Victory Over Fear

              

I sat in the parking lot of the Walkway Over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie and my car wouldn’t start. My phone had just died and there wasn’t anyone I knew around the area. I didn’t exactly panic, but became anxious. I grew increasingly annoyed as I tried several times to get the engine to turn over. What could I do? I said a hasty prayer and tried turning on my dead phone. It responded! I immediately called roadside assistance and hoped that it would connect me before the phone turned off. I was nervous because there’s always so much info to input before you got a person. On top of it, this company wanted me to do it all on-line to pinpoint my location. I prayed a little more fervently. My phone didn’t die and I got through. Now to wait for the call back. I phoned home just in case by some miracle my husband would pick up. NO such luck. I texted my friends that the writer’s meeting at my house would be delayed. A friend offered to come and get me, but I declined. I needed to be with the car.

I awaited the tow company’s phone call. About a half an hour passed and still no tow truck. Finally, it showed up. The service man tried jumping it with his special battery pack. NO go. I got worried. Oh no. What will happen next? The dealership is so far and they’ll change me and arm and a leg! It turned out that they did have to tow the car all the way to Kingston. The tow guy said it was probably the starter. Of course, the warranty had just run out and I had just paid off the car this month, but I refused to get depressed. The guy was very nice and offered to drive me to a diner where I could wait for a ride. My friend Evelyn rushed over to pick me up. In the end it all turned out well, though I had some anxious and fearful moments.

           Fear. It can hold you in its grip if you let it. We’re all subject to it and the slew of anxieties that result from its wake. Since God is our creator, He understands our weakness to give into fear. Concerned, He has encouraged us over three hundred times in the Bible, “Do not fear.” You could easily argue, easier said than done. After all, He’s God. Yet the Almighty goes further to assure us why we don’t need to fear

          Here are a few scriptures that God gives us reasons why we don’t need to let fear have the upper hand. Do not fear because:

            God will be with you. Joshua 1:9

God will be with you and strengthen you. Isaiah 41:10

God knows everything ahead of time. Isaiah 44: 8

God has redeemed you and will protect you. Isaiah 43:1

God has given us the kingdom. Luke 12:32

God gives us peace unlike the world knows. John 14:27

If we can get a hold of that fear, face it head on and proclaim faith in God to work it all out for good, we’re well on our way to conquering fear. If we can believe in a few of the hundreds of promises His Word offers us, we will begin the journey of trusting and   overcoming fear. If we can look fear in the face and tell it. “You’re a liar," then our false beliefs about ourselves, God and our circumstances will fall away like dead leaves.

 I encourage you today to get into the Word of God and mine the treasures of His promises. One of my favorites is “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and might and a sound mind” (1 Timothy). Knowing that God has the power and might and ability to give us a sound mind over fear sets the stage for victory. Alongside is another verse I quote in fearful circumstances. “If God be for us who can be against us" (Romans 8:31). God is on our side when we are on His, so we have nothing to fear even when fear seems to be knocking on our door. God can overcome this fear for you when you allow His truth to penetrate your fear.