|
Users viewing this topic:
none
|
|
Login  | |
|
Fearless or Fearful... - 9/4/2008 4:05:37 PM
|
|
|
pstrdebi
Posts: 739
Joined: 4/28/2008
From: So. Oregon, by way of So. Cal.
Status: offline
|
I have struggled with fear and anxiety for a very long time. Although I have learned how to deal with it... get rid of it, etc... and I am nowhere near the way I used to be years ago... there is still that occasion that creeps up on me that the enemy knows he can attack... and he knows that I am most susceptible when it comes to my kids and grand babies.
I know how to deal with it, as I said, but there is that time in-between. The time between the fear coming on... and when it goes.
So here's my question.
1st... is there anyone else who deals with this and what real steps do you take during the "in-between." I'm not looking for the pat answers like "I turn it all over to God"... we all do that. But is there anything you do, read, sing... whatever?
2nd... what would you say to a new believer who deals with this? We have a lot of newbies here who read these threads.
3rd... If you are Fearless... how do you stay that way?
_____________________________
"For in Him we live and move and have our being..." Acts 17:28a
http://www.therockfellowship.org
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Fearless or Fearful... - 9/4/2008 4:28:26 PM
|
|
|
delete123
Posts: 944
Joined: 6/1/2005
Status: offline
|
PstrDebi~
I am half of both, lol. I know it doesn't sound like it is possible but it is true.
I am fearless in many things and walks of life. Think about it, when I was 19 y/o I hitchhiked over 2,000 miles alone and feared not!
Yet at 29 when I got married I would go through anxiety something fierce. I was the head of household/provider and I believe maybe that sometimes that I was not relyong fully on God when these moments came.
I found after a year of trying different avenues the best things that helped me prevent it is 2 things: the first one was exercise. I would work out at the gym 3 times a week. (Not that I need to be fit, I was already thin and use to get heckled about that!)
and the 2nd one was I would go to counselling to talk once a month to just remove any things that may have been a burden. (I didn't have friends, my then husband chased them all off and speaking with family was not an option.)
I believe anxiety is driven by fear of the unknown. We don't have all the answers to circumstances and life. We are not all in controls of things we would like to be.
My one sister says I do not excel because I have a fear of self. I am very intelligent yet I struggle sometimes with risking or taking that unknown chance.
Does that help you any? I hope I was somewhat insightful
CRH
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Fearless or Fearful... - 9/4/2008 4:38:12 PM
|
|
|
deliveredarling
Posts: 1937
Joined: 8/30/2007
Status: offline
|
I walk through it, one small step at a time. Sometimes I have to take two steps back just to take one step forward.
I make mistakes and learn for the next time. Each lesson learned grows strength and endurance.
Many a deep breath and many tears.
Singing at the top of my lungs in the car almost instantly removes the fear.
I stare fear straight in the face KNOWING I may be the one fighting the battle, but God is ultimately the winner.
_____________________________
"Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed: but he puts it on a lampstand, in order that those who come in may see the light."
Luke 8:16
http://www.myspace.com/egaip
Come visit
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Fearless or Fearful... - 9/4/2008 4:45:54 PM
|
|
|
mvic
Posts: 1546
Joined: 1/17/2008
Status: offline
|
Hi Pstrdebi,
"If you are Fearless... how do you stay that way?"
None of us is Fearless; not if we're really honest with ourselves. We're all anxious at one time or another and we worry. We worry about nothing. And when we have nothing to worry about, we worry in case there's something we should be worrying about ... Know what I mean?
Anyway - you asked for a "no pat answers" suggestion. How about this:
Write down exactly what you are anxious about. Writing clears the head and focuses the mind. Then ask: Can I do something about it? If "Yes" then do it - even if you need help or advice from others. If "No" then stop being anxious.
Sorry if this is too clinical a solution. It helps me a lot. Although I must confess that my Faith and prayers help me even more. (Ooops ... sorry ... pat answer !!!).
_____________________________
Christian words of comfort at http://www.holyvisions.co.uk
Welcome to my Blog
MEI VITA INDICO CHRISTUS
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Fearless or Fearful... - 9/4/2008 4:51:47 PM
|
|
|
LCannon
Posts: 1254
Joined: 2/22/2007
From: Lebanon, OR
Status: offline
|
Well, I'm pretty 'fearless'. Someone has said, 'Worry(be concerned)about things you(personally)control by your obedience to your level of revelation. Empathize(not worry)about circumstances outside that sphere.'
