2 Timothy 1:7 “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.” In today's episode I talk about 10 practical steps that can be taken to overcome fear. I learned these steps in a Jeff Cavin's Bible study called "Walking Towards Eternity." Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Be Bold & Fear Not (Be Bold Series)
2 Timothy 1:7 “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power, love and self-control.”
There is a lot of fear in the world today. There was a lot of fear during the pandemic, but now there may be even more. It seems as though everyone is afraid of something, and some people live in fear all day. People all over the world are fearful. There is so much violence in the world right now. So many people are fighting. In America, there is a lot of fear with the change in government. There are people afraid for their lives, afraid to get sent back to unsafe conditions in their countries. People fear losing their jobs, health care, and benefits like food stamps and social security. People are afraid of losing their rights as American citizens, and many are afraid of losing democracy altogether.
There are a lot of reasons to be fearful. These reasons are real; the threat is real, and it makes sense to be cautious. However, we need to remember who we are. We are children of God. He tells us in Matthew 6:27, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” Worrying won’t get us anywhere. However, knowing this does not make our fear any less real. I was doing Jeff Cavin’s Walking Towards Eternity bible study during the pandemic. One of the chapters addresses fear. One thing that I think is important to point out is that there is a difference between healthy fear and unhealthy fear. The difference is that a healthy fear keeps you safe and helps you make good choices. For instance, having a healthy fear of God can help you make choices that keep you from sinning. Having a healthy fear of COVID-19 or any disease can help you practice good hygiene and make other choices to prevent spreading the virus. An unhealthy fear is one that keeps you trapped in some way. For instance, you are so afraid of COVID-19 that you don’t leave your house even when necessary or spend every moment of the day afraid you might catch the virus. One of the questions I found in the chapter that I thought would be especially relevant for everyone right now was, “What practical steps can be taken to overcome fear?” Did you know that fear, all on its own, triggers more than 1,400 known physical and chemical responses and activates more than 30 different hormones? Here are several practical steps you can take to conquer your fear.
1. Turn your fear over to God. “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5. As soon as you notice you are having a fearful thought, take a moment and hand that thought over to God.
2. Ask yourself if this fear is a legitimate fear/scenario. Is it likely that the thing you are afraid of will happen? Oftentimes, we worry about things that never happen. Mark Twain once said, “I… have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.”
3. Educate yourself: “Prudent education teaches virtue; it prevents or cures fear … The education of the conscience guarantees freedom and engenders peace of heart.” (Catechism 1784) Learn your faith, learn to know God, the more you know and understand the word of God the less you will be afraid.
4. Understand your fear: Some fears are based on personal experience, and some are a result of culture and past experiences. Understand how your fears came to be. Understand how it comes on, how it makes you feel, and what level of intensity it is.
5. Visualize Courage: What would it look like if you did not have this fear? What would it look like if you overcame this fear? What if this fear did not exist in your life?
6. Act as if: If you act courageously in a gradual way, you will overcome the limiting story you tell yourself. For instance, if you are afraid to give a presentation, one way to start overcoming this fear is to give a short presentation to a family member. When you are comfortable with that, you could give the presentation to a close friend and then to a not-so-close friend. The point of this is to step outside of your comfort zone slowly and then gradually expand your comfort zone.
7. Move towards your fear: Instead of running away from your fear, turn around and face it. Write down 5-10 ideas of ways you can face your fear in some small way, and then act on these ideas daily .
8. Don’t live in Denial: It is important to examine how your fear is limiting you. Sometimes, we are so used to our everyday routine that we don’t see the ways our fear has us trapped.
9. Fortitude: “The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause. ‘The Lord is my strength and my song.’ ‘In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.’” (Catechism 1008) Keep going, even when you don’t want to, even when you are afraid.
10. Channel your spirituality: When you are feeling afraid of something, lean into your spirituality even more. Read God’s word, say a prayer, talk to the Lord, do something to help you connect with God, and remember that he is your refuge.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult.” ~Psalm 46:1-3
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we ask you to help us trust you more and have less fear. Lord, we know you are protecting us. We know you are strength and our refuge. If we know this, we have nothing to fear. Help us know this more, Lord. Help us understand with you, nothing can harm us. Help us to focus on how big you are instead of how big our problem is. We love you, Lord. You are amazing. We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I wanted to take a minute to let everyone know, in case you are new to listening, that I have a book that I wrote called TOTAL TRUST In God’s Safe Embrace. It is a book that teaches the 15 ways in which I developed a really deep trust in God and a more intimate relationship with Him. I have been through a lot of stuff over the last 18 years of my life, and yet through it all, I knew God was there with me and that things would be ok. I discovered it is possible to have peace, even in the middle of chaos. If life is hard right now, check out my book if you are struggling with something. It could help you find God in the middle of the chaos. Also, if you want to reach out to me through my website or with an email to catherine@findingtruenorthcoaching.com, then I can even send you a signed copy of my book. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day.
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in August 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “I have come that you might have life, life to the full. I came also to give you an example of how to live your life. Follow my example, and you will have greater peace. I am your God, and I love you.”