OneLifeNet: Overcoming Fear

Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.

For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say." Luke 12:11 -12

Some of us are just plain nervous when it comes to speaking in public. So when we think about sharing the Gospel of Jesus with total strangers we become pretty strange ourselves. I have a son whom the moment he gets close to being in the public eye of a medium to large size audience (for him that can range from 5 to 50 people), his knees start to shake, he gets nauseous, his vision blurs and his face begins to feel feverish and he becomes faint. Some people laugh when they’re nervous, others get louder, quieter, ramble, cry, etc.

Depending on the size of a group and the content of the conversation, my own voice will begin to shake and, to my consternation, I get emotional and start to cry. Fear has a way of incapacitating us and putting us out of commission, so to speak, preventing our voices from being heard. Jesus says,

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. II Timothy 1:7

I’ve learned a few things about fear over the years that I’d like to share with you.
1. Fear can only be as big as you allow it to be.
2. It only has a right to be where you invite or tolerate it.
3. Its goal is to take you out of the game.
4. It is not as big as the emotion it causes.
5. It is a spirit.
6. It can be beat.

I used to dream of being chased. The harder I tried to get away, the slower and heavier my feet became causing the fear in me to grow and further create an overwhelming sense of terror which would instantaneously wake me up. I’d had this dream every night for years. One day, in my heart, I heard this question, “What is chasing you?” The next night I

went to sleep and true to the nature of these dreams, began to run from an unseen horror. In the dream I remembered the question and stopped running, gathered every last bit of strength and nerve I had left and turned to see what had been causing my torment. And there in front of me was the largest, most incredible view of nothing I had ever seen in my life. There was nothing there. From that moment on my eyes were opened to the true identity of every fear, phobia and anxiety I had ever had. They didn’t all go away instantly, some took longer to work out, but over time, through the word of God, I learned that I was an overcomer, victoriously equipped. I did not have to be afraid of anything. If I was willing to face an issue, even those I had created myself, Jesus was right there with me to see me through. I would never have to conquer these fears alone.

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Now when I have to speak; my voice still shakes, sometimes I still cry, my stomach still gets queasy from time to time, but I push through. Because each time I do, I get a little bit stronger, a little bit braver, and a lot more confident. Because I have confidence in the ‘Message’ I have to tell. Nothing in my body, emotions, mind or this old world, will dissuade me from my goal and purpose. To preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to any audience that will sit still long enough to listen. I now have a holy boldness that overcomes this temporary world and its fears to be able tell of the hope that is in me. The hope of Jesus Christ, risen and waiting to finish the good work that's been started in me.