How do you stay that way? Worship/service(continuously)unto His obedience and Victory. Anticipate a Challenge, His next one. Try this:
1. Commit yourself for a only a week.
2. Paul's letter to the Ephesians has six chapters, one per day. Read a chapter a day, aloud,(reading aloud tends to make me concentrate and doesn't allow my mind to wander as much)with the emphasis on obedience.
3. Rest a day(Sunday?), commit yourself to another week, Ephesians again, aloud, again but the next week's emphasis is unity with the Holy Spirit and the church, local and universal.
Sometimes the simplest obediences are the most significant. Read 2 Kings 5, the story of Naaman.
_____________________________
"It may be that when the angels go about their task of praising God they play
only Bach. I am sure, however, that when they are together en famille they
play Mozart and then too our dear Lord listens with special pleasure."(Karl Barth)
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Fearless or Fearful... - 9/4/2008 5:17:54 PM
|
|
|
Liveloved
Posts: 1843
Status: offline
|
I think apart from Christ we all operate/live out of fear. And just because we are in Christ, does not mean all the fear is gone. I think it is very much a part of the sanctification process. Perfect love casts out fear. So as I draw closer and closer to Jesus, yielding more and more to His life in me, I find my fear being replaced by Love.
I had some upsetting circumstances late yesterday afternoon. And as I was in bed last night and this morning, I just kept saying, "Lord, EVERYTHING You do is love whether I understand it or not." Over and over and over again I repeated this. And this morning during my quiet time with Him, He revealed His love to me in the most blessed ways. His Perfect Love did cast out my fear.
I'm not sure my story will be helpful to others but your thread was very timely for me. Bless you, debi!  LL
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Fearless or Fearful... - 9/5/2008 4:10:02 PM
|
|
|
pstrdebi
Posts: 739
Joined: 4/28/2008
From: So. Oregon, by way of So. Cal.
Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: LCannon
Well, I'm pretty 'fearless'. Someone has said, 'Worry(be concerned)about things you(personally)control by your obedience to your level of revelation. Empathize(not worry)about circumstances outside that sphere.'
How do you stay that way? Worship/service(continuously)unto His obedience and Victory. Anticipate a Challenge, His next one. Try this:
1. Commit yourself for a only a week.
2. Paul's letter to the Ephesians has six chapters, one per day. Read a chapter a day, aloud,(reading aloud tends to make me concentrate and doesn't allow my mind to wander as much)with the emphasis on obedience.
3. Rest a day(Sunday?), commit yourself to another week, Ephesians again, aloud, again but the next week's emphasis is unity with the Holy Spirit and the church, local and universal.
Sometimes the simplest obediences are the most significant. Read 2 Kings 5, the story of Naaman.
Great thoughts! Thank you so much for the "challenge."
 
_____________________________
"For in Him we live and move and have our being..." Acts 17:28a
http://www.therockfellowship.org
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Fearless or Fearful... - 9/5/2008 4:10:32 PM
|
|
|
MyCatSmokey2006
Posts: 3122
Status: offline
|
I struggle with fear and worry a lot. I tend to be fearful of future events that may never happen and events that I know will happen, but not in the way I imagine it to be. God is helping me overcome these fears by teaching me to meditate and memorize His Word, reading and studying it more often and listening to Christian music. I also talk with Him in prayer, journal my feelings and talk to a counselor. Somebody told me once that fear is overcome by action, so that's what I'm trying to do.
Hope this helps.
_____________________________
Melissa
<----Cyber Kitty!
Pray and Rejoice, God is in control!
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Fearless or Fearful... - 9/5/2008 4:14:19 PM
|
|
|
pstrdebi
Posts: 739
Joined: 4/28/2008
From: So. Oregon, by way of So. Cal.
Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: Liveloved
I think apart from Christ we all operate/live out of fear. And just because we are in Christ, does not mean all the fear is gone. I think it is very much a part of the sanctification process. Perfect love casts out fear. So as I draw closer and closer to Jesus, yielding more and more to His life in me, I find my fear being replaced by Love.
I had some upsetting circumstances late yesterday afternoon. And as I was in bed last night and this morning, I just kept saying, "Lord, EVERYTHING You do is love whether I understand it or not." Over and over and over again I repeated this. And this morning during my quiet time with Him, He revealed His love to me in the most blessed ways. His Perfect Love did cast out my fear.
I'm not sure my story will be helpful to others but your thread was very timely for me. Bless you, debi! LL
Bless you too!
You are right about "perfest love casting out fear." Many times people would quote that verse to me, like it was suppose to be an instant cure! 
It is not an instant cure... but it is an ever increasing way of life. The closer we draw near... the more we abide... we loose more and more of the fear. This is a process, and some folks take longer than others... but we're all on that road of healing.
