It’s amazing how we allow fear to stop us.
We will prolong something we need due to imaginary harm we’ve created in our own minds!
Even worse, we some times live our lives based on other people’s fearful perceptions.
“Don’t do it!”
“If you try it, I know ____ will happen.”
“They tried it and let me tell you what happened.”
“You might want to stop while you’re ahead!”
One of the most dangerous results from living in fear is stagnation.
When we live in fear, we are limiting ourselves to move forward in the purpose God desires for our lives.
Let’s be real, we will all be confronted by fear. As believers, we do not have to submit to the noise!
We have the power to overcome anything, for we possess one thing greater than fear:
Our Heavenly Father.
Fear is false emotions appearing to be real.
In February, I spoke on a fear of heights I had. After writing the blog post I Double Dog Dare You! , I took it a step further to conquer the fear of heights!
Recently, I had to face fear, again. Let me tell you how it all started:
In 2013, I was on summer vacation away from college.
At the time, I decided to stay with my parents and work a summer job.
One day, I was working on my scheduled shift when I began to experience pain in my upper and lower jaw.
I eventually recalled something similar happened to my sister: her wisdom teeth were erupting.
Like her, I too was experiencing pain from my wisdom teeth growing in my mouth.
Not too long after, I went to visit my dentist’s office who confirmed I needed my wisdom teeth removed.
The moment he told me I needed to have my teeth removed I became fearful!
Instantly, I was reminded of how my sister’s experience went.
I remembered how she became sick after the procedure.
The thought of her recovery developed more excuses on why I shouldn’t move forward in surgery. Therefore, I decided not have the procedure.
Two years later, I was in my dorm room and I began to have excruciating headaches.
I waited until Christmas break to visit my regular doctor and he gave me the same report from my dentist: I needed to have my wisdom teeth removed.
My doctor referred me to an orthodontist who informed me the exact same thing: I needed to have my wisdom teeth removed.
He explained how the procedure would go; he advised how to properly care for myself after the minor surgery.
In my mind, I knew what needed to be done.
At the same time, I couldn’t get over the thought of what could possibly happen.
“What if I have the same experience as my sister or even worse?”
Once again, I didn’t move forward with the procedure.
This cycle of fear continued on in me for years!
Now, let’s flash forward to May of this year.
One morning I woke up with ringing in my ears and my throat was completely swollen.
The pain was so unbearable!
I had to miss work in a total of six days.
The time I was away from work I decided to visit my doctor.
I wanted to know the status of my body!
Can you guess what the doctor told me?
I needed to get my wisdom teeth removed!
When I now recall that doctor’s appointment, it’s funny how completely shocked I was.
My emotions were all of the place.
For obvious reasons, I decided that this time I would move forward with the procedure.
I made sure to schedule the appointment in months in advance, so I could use the time to mentally prepare for the removal of my teeth.
Eventually, months turned into weeks and days.
I was so ready to get those pesky teeth out of my mouth!
Then, the unthinkable happened.
The doctor’s office called me to reschedule the appointment.
Due to the weather, I would have to reschedule for another week.
Honey Bunches, this happened at least two other times. 😳
I began to ask God, “Are you sure this is what I need to do?”.
Throughout the waiting period, I started to develop another false emotion about the procedure.
“What if I don’t wake up from being put to sleep?”
Also, some people who were around me unknowingly responded negative to the upcoming appointment.
While I praying for a painless and successful procedure, some people were telling me how it was going to hurt.
Others told me how I needed to take the pain medication to just sleep through the entire healing process.
Then, I asked God to help me silence the negative noise from other people and myself!
I was reminded of a song I grew up loving as a child.
This same song was inspired by a scripture in 2 Timothy 1:7!
God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
Honey Bunches, once I grabbed a hold of that scripture, I started to speak that scripture almost every day up until the surgery.
And guess what?
I didn’t experience pain and I am not in any pain! 🙌🏾
God proved my former thoughts and those who were around me wrong!
Let me tell you something greater, He can do the exact thing in your life. If you let Him 😉
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Fear Nuggets
Fear is not of God!
God has given us power over fear. We are children of Him. This means we have the authority to speak in power over any thing! (Including fear!)
The power God gives us can only be activated by us.
Similar to a phone charger, we can only be charged up if we plug into a source. Our source is the word of God. Meaning in order to use our power we must be connected to what His word says!
We can silence fear by limiting who we listen to.
We cannot always control what people say.
We can control what we receive from people!
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