As humans, we often rely on our own flesh and emotions, rather than on what God says. We run to fear instead of to God and we put our anxieties and our insecurities first in the situations we face.
And y’know, I do the same sometimes. It’s just a natural human struggle.
But it’s a struggle we need to fight!
My friend was speaking at my youth group once and he said something that’s stuck with me ever since.
“In storms, we automatically go to fear but we need to go to Jesus instead.”
And I wrote that down straight away because I thought it was really important. Especially when the world can seem so judgemental and things go wrong so easily, it’s so easy and “normal” for us to run to fear. But when we choose fear over God, we take the situation out of God’s hands and put it on our own shoulders. We try and take back control.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. And lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.”
See, satan uses fear to attack our abilities because he knows what we are capable of.
If we could truly wrap our heads around the authority we have, satan wouldn’t stand a chance. And that scares him. So he scares us instead, to hold us back. Fear of failure, judgment, the future… All these things are not of God.
Fear blinds us and doesn’t allow us to focus on God or His promises. It tries to attack us and prevent us from pursuing God’s call. It takes all our attention off of Him and puts it on the issue in front of us, taking the control back out of God’s hands and placing it on our own shoulders. And that’s not a weight we were built to carry! We cave in under life’s pressures and we begin to feel overwhelmed and defeated.
“Worry is the most subtle form of atheism, and one of the devil’s greatest weapons.”
Ps Josh Carter
It’s like the quote we always hear in church, “If the devil can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy.”
He’ll plant seeds of doubt to take your trust of God, and use your anxieties to distract you and make you busy, so that you aren’t focusing on the call of God on your life. And therefore, we end up getting ourselves into a mess.
But guess what!
In Psalms 34:4, it says “I sought the Lord and He answered me, He delivered me from all my fears.”
Seek God instead of running from Him! He’s got his arms stretched out pleading to help you, He’s just waiting for us to turn from our fear and towards Him instead.
He’s reaching out, ready to pull you forward and equip you with the tools and strength you need. Don’t let anything hold you back!
