Fear

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

"The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life-of whom shall I be afraid?"

I have been given the privilege of speaking in front of several people at my church tomorrow night for a couple minutes about fear and how God has helped me in my fight against it. I decided it would be good to just write out some stuff about it on here, to brainstorm if you will, or just think some about it.

Fear has been something I've struggled with for a while. It's mainly been fear of other people, not that I'd be hurt by them or anything, but I've been afraid of their perception of me. I don't want to be looked down upon. I don't want to be judged. I don't want to mess up. I fear making mistakes. I fear speaking up and speaking out. In terms of perception, I've never really cared how people view me outwardly-how I dress or how my hair looks, that hasn't really bothered me much. What I care about is what others think of me as a person, and this has caused fear to rise up in me.

If I mess up-what will people say? Will they want to speak to me anymore? Will they value my opinions? If I stumble over my words, will they listen to what I have to say? If I say the wrong thing, something they don't agree with, will they argue with me and push me down?

I've feared being a leader in that I might lead in the wrong direction. That I might think God is saying one thing but He's really saying another. That I might misinterpret something.

So mainly, I fear messing up and making mistakes. But you know what I've realized? God is bigger than my mistakes. If I don't step out, how can He use me? I am not more powerful than Him-I can never do anything that could mess something up so bad that He couldn't fix it. As I trust in Him and follow Him and lean on His strength, I'll learn to hear His voice more clearly and follow His direction more closely. As I follow Him, He is with me. He's not going to leave me or forsake me. He is my strength when I am weak. He is my light when I cannot see. He is my Deliverer, my Stronghold, my Protection. He knows every detail about me, yet He loves me anyway. And not only does He love me, but He wants to use me. He wants to help me. He pushes me out of my comfort zone so that the only option is to trust in Him for strength.

Even in the past week, He has challenged me with just praying in front of people I respect. And now He's challenging me with speaking in front of a ton of people. He's breaking off the power that fear has had in my life. As I put more faith in Him, the fear melts away, replaced with boldness. But I must never let my guard down, I must never just slip into complacency, for then the enemy attacks me with more fear yet again. I must remain grounded in the Word and spend time with Him daily. I must constantly be reminded of what He has done for me. I must not forget.

God, I give tomorrow to you. Use me as You will. I wish to be an empty vessel through which You work, not so that I may have any glory, but so that the people who listen are strengthened and encouraged. I want others to know how amazing You are. I want them to know that You are my Rock and Fortress. I want them to know that I can do nothing without You. Thank You for Your never-ending love. Thank You for this opportunity to speak. Thank You for Your encouragement and peace. I love You, my Father.

May God bless you and keep you as you go about your day.

Brianna

:)†<3U