Recipe for Fear

'Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged. For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you may go.' Joshua 1:9

My Bible study group will be starting a summer study soon on-yep, you guessed it-fear! I've been preparing my heart and mind for what God wants to show me through this study. I stumbled across something I wrote about two years ago to share at a youth retreat. Obviously, I've been dealing with fear for a long time...still am! I came up with an acronym for the word FEAR and put verses with each letter. I'd like to share them with you, also as a reminder for myself, about what our God says about this bondage called fear...

F: Faith: We must have faith in the One who is our Protector. Without faith, we have no reason to expect to be set free from our fears.

“But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” Hebrews 10:38

'Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.' Hebrews 11:1

A: Able: We also must believe that He is able to handle our fears (and that He wants to).

'Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,' Ephesians 3:20

'Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.' Matthew 10:28

E: Expect: We must expect that He is going to answer us when we cry out to Him with our fears.

'Call to me and I will answer you; I will tell you great and mighty things which you do not know.' Jeremiah 33:3

'Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?' Isaiah 58:6

R: Relationship: We must have a relationship with Him if we want to be free from the bondage of fear.

'My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.' John 10:27

'And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.' James 2:23

We must have Faith that He is Able; we must Expect due to our Relationship with Him that he will help us conqeour our fears-no matter how big or how small! Believe it and live in it!