It’s quite possible no one has ever told you this, but God does know you will encounter fear. You must conquer it.
Why am I talking about fear at the beginning of a new year? Well, I believe God has placed goals, visions, and dreams in your heart to accomplish and fear stands in direct opposition to your success. It is important to realize that God placing desires in your heart makes you different from many people who start the year making and breaking resolutions. The accomplishment of your God given goals has Kingdom importance. The Kingdom is waiting on you to fulfill them. You must diligently pursue them. You cannot let fear derail you.
God has already counted you successful, now you must overcome fear. He knows the things he has placed in your heart seem incredible. He wants you to rely on Him for the fulfillment of your success.
Whether He has spoken miraculous healing, financial recovery, restored relationships, improved physical fitness, or establishing a new career as goals for your life this year, God knows that you might be afraid to step out on faith and pursue the vision. It can all seem so overwhelming.
His aim is to build your faith and trust in Him. He has a plan. Before I tell you the plan, let me tell you what it’s not.
God’s plan for conquering fear is not trying to psych yourself out of it with hypnotic repetitions of 1 Timothy 1:7 (“God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power, of love, and of a sound mind”). His plan involves understanding the life giving principle found in the truth of those words plus your obedient action.
Gideon is a great example of the plan in action. God took Gideon through a process that caused him to become fearless. Let’s take a quick look at it.
Gideon had an encounter with God and was told of his extraordinary destiny. Essentially he received a Kingdom assignment. Gideon’s assignment came at a time when resources were low and conditions were not optimal. In fact, God continually diminished his resources. Sound familiar?
You have a vision or goal but looking at the available resources makes you fearful? It makes you wonder if you can get it done. It makes you question the vision. You must determine that nothing will hold you back from doing what the Lord desires. Sometimes you even have to allow the Holy Spirit to lead you out of “the box.” God has commissioned you for spiritual work, therefore its accomplishment must be Spirit led.
God is never concerned about the quantity of your resources. He is the supplier of all your need. He wants you to trust Him more than you trust in things. Your power is not found in the things around you, but in the word the Lord has spoken. Trust God and pursue the vision.
This year, commit to becoming fearless. It’s the key to your extraordinary destiny.
In part two, I ‘ll share the action steps that lead you to becoming fearless.
“And it came to pass the same night that the Lord said unto him, Arise get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand. But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host:” Judges 7:9-10