared an observation he had made over the years that when examining married couples you could usually tell if they had sex before marriage. If they waited until after marriage, the man was typically the leader of the home. If they had not waited, the woman lead the home. Not saying God cannot change this down the road and redeem the order in a home, but the more I think about this observation, the more I have to agree. Satan KNOWS God's plan for us in relationships. Satan knows God's plan for marriage. This is why it is a major target that satan has perverted. Greater than any fear of being alone is my desire to please God. I want to someday have a healthy, God ordained marriage. I am willing to accept the judgment (what's wrong with her? why is she still single?) and times of being alone in order to wait for the ONE God has chosen. Please don't be so afraid of this that you are willing to compromise all of God's goodness! There is absolute beauty in singleness! If you are single or in a wrong relationship, let go of the fear and enjoy this season of your life!
These are just a couple examples of areas I have experienced fear in my life. Your fear may look nothing like these examples. No matter what your fear is, remember:
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7
We tend to focus on the part of this verse about not having fear. However, do not miss what you DO possess! You have POWER and LOVE and A SOUND MIND! So, when you stop operating out of fear, there will be people who tell you that you are out of your mind. The reality is that by living in fear, you are crazy! Living out your life through the power of Christ leads to power and love and SANITY! Couldn't we use more sanity in this world?
Some of us will be quick to answer we aren't really afraid of anything. For others the answer could be anything from spiders to public speaking. Some fears are rational. Some spiders can actually kill you, but the daddy long legs on your back porch is not one of them. If you have a fear of public speaking, why is that a fear? What is the worst that could happen? People might disagree with what you say? Maybe you could get heckled? All in all, there is nothing deadly about this act. I am using this as an example because for a long time I would list public speaking as a major fear. However, I think the area God wants to use us greatly is usually the same area satan attacks. If your story is one that will lead people to Christ, satan wants you SILENCED! You are a threat to him.
Maybe there is a profession you feel God is calling you into, but satan tells you people will laugh at you if you pursue that calling. I know so many people who are in jobs that have little or nothing to do with the call God has on their lives. The fear of losing finances keeps them there. I know this scenario quite well because several years ago it was my own situation. I had the fear of not being able to provide for my girls (ultimately it is God who provides everything, not a job), a fear of what people would think of me if I left such a "good" job (if I told you some of the comments and questions I received you would be shocked at what some people will say, even those within the church body), and a fear of what would come next.
Another area in which I see so many women live in fear is the fear of being alone. We (I say "we" because I have been there myself) stay in ungodly relationships out of a fear of being alone or the fear that we may never date again if we end this relationship. What we fail to realize is that by remaining in something that God cannot bless, we are preventing a relationship that He CAN bless! I was in a relationship with someone that I loved dearly, but was convicted about the physical aspect of the relationship. I knew we had to stop. I had suspicions of how this would go over with him, but my desire to be pleasing to God was greater than my desire to please this man. He "understood" why we had to stop being intimate, but within a month the relationship was over. His true character was revealed to me. Ladies, you do not simply want a man to "understand" your desire for purity, but a man who will not intentionally lead you into sin. A close male friend of mine shared an observation he had made over the years that when examining married couples you could usually tell if they had sex before marriage. If they waited until after marriage, the man was typically the leader of the home. If they had not waited, the woman lead the home. Not saying God cannot change this down the road and redeem the order in a home, but the more I think about this observation, the more I have to agree. Satan KNOWS God's plan for us in relationships. Satan knows God's plan for marriage. This is why it is a major target that satan has perverted. Greater than any fear of being alone is my desire to please God. I want to someday have a healthy, God ordained marriage. I am willing to accept the judgment (what's wrong with her? why is she still single?) and times of being alone in order to wait for the ONE God has chosen. Please don't be so afraid of this that you are willing to compromise all of God's goodness! There is absolute beauty in singleness! If you are single or in a wrong relationship, let go of the fear and enjoy this season of your life!
These are just a couple examples of areas I have experienced fear in my life. Your fear may look nothing like these examples. No matter what your fear is, remember:
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7
We tend to focus on the part of this verse about not having fear. However, do not miss what you DO possess! You have POWER and LOVE and A SOUND MIND! So, when you stop operating out of fear, there will be people who tell you that you are out of your mind. The reality is that by living in fear, you are crazy! Living out your life through the power of Christ leads to power and love and SANITY! Couldn't we use more sanity in this world?
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