I am a wife, a mother, a singer, a songwriter, and most of all, I am an adopted child of God who wants nothing less than to be His vessel to share His light and His hope, love, and joy!


Friday, March 6, 2009

Fear Not: Have Power, Love, and a Sound Mind

The Lord has been giving me a revelation in the past year, really longer than that, but I have started to grasp it...He has not given us the spirit of fear! He has given us power, love, and a sound mind! (2 Timothy 1:7) Power over what? The enemy and our lives! What about love? Perfect love casts out fear! (1 John 4:18) When we become secure in God's perfect love, we begin to trust Him, walk in His plan, and have no fear! There is no reason to fear in the loving hands of God. What about a sound mind? This means self control, being on a firm foundation, and experiencing the peace of submitting to God. When we stop relying on ourselves and start relying on God, it gives us a sound mind. When we stop doing what we feel like doing, what is comfortable, and start doing what we have been afraid of doing but we know we should do it, we cast out fear. To get over a fear, you need to face it!

One day, I was watching a show about people who have obsessive compulsive disorders. They obsessively do something to such a point that it's paralyzing in their lives, and it is usually because they are paralyzed by a fear of something. Consider someone with an obsessive compulsive disorder, such as washing his or her hands until they bleed. They do this because they fear germs. How does a therapist help an OCD patient get over their fears? They make them face the fear! They make them touch things that are disgusting that the average person probably wouldn't touch! Over time, this serves to prove a point to the patient that life will not end if they face their fears, and then the fear wanes.

Fear is paralyzing. So many people don't take action because of fear. Think about a fear you might have and what you have completely put off or avoided doing because of that fear. Personally, there are a number of things. There has been the fear of reaching out to people because I might get rejected. There was the fear of making a decision because I didn't want to make the wrong choice. There was the fear of singing and speaking in front of people because of the fear of making a fool of myself or forgetting the lyrics or what I want to do say. But I felt God pulling on me to do it, and I trusted Him, that He does not set me up for failure. He has always been there for me. I took baby steps, and over time, the fear waned! I still have a long way to go.

Let me ask you, has fear been paralyzing in your life? Don't let fear hold you back anymore! You will find that when you step out of your comfort zone, it can be the most rewarding, fulfilling, and joyful thing you do!


God bless!
Sarah

1 comment:

Sarah Von Bergen said...

Comments received from friends via e-mail:

Amen! Sarah, I love this post! What a blessing. I can completely relate. Sometimes I wonder if the fear we wrestle with is rooted in our past experiences or lack of faith or insecurities. Fear has taken forms in my life in sneaky little ways....ways that I didn't realize that it was fear holding me back in an area. God continually blesses us with revelation so that we may be more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37) and overcome those things that try to hold us back. Love the messages, they are encouraging! You are anointed Sarah, keep them coming:-)
God Bless,
Tiffany



Amen Sarah! Fear is paralyzing. And it can be so scary when you reach out to do something, knowing you might fail. It does stop us from doing a lot of things. Sometimes it doesn't - but we wish it had!

I think we need to rely on God to help us make decisions, and to face fears. If you don't have peace about it, trust that it's your Holy Spirit, warning you that it's not the right time and/or place to go forward. Find another path, and still search for His will for your life. Stay on His path, and it will surely be the most rewarding one. :) God bless, and thank you for sharing!!

Sara