Spiritual Warfare #38

Continuing on with the Consequences of Fear by Charles Stanley
Procrastination is another consequence of fear. People become afraid of not doing something right. Therefore, they put off doing anything at all! I have listened as grown men have described how their parents told them that they would never amount to anything. Internally, they believed this lie, and over the course of their lifetimes they began to procrastinate over the slightest activity. Yes, there was some fear of failure involved, but they also did not believe they could make a choice that was correct or meaningful. So rather than choose, they vacillated between any number of options.

Fear undermines self-confidence. Most of us know when we are yielding to fear. Each time the enemy tells us that we need to be afraid, we need to recall out loud the promises of God, beginning with 2 Timothy 1:7: "God has not given us a spirit of timidity [fear], but of power and love and discipline."

God's promise to you
To overcome fear, you must learn a simple principle that I have mentioned again and again in this book, and that is the principle of focus. When we keep our focus on Jesus Christ, life's struggles diminish and our faith becomes stronger.

God has chosen you to fulfill His will. There is no one who can do what He has called you to do. Yet fear often prevents us from doing this because we are worried about our circumstances. "What if this goes wrong?" "I feel so badly and afraid, I shouldn't try. Something might happen to me or to someone I love. Then what would I do?" But Jesus says, "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32). Although fear may not be able to kill you physically, it can paralyze you and create such a deep sense of anxiety that you will become sick-emotionally and physically.

Tomorrow it's about a new perspective and moving forward. Please pray for Greg and I. We've had a hard week. My blood pressure has been high, I've gotten a cough, dizziness, heart palpitations. Yesterday Greg cut his finger at work and needed 6 stitches. He couldn't sleep most of the night from the pain. God will see us through, it's just exhausting right now. Thank you so much for your prayers and your faithful reading of this blog. God bless.