WHAT MAKES YOU AFRAID? Afraid to step out on faith and to do the unthinkable or to believe in the impossible? What makes you shrink back? Is it some overwhelming circumstance that you are going through that is staring you in the face and daring you to make another move towards the big thing that you are believing God for? What is holding you hostage in your faith? Is it the fact that you have not seen anything worth mentioning taking place in your life that now has you questioning whether or not it will ever happen for you? Or, maybe you have been working your butt off and praying for a while and you still haven’t seen much come of it, yet?
Last year, I took a poll on Facebook and asked a question “what is the one thing that keeps people from going after their dreams?” The number one answer was FEAR. Fear is defined as an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. However, fear has also been described this way as an acronym, F.E.A.R. that stands for "False Evidence Appearing Real". What is the false evidence in your life that appears to be real? What is the false beliefs, stories, situations, circumstances, etc. that seems so real that it is down right scary?
A few years ago, I faced a huge fear of mine…HEIGHTS!!! I zipped line at 130 feet in the air going from one part of the forest to the next. Boy, I was so scared that I literally cried when I got up top!!! (By the way, I was also tricked into doing it, but that’s another blog). Nevertheless, what I realized was that I had already received instruction on how to zip line from one location to the next and that I had all of the right equipment on that would help me to reach my destination safely. In other words, I was prepared to do what I started out to do, but I had to overcome my fear. The best way to do that was to DO IT SCARED! I had a Reality Check before making that decision to do it scared and that is I am already equipped for success in spite of the fear. Facing the fear took away its power and its authority over me, which could have kept me from doing what I able to do.
So, let's attack the fears that have been robbing us of great opportunities and life experiences that belong to us, but has kept us too afraid to access them through our FAITH. Let’s watch what Real Faith in Action can do. Hebrews 11:1 “NOW FAITH is the substance (confirmation, proof and the conviction) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.’ Faith is perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses” (Amplified Bible). So whatever you have seen or not seen…Faith is the real deal to shut Fear down.
Faith empowers you to stand in the midst of adversity when everything is shouting at you, telling you that you are not going to make it or that you’re not going to succeed. Don’t let it stop you from taking hold of your destiny. Even if you don’t experience the absence of fear completely, your faith will push you into your future by telling you to just DO IT SCARED!
REFLECTION: How has fear stopped you from doing what you know you should be doing or has stopped you from pursuing your dreams?
SUCCESS ACTION: Face your fear. Call it by name. Take action and do what you wouldn’t do before!