[fear]less

When I was little, I can recall many sleepless nights when worry and anxiety conquered my thoughts. The spirit of fear has always been my biggest challenge in the battle of spiritual warfare. If my brain was a battlefield, fear would be the atomic bomb that came in and destroyed any of the progress I had previously made. I remember one specific time when my parents dragged me into an audition for a singer in a band. Tears streaming down my face, I walked into the room and watched as the lies I crafted in my head slowly dissolved. What I had convinced myself was the end of the world, was actually not so bad after all. I ended up calling my dad and telling him that I wanted to stay for the second session that was held that day. We laugh about it now, but looking back I can see how big of a role fear played in my life. That's not to say I've mastered it, because I definitely haven't. Just this week I found myself overwhelmed with all the what-ifs my future holds, which is how I wound up choosing today’s topic. Today's post is as much for me as it is for you.

There's no doubt that the spirit of anxiety has overtaken many circumstances in my life, and that hasn't necessarily gone away over the past few years. However, it has gotten quieter because I've chosen to drown it out with the voice of God. I've learned that the best way to overcome fear is not simply facing it, but facing it with the name of Jesus on your lips. Fear does not come from God. In fact, the Bible says the words "Do not fear" 365 times to serve as the perfect reminder to live in confidence every single day. To break it down, fear is the belief that something bad will happen to you. Faith, on the other hand, is the belief that something good will happen to you. Fear goes beyond just being aware of the circumstances that stand in front of you. Fear is what happens when we let those circumstances consume us. When you start giving into your fear and anxiety, you are ultimately giving into the belief that God is going to fail you or mess up the plan He has already laid out for your life. But failure isn't in God's nature. In fact, God has already won every battle that we may face.

I was convicted earlier this week when I found myself worrying and overthinking about how I will be able to provide for myself and my family with the career path I've chosen. In the middle of the chaos swirling in my brain, I heard God ask me a question. He said, "After all I've delivered you from, do you not trust I will deliver you through this too?" At that moment, I realized this: the presence of fear is evidence of a lack of trust in God. I'm not going to lie, hearing that stung a little. However, it made me realize and think back to all God has delivered me from. I can give so many examples, but I want to share one that has stuck out to me over the years.

Right around when Covid hit, I started to develop a string of health issues. I was having issues breathing, my heart rate was accelerated, I had chest pain, and I was dizzy and passing out frequently. I saw doctor after doctor, and no one could figure out what was wrong with me. It got so bad that there were days I couldn't walk or go up a couple of stairs without being out of breath or blacking out. Long story short, after a year of tests and unanswered questions, I finally found a doctor with an answer. I received a diagnosis right around the time I was leaving for college to pursue a career in worship leadership. In this, the doctors told me I needed to avoid anything that required a lot of breath support or standing for long periods of time otherwise I risk passing out and other complications. Imagine how devastating that must've been to hear when I was going to college for music with my main instrument being my voice. I'm not sure how much you know about singing but it involves quite a bit of breathing and standing. Knowing the calling God put on my heart, I decided to stick with my original plan and trust that God would deliver me and watch over me. And He did. I've witnessed God's hand at work in my professors, healthcare providers, resources, and strength I can only credit to God's divine power. In that, I learned that sometimes we need to stop praying for God to change our situation and rather pray for God to change our hearts. God didn't take away my health issues, but He used it to teach me to rely on Him in the midst of them. I could've let the fear of the what-ifs get in the way of God's calling for my life, but I didn't, and the results have been more beautiful than anything I could've imagined.

One of the resources that helped me navigate my health issues is something called cardiac rehab. This is typically a therapy people go to after they've had a heart attack or some kind of heart surgery. In it, we do a lot of cardio to help strengthen our heart muscles and build up a tolerance towards the forces working against us. When I first started, I couldn't do a whole lot. Nonetheless, I showed up every day and slowly built up more resistance to the cardiac activity. Similarly, I think the only way we get better at fighting against fear is when we grow that muscle and learn to face the uncomfortable. If we are constantly running away from fear, we are never going to learn how to conquer it, and I think that is the first step we have to decide to take. The beautiful part about facing your fears is that even if you fail, you have placed the first marker for growth. You can look back on what you viewed as a failure and use it to gauge how much you've grown. When I look to the time I could barely walk a couple of steps without being out of breath to now, having just been able to run 3 miles, I can only give credit to God. What I once saw as an incredibly scary time, I now see as an important mile marker on my journey to experiencing God’s peace. However, I want to emphasize this: we won't be granted peace when we are still deciding whether God is strong enough to defeat our fear. We must trust that if God has brought us to it, He will deliver us through it. In addition, we must reinforce in our hearts the truth of God's Word so that we might overcome the lies we face. Learning how to navigate situations we are afraid of or can't control is a very necessary step toward living a life free of fear.

I know that conquering a spirit of anxiety and fear is a lot easier said than done so I want to give you five practical steps to help you win this war. Step One: lay your burdens at the feet of Jesus. When we cling tightly to the things we fear, we deny God the opportunity to take on our heavy burden. God didn't intend for us to carry it all on our own. When we surrender our fear before Christ, we leave it in the hands of a miracle worker. There isn't a safer place we can leave our burdens than at the feet of Jesus. Step Two: Identify the source of your fear. This can be an incredibly hard step, but I think it's important to remind you that God is never the source of fear. To identify the source, we often have to do some internal homework to figure out the root of our worries and anxiety. Often our small fears are rooted in some deep, drowned-out trauma that needs to be exposed. If you can't find the root cause, I suggest spending some time praying that God would reveal this to you and open your heart before Him. Step Three: guard your heart with scripture. Reinforce your heart and mind with the truth of the Bible. God doesn't grant us a spirit of fear, rather He gives us a spirit of power and love. When we reinforce our minds with the scripture, every time the enemy tries to attack with fear tactics, we can drown out his lies with the absolute truth. Step Four: seek out a God-centered community. The enemy uses fear to isolate us. This is why it is so important that we have a support system that can refuel our minds with the truth when our minds get fuzzy or overrun with fear. We were never made to carry our burdens on our own. Finally, Step Five: fix your thoughts on good things. When we start to feel overwhelmed with stress, fear, to-dos, what-ifs, etc, God calls us to fix our minds on the things above. Paul writes in Philippians 4:8, "...brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." When our minds are swarmed with the worst possible outcome we can imagine, we aren't honoring God. We can honor God by remembering His deliverance, His goodness, His faithfulness, His grace, and His power even in the most trying times.

Overcoming fear is not an easy task by any means, but when we decide to lean into His everlasting power, we can experience a peace like no other. So, pay attention to those voices that stir up fear in your heart and drown them out with God's word. Make the choice every day to boldly declare that fear has no hold on you while Jesus is holding you. Use His strength as a shield, and if you're going to hide anywhere, let it be behind the power of Christ.

May your roots run deep, and your faith remain strong! As always, Stay Rooted, my friends! <3