If you and I are ever going to realize our purpose and dreams, then we must conquer our fears! How many times did you turn down an opportunity because you feared what the outcome will be? How many times did you have a great idea to contribute but you thought, you will be scoffed at or you will stutter so you preferred to stay quiet? How many times did you have a great business idea but you thought it wouldn't work out so you didn't bother to go ahead and develop it?
For many years I was the shy girl and I succeeded to escape from so many things, but now I'm like 'Girl you should have taken up that challenge then, but you didn't because you were afraid'. And this applies to many of us, we've let fear take the lead over us. This should definitely stop!
Fear is a feeling and emotion which keeps one in an assumed ‘safe, protected’ place! It always sees the negative and the bad consequences to hinder us from taking the step to move forward. Nevertheless, if we must succeed and accomplish our destiny, then we have to face our fears against all odds. Fear has such a paralyzing effect and if allowed to rule, it paralyzes every attempt to move forward.
Even God is conscious that we are frail and will face many fears along the way but He wants us to step up and trust in Him. You know, if your dream is not bigger than you and will not scare you even to a little extent, then certainly you don’t need God. The feeling of incapacity comes so that full dependence can be on God and not on ourselves. There are so many biblical examples who were faced with fear but they eventually turned their focus to God. Gideon was afraid but eventually he looked up to God (Judges 6) , Jehoshaphat was afraid but he turned to God (2 Chronicles 20), what of Moses who saw his weakness as a great limiting factor, but when he reordered his focus he saw that with God he could accomplish his mission (Exodus 3). Focusing on your incapacity will hinder you from seeing the other side, not to talk of ever winning!
Let's look at the story of the Israelites told in Numbers 13 & 14; Moses sent out spies to go and explore the land of Canaan which God had promised to the them. When they executed the mission, amongst the representatives of the 12 tribes, only Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh were not overtaken by what they saw. Look at the 10 tribe's mission report:
“We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there." Numbers 13 v 27-28.
They acknowledged that the land was good because they saw it's goodness and even brought some of its fruits; but they were overcome by the other things their eyes saw; Powerful people, large fortified cities and worst of all descendants of Anak who were giants; in fact in verse 33 of Numbers 13 they described themselves as grasshoppers. However, Caleb and Joshua had a different view; they said the land was good and they could certainly go up and possess it. They urged the people not to be afraid of who and what they saw but to trust in God because He is with them and will certainly help them. At the end of the day, only Joshua and Caleb survived because they did not give in to fear. Once you pay attention to your limitation, it cripples your ability to see what you can do!
For sure you will sometimes feel afraid, but, choose to do it afraid courage will always come running after you. A famous quote by Nelson Mandela says "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it". Don't let fear have the best of you, because there is someone out there waiting in high expectation for the realization of your dream, the release of your book, the distribution of your product and what have you? Refuse to let them die inside of you because you are afraid of whatsoever! Taking the courage means although you feel fear all around and in you, you still decide to take action and face it!
I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it - Nelson Mandela
You must know that life is full of risks and nothing you do will ever be at 0% risk, so there is always something to fear. If you are going to buy a car, there's a probability of having an accident with it, but your fear of having an accident need not stop you from riding that car, instead choose to focus on the things it would help you do and take precautions not to have an accident. That's a very modest example but then, that's how the fear of the unknown, fear of what could happen inhibits many of us from taking action! We need to choose faith over fear which will enable us to see the good side rather than the bad side.
Always keep in mind that whatever you do could either succeed or fail, and do it anyway! Whatever the outcome, you must have attempted and will be above the one who has never tried! Fear happens to us all, but the choice is ours; to be controlled by it or to face it. We must make the conscious decision to step up and live above it.
As Joyce Meyer says in her book Living Courageously, "The answer to fear is always the same.... BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS for GOD is with you".
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. - Isaiah 41:10 NIV
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