Breaking The Fear CycleSample

God Does His Job Better Than We Can

Every time I give in to a fearful thought, I am once again taking a bite from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I am deciding, like Adam and Eve, that God’s reign over my future is not good enough for me; no, I need to tackle it myself. Trouble is, my brain was not created for such a thing. In our finite minds, we cannot comprehend the complexities of our futures. We can calculate all the what-ifs, and so we fear. We fear because ultimately we wonder if we can trust God to do his job well. 

Would you be willing, with me, to give God his job back? Would you be willing to try to take one brave and faithful step toward fearless living by taking captive any and all thoughts that fabricate a future we do not yet know will come true?

This is no small thing. I know this because I lived it. When I was pregnant with Gideon, I woke up every morning and waged war against my fears of the future. To have any hope of real change, I had to have a battle plan. Here are the steps I found helpful:

Step 1: Identify a fear the second it pops into your mind. Ask yourself, Is this thought about something I know to be true right now, or am I trying to tell the future?

Step 2: Talk to yourself. State the fear out loud, write it down, do whatever you need to do to get your brain back into the present moment. 

Step 3: Ask yourself, What do I know to be true right now? Sometimes our fears feel so real, we forget they haven’t happened. We need to remind ourselves of reality.

Step 4: Focus on blessings. List all the blessings, big and small, you have in your life at this moment. 

Step 5: Name God’s truths. Say God’s promises over and over. Put up verses on your bathroom mirror and kitchen cabinets. There is power in God’s Word. 

Overcoming fear is not one of those “yeah, I’ll try to get better at that” things. You have to have a plan of what to do when your brain starts worrying about the future.

What is one fear on your mind today? Take it through the five steps above. How did your perspective change?