Living Free from Fear
For the Spirit God
gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
- 2 Timothy 1:7
At one point during
World War II, General George Patton met with a high-ranking allied official in
Sicily. The man praised Patton for his courage and bravery. But Patton told
him, “Sir, I am not a brave man… I have never been within the sound of gunshot
or in sight of battle in my whole life that I wasn’t so scared that I had sweat
in the palms of my hands.”
Years later in his
autobiography, General Patton revealed the secret to his bravery. He wrote, “I
have learned early in my life never to take counsel of my fears.”
It’s astonishing
just how much fear influences our daily decisions. Think about it. How many
decisions do you make daily based on a negative event in the future that may or
may not come to pass? And then, how many of those fears actually materialize?
So how can we
diagnose fear when we see it? By looking at its source. Fear comes from either
a lack of trust in God’s power, or a belief that He doesn’t have your best
interest at heart. When you fall into one of those mindsets, you’re operating
in fear, not trust.
As believers, we can
overcome our fears in any situation by asking the simple question, “What would
I do here if I fully trusted God’s power and goodness?” When we answer that and
take action on it, we’ll be well on our way to operating free from fear!
Prayer Challenge
Pray that God would
expose areas of your life where you’re operating in fear, rather than trust in
Him.
Questions for
Thought
As you think about
today’s devotional, what areas of your life come to mind where you’ve been
operating in fear rather than trust?
How might your daily
decisions look differently if you fully trusted God’s power and goodness?