I had quite a bit of response about the writing on fear from last week. It seems to have struck a nerve with many.
As I was reading one response from a partner, the Lord spoke something to my heart.
I want to share a portion of her email with you…
“Just one loss after another, all feeling so out of our control, & feeling like the most awkward “tailspin”. I could go on about how, like you, I was surprised that I’ve found myself here—where I’ve lost sleep, don’t wake with peace, & am just not my true self…. I see where fear works to isolate in order to dominate. I’m seeing just how isolated I’ve felt in this & not realizing the full scope of it until now.”
My partner shared with me how she hadn’t dealt with the fear quickly. How it had slipped upon her during all the challenges she had faced. I knew exactly what she was experiencing, I have been there.
That’s what fear does. I never realized it before, but when we walk through challenges the enemy will attempt to impart little thoughts of fear here and there. In such small ways you don’t even realize you are receiving it, until it is full blown fear.
Dr. Caroline Leaf says, “fear is often the root of toxic thinking habits.” It is in our thoughts that the enemy tries to plant these seemingly small seeds of fear.
There were times when I sensed I was walking in fear and I would immediately say with my mouth, “No! God has not given me a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.” I agreed with the word, but I didn’t take the time or use the necessary actions to deal with spirit of fear in a forceful way. At least not with the root of it.
This is what the partner was sharing with me. She had not firmly dealt with the spirit of fear that had woven its way into her life. Instead she went about with life as normal, as if nothing was wrong.
We all do that. We just keep going through the motions. We often call it walking by faith, but are we really, if we are leaving those little things like fear intact?
As I read her email the Lord spoke to my heart and said, “sometimes we prune when we should be uprooting.”
Ouch!
I had, like the partner whose email I was reading, pruned away the fear when it showed itself. However, I had not taken the time to get to the root cause of the spirit of fear. I had not taken the necessary steps to deal with the root. Because of that, I continued to deal with fear from time to time. I pruned…when I should have uprooted.
When we prune things, they can continue to grow. They can grow even more so. However, when we uproot something, it can never grow again. There are things in our life, not only fear, that we need to deal with the root cause and remove it once and for all.
I love what God spoke to Moses in Exodus 14:13-14; And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
God was saying, “this enemy that keeps coming after you, after today, you will never see him again.” I LOVE THAT!
I believe we have a right to the same thing. Jesus already defeated fear at the cross. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us; “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
I believe we can live a life free of fear. I don’t believe it will come easy, but I know it is possible with God. Why won’t it come easy? Because it is one of the enemy’s main weapons. If we get into fear, we are out of faith, and he knows that. We must stay in faith…and we can, as we stay in God.
Search your heart today. If you see any signs of fear, don’t prune it away. Don’t put a Band-Aid on it to deal with another day. Uproot it. Ask God what the root cause is and then remove the root. In doing so, you will gain freedom, once and for all, from fear. It’s time my friend, time to uproot.
Meditate on this:
Don’t fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine. Isaiah 43:1
