Fear is a powerful emotion.  I am not talking about having the “jitters” or being a little anxious or nervous (which could actually be positive in some instances).  I am talking about paralyzing fear that negatively affects your life.  I am talking about a fear that stops you from having a full and abundant life.

We all have something we fear…speaking in public (a big one I understand…my friends will tell you I don’t have this), fear of failure (been guilty of this one in the past), fear of the unknown, and maybe the biggest fear of all for many people, death.  There are many guru’s who will tell you how to overcome fear, but a lot of the advice has to do with reaching inside yourself and finding the strength to overcome…I am not that strong.  I would ask you to consider that faith can help you overcome all fears, no matter what they are or how intensely they grip us.

Now, it is not simply any type of faith nor is it faith in just any ordinary thing.  The faith I am speaking of is faith in God (and not just any god).  I am talking about faith in the God of the Bible; the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob; the God of the Christian; the God who exists in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; the God who became man whose name is Jesus.  For example, if you have faith that your identity is in Jesus and not what others think about you then you can overcome your fear of public speaking.  Making a blunder when speaking is simply a matter of “oops”, nothing more, because a snicker from the crowd is o.k. since I don’t look to the crowd for approval or worth, but to Jesus Christ.  Fear of failure can be overcome since I know God has everything under His control…not mine.  I will walk through the doors He opens and do my best (because I should honor Him by doing so), but the outcome, whether I deem it good or bad, is controlled by Him, not me.  Fear of the unknown is similar.  When I put my faith in a God who knows everything from the beginning to the very end, the unknown becomes not so scary because the One I put my faith in already knows the outcome of every situation and I know He only wants the best for me.  Finally, any fear of death can be vanquished and conquered by knowing Jesus defeated death when He took my place on the cross.  Through His sacrifice the wrath of God was appeased and everlasting life is now available for those who have faith in Him, Jesus, the Son of God.

So that is all well and good you may say, but how do you come to possess that type of faith.  Well, here is the great part…it is simply a gift from the God we are putting our faith in.  God’s gift of faith is by and through grace.  The grace of God is something we can’t earn, there is nothing we can do to obtain it, but rather God bestows grace on us without merit…giving us something we don’t deserve.  It is available to all of us, we simply have to accept it.  How does one accept grace?  Open up your heart and seek the One who gives grace.  Read about Him in the Bible (the book of John is a good place to start).  Begin to understand what is missing in our lives, the hole we attempt to fill with “stuff” and being busy,  is a relationship with the One who created us.  If you earnestly seek Him, His grace will be granted and you will have faith.  That faith can then be directed to the One who gave up everything for you, our Lord and Savior Jesus.  Once that happens, fear subsides…who can overcome the God of the universe…how can I continue to fear if He is on my side…I don’t.