I was 3 ½ years old when my father taught me my first Bible verse—in the King James version. Maybe he liked the sound of Elizabethan English coming out of the mouth of babes. It is the version that has stuck with me: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
This verse has grounded me throughout my life. I was often afraid. Anxious. This fear affected my mind and spirit.
I gave in to fear, little by little, inch by inch, until it defined who I was. Fear became part of my character. Fear became a major factor in how I made decisions.
But I kept coming back to the verse reminding me that fear is not from God.
When fear begins to swirl around me, I hear this verse in my heart. I hear Jesus saying, as he did to disciples in the storm, “Why are you afraid? Don’t you have faith?” (Mark 4:40)
I do have faith, so I need to live my life as if I do. Little by little, inch by inch, I have felt the fetters of fear release me until fear no longer defines who I am. Yes, anxiety still creeps upon me, but I am no longer “an anxious person.”
The Christian life is not stagnant. We are always growing, moving, becoming holy. I don’t want just to be a person who is not as anxious as I once was. I don’t want just to be a person who doesn’t make decisions out of fear. I want to be fearless.
I want to learn to depend on God and to surrender to him in such a way that I truly walk out in faith. I want fearlessly to move to new places in faith that God has been wanting to take me but I have been too frightened to go.
I am not speaking of being without fear or awe of the Lord; we are called to that. I am speaking of being without fear of failure, of mistakes, of persecution, of rejection. I’m speaking of ultimate surrender to Christ and tapping into the power of the Spirit.
I’m not even sure what that looks like, but I am willing.
Jesus, may I not be afraid to surrender to you, to your will, and to your desires for me. May I rest in your love and walk forward, fearless in your truth.
Photo by Benjamin Davies on Unsplash.
My parish’s weekend bulletin had a link to IgnatianSpirituality.com where I found this article. Actually, my best friend found it and encouraged me to read “Fearless” as I had determined to be fearless this Lent. So what do I fear? What makes me anxious? I am a widow; Friday was the 3rd anniversary of my beloved husband’s passing. I have spent that time running in circles, trying to discern: do I move (all our family is on the opposite coast) or stay, sell our house or keep it? None of my tentative decisions result in peace; they just increase my anxiety. I realized this Lent there should be some peace of mind when seeking the Lord’s path. I had just told my best friend this morning that I had adopted a tip from a golfing pro. He recommended that to change a bad golf swing, don’t think about your bad swing. Think instead of the right way and concentrate on practicing it. So this morning, I thought the right way is to cast my cares upon the Lord for He cares for me, and to remember perfect Love (God) drives out fear. My new watchword/attitude is thus “I am fearless resting in the will of God.” On the way home I heard on the Christian radio the song, “I Will Fear No More” (by the Afters). This evening reading your article was the Holy Spirit’s perfect validation. Many thanks & God be praised!
Fear is an emotion. It rises and it disappears. Fear lacks stamina to keep going for long.
Thank you for this article. Fear has been a problem for me. I printed your article and will use it as a Lenten tool to try and convince myself, that God loves me and what is happening is in His plan for my life. I am a senior and should know this at this stage of my life. Thanks again, and God Bless.
Oh dear Lillian! Thank you for this encouragment and I am praying right now that you would sit in God’s love for you. Once we let God love us, the rest just melts away. We are always learning and growing! I will need to learn this over and over again. 🙂 Bless you.