Fear Part 4: Wrap Up
(This is Part 4 in a series on fear and leadership. If you haven’t already, take a minute to read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.)
Listen to the five-minute Courage and Faith Wrap Up audio program from Coach’s Corner.
Today’s post in the fourth and final part of my series on Fear. In the first post I wrote about the most prevalent fear I see in people: uncertainty or the unknown. In the second post I wrote about the antidote to that poisonous fear: faith. In my last post I wrote about courage and how that helps us when we lack faith. However, if we have faith, we need no courage.
So what is faith? For me, it’s these two questions:
- Do I believe in God?
- Do I believe God?
Do I believe in God? Do I believe he’s the creator of all things? Do I believe that God really has the ability to do anything he desires?
Do I believe God? God has promised me some amazing things:
- God will give me eternal life.
- God will not give me more than I can handle (even though it may feel like it at times…at times of weak faith in particular).
- God will protect me and never forsake me.
But what about Stephen? Stephen was stoned to death, the first Christian martyr. Did God protect him? I think he did. What about our friends and family who have been taken from us by illness or tragic accidents? Did God protect them and not forsake them? I think God did.
Maybe God’s promises are more about our eternal souls than our earthly lives. Colossians 3:2 instructs us to set our minds on things above, not on earthly things. So if I believe, and I mean really believe, in God and God’s promises, I have nothing to fear, so why would I need courage?
If God is for me, who can be against me?
That would be an awesome thing. Sadly, the reality for me is that I lack faith in God and his promises at times. That’s the reality for most of us. In those times when we lack faith, we must muster up the courage to do what we know God would want us to do, which will build our faith over time.
How can we muster up the courage to do what God is calling us to do in times of fear?
- Spend time with God
- Read God’s Word
- Spend time with people you know of great faith
- Let go of your agenda and get on board with God’s.
God has promised to give us anything we ask for if it is in line with his will. How awesome is that?
I have a friend whose very young son was very sick. It looked like he might die. This was a terrible thought for my friend to face. He had recently lost another family member and was very fearful of losing his son. Despite this, he found the strength to put his son in God’s care. He found peace in the midst of his son’s illness. He found God in this deep and dark place. He didn’t know if God would save his son’s earthly life or not, but he knew some things for certain:
- God is God Almighty and can do anything.
- God is good even when we don’t understand the bigger picture.
- God is faithful…always.
This friend knew that he would be okay with God by his side, no matter what happened. He hoped and prayed that his son would survive, and he knew that either way, God would be with him.
This moment of deep faith impacted the rest of my friend’s life. He now lives a life of very deep faith, in part because he had this moment of great fear and found great faith within himself.
I know most of you are wondering if his son lived. Before I share that with you I want to make a point: The bigger question is did he find faith, and would my friend have been okay—and his son okay—either way. He did find faith, and praise God that his son did live and is now a fine young man.
I pray that each of you has a moment like this—a moment when you need deep faith and are able to find it. I suggest that you ask the Creator and giver of all things that you receive the gift of real faith.
Build your faith this week and starve your fears to death.
Post by Rodger.
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