“Fear is not from me.”
“I know that God, but…”
“Fear is not from me.”
So went a conversation between God and me as I was raking in a school’s overgrown garden bed on day five of Trinity’s recent missions trip to New Life Children’s Home in Villa Nueva, Guatemala. Our small team of eight was split into two at the beginning of the week, and this was the fourth area of focus for our little gardening tribe. Getting in and out of these beds required climbing over a three-foot fence, so awareness was heightened as we trimmed and raked. My mind was telling me, something was in there…
A teammate screamed. She had seen a giant spider.
Thirty seconds later, I screamed. And jumped the fence. And before my feet even hit the ground, I was running. Why? What we later learned was a rat was heading straight…for…me. Gulp. Adding insult to injury, this was a little too soon, as I had been dealing with mice in my apartment before the trip…and after, too. It was an opportunity to laugh at myself, but also to contemplate God’s message to me…a message that remains:
“Fear is not from me.”
What are you afraid of? There’s plenty to cause fear in the world around us today. Uncertainty in political powers, wars and rumors of wars…distrust is running rampant, and the world is just not safe. Our family has a saying, “The only safe place is in the center of God’s will.”
God has had me on a journey of overcoming fear and trusting Him since I was 16. In that time, these are a few things I’ve learned to practice when the fear runs rampant:
- I turn my focus to God: Instead of dwelling on the fear, I turn on worship music, quote Scriptures, and change the atmosphere around me.
- “For God did not give me a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.”-2 Timothy 1:7
- “God is love…” and “Perfect love casts out fear…” 1 John 4:8, 16
- As the fear dissipates, courage returns and I begin to battle. I claim my rights as a daughter of God, cast out any part that is spiritual, and continue to keep my focus on the God who cares for me.
As the opportunities to fear mount, so does the need for us to rise as the daughters of God we are and to look fear in the face and say- “Not today.” It is normal to fear from time to time, but we don’t have to live in fear. It’s time for us to know the Word, know our place in the kingdom, and fight fear back with the One who is on our side, knowing… “Fear is not from Him!”
