Living Fearlessly


We live in a world with so much to fear and so many things we get anxious about. You hear the news and it’s barely ever positive - stories of terrorist attacks, suicide bombings, murder, rape and death; or you look around you and see illness, debt, homelessness and relationship breakdowns. Amongst these things, how can we NOT be afraid? But still Jesus commands us, ‘Do not fear.’ Instead, He wants us to live a life of liberty in Him, but fear stops us.
I read something the other day that I want to share with you: ‘While we’re distracted with fear, the enemy pickpockets our purpose, cripples our courage, dismantles our dreams and blinds us to the beauty of the LORD’s plans.’ I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to give the devil pleasure in making me fearful, so below I’m going to share 4 practical tips which will hopefully help you to not be afraid and to begin the life of freedom that Christ has for you:

1)      Discover the root of your fears
We’re all afraid of something. But when we try and deal with our anxieties, we usually look at the ones on the surface, rather than the root fears. To explain what I mean, I’m going to use a picture of an ‘Anxiety Plant’. The leaves of the plant are your surface-level anxieties – these might be what you’re going to wear that day, an animal you’re afraid of, an illness, death, debt, friendship problems etc. But all surface anxieties have a root fear. If you don’t work out that root fear, the anxieties, or ‘’leaves’’, will just grow straight back. For example if you always worry about what you wear, the root fear might be being rejected by your friends if you don’t wear the right thing. Or if you worry about exams, the root cause might be fear of the unknown. First discover the root of your fears, THEN, with God’s help, you’ll be able to work on the anxieties that come from those fears.

2)      Trust God is who He says He is
 ‘Do not be afraid,’ is the most repeated commands in the Bible. It’s no accident that God addressed it so many times - He knew that this weakness would affect the world. But how can He say to us, ‘Do not be afraid’? Doesn’t He see how much there is to fear in the world? Yes, He does. He is all-knowing and all-powerful and knows your every fear. But He is stronger than fear. When He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross, He defeated the power of the Devil and all his lies. He wants to deliver you from your fears, so that you’re no longer bound by them! He is the Prince of Peace and He reaches His hand out to you. Putting your hand in His doesn’t mean you won’t be faced with fear, but it gives you something steadfast to hold on to and the certainty that iHisGod is on your side. He wants the best for you and will protect you. It says, in 2 Thessalonians 3:3 – ‘’But the LORD is faithful, and He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one,’’ and in Isaiah 41:10 God says – ‘’Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes I will help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.’’ The God of the universe goes with us and ahead of us, facing our every battle and fear so that we don’t have to face them alone.

3)      Read what the Bible has to say about it
Like I said earlier, ‘Do not be afraid’ is the most repeated command in the Bible. But the LORD doesn’t just command us not to fear, He gives us reasons why we don’t need to be afraid – because He will protect us, because He loves us and because He has conquered fear so that we are no longer slaves to it, but can live in freedom. Search out those Scriptures that talk about fear. Read them over the fears in your life and declare in the name of Jesus’ that He has conquered every fear and that you are bound by them no longer. Proclaim your freedom.

4)      Pray about it
Lastly, pray about it. God hears your prayers, and He doesn’t want you to live in fear. So ask Him to help you trust Him and to not be afraid. Ask for His peace and protection, and then just have faith that He hears and answers prayer. He is a loving God and wants to see you set free from everything you fear.

 ‘’The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?’’ Psalm 27:1

Thank you for reading and please leave a comment below on what you thought of today’s post. I would love to hear your feedback and also receive any questions you may have. Also, if you haven’t already, go check out my other two blog posts on Modesty and Confidence.

Please do click to follow my blog, and subscribe to receive email updates for new blog posts! Thank you!
Love in Christ,
Chloe xxx


Comments

  1. Chloe Wood16 March 2018 at 15:20

    Below are just a few verses on fear that I love, that you could look up: Isaiah 35:4; John 14:27; Joshua 1:9; Isaiah 43:1; Psalm 23:4; Psalm 34:4; Psalm 94:19; 1 Peter 5:7; Psalm 118:6; Psalm 115:11; Romans 8:15

    Xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Claire20 March 2018 at 19:27

    Beautiful Chloe! I love being reminded that we do not have to fear because God has redeemed us, loves us and protects us! Psalm 27 - my favorite psalm! Claire xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chloe Wood20 March 2018 at 21:17

      Thanks so much Claire! Psalm 27 is also my favorite Psalm! xxx

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    2. Unknown22 March 2018 at 21:26

      Wow that was so amazing and so helpful xx thank you. It’s incredible that even though there are things that make us scared and anxious and worried that God hears our prayers and helps us. Psalm 27 is also one of my favourites too xx thanks Chloe xx

      Delete
    3. Chloe Wood23 March 2018 at 11:06

      Thanks Elizabeth - it is so incredible! xx

      Delete
  3. Anonymous18 April 2018 at 12:10

    This was a really good post and i especially liked the four practical tips on how to conquer fear. Well done! Sophie xx

    ReplyDelete

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