_____________________________
"For in Him we live and move and have our being..." Acts 17:28a
http://www.therockfellowship.org
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Fearless or Fearful... - 9/5/2008 7:43:44 PM
|
|
|
makarizo
Posts: 2980
Joined: 4/13/2005
Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: pstrdebi
I have struggled with fear and anxiety for a very long time. Although I have learned how to deal with it... get rid of it, etc... and I am nowhere near the way I used to be years ago... there is still that occasion that creeps up on me
do you (did you) experience panic attacks? can you identify what triggers the fear?
maybe mvic would tell me I am in denial, but to my knowledge there is no fear in me at all. and "what if" is not a part of my vocabulary.
God has used me in a very special way to help some people overcome their fear, the answer to overcoming fear always comes from the inside, and is avoided, and repressed.
talking about them is a good start.
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Fearless or Fearful... - 9/6/2008 12:23:18 AM
|
|
|
makarizo
Posts: 2980
Joined: 4/13/2005
Status: offline
|
"we are going to the airport"
that is a trigger, an instant automatic panic attack, followed by a series of :
"what if this happens", what if this person is there", "what if something explodes", "what if terrorists attack" hyper and jumpy... and so on.
a 'safe person' is with her and tells her that everything will be okay, he continues to talk because his voice is calming. after a moment, the panic attack subsides. She looks back to the hour, wondering what just happened, how it happened, ashamed that it happened, mad at herself, knowing it will happen again.
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Fearless or Fearful... - 9/6/2008 9:35:06 AM
|
|
|
Little_1
Posts: 1461
Status: offline
|
Yes - I have times when fear attacks my mind! I can be sitting reading or walking along the street and a fearful thought comes into my mind. The fearful thought(s) which come into my mind are usually tied up with what matters to me, e.g. loved ones and they usually involve, "what if this happens to -----------?" or "something could happen to ---------------!" Not nice thoughts!  The following steps are what the Lord has taught me over the course of this past year regarding overcoming such. They are not pat answers - they are truth and they have helped me to cope where I would otherwise have crumbled:
1 Speak or meditate on Scripture relating to anxiety or fear
e.g. I may take a Scripture such as,"Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon Thee," and personalise it, e.g. "God will keep me in perfect peace because I am going to keep my mind stayed upon Him." I repeat such whilst at the same time doing my utmost to ignore the 'feelings' I may be experiencing which say otherwise, i.e. thoughts and feelings which still try to overtake whatever Scripture I am repeating. "God's Word is alive and active......", also it, "will not return unto God void but will accomplish that to which He sends it," so if I still find it hard believing this Truth, I have to choose to trust by faith regardless of my feelings. This is not easy but it is a choice I have had to make often since I started to practice this. I remind myself that either I want to feel sorry for myself and wallow in my doubts and fears  or I want to grow strong spiritually and persevere...... 
2 Pray for God to help focus on positive things
and not negative thinking and refuse to ponder the negative thoughts that come into my mind, i.e. I cast them down by doing what God's Word teaches, e.g. "whatsoever is good, whatsoever is noble, whatsoever is true - think on these things." I'm a "the glass is half empty" sort of person and God is really challenging me to "renew my mind" with His Word (((((((great challenge)))))). I'm learning lessons that God's teaching and His ways are so much better than my ways and His thoughts are so much higher than mine. I want to learn God's kind of thinking in the reality of life (and God's thinking has to do with love which casts out fear). Having the "mind of Christ" involves time in prayer and His Word......as well as putting it into practice in real-life situations.
It is not wrong to have fearful thoughts but we can allow ourselves to succumb to them which will lead us to sin if we dwell on them!
3 Praise God for His goodness
and if at the present time I cannot think of anything good happening in my life (i.e. at the moment of the fear attack), I try to think back to the good things He has done for me and not just me but my brethren (both recorded in the Bible and present brethren). Praise worked for Jehoshaphat when he was faced with a great advancing army. It confused Jehoshaphat's enemies so that they begun attacking themselves and had to flee! Thankfully today is no different although many of our enemies may be "in high places" - praise does the same in our own threatening and fearful circumstances...... and the spiritual wickedness in high places flee also - it confuses them Praising God is not always a "happy" time! There have been times when I have not felt like praising (quite the opposite) and it has been a "sacrifice of praise" but once again - feelings need to be ignored and at such times, we may need to make a decisive choice of obedience rather than 'feeling'. At such times, it encourages me to know that the outcome in the Heavenlies will be the same regardless of how we 'feel' however. ((((((Praise God))))))
Re: the last question: if by this question you mean, "How do you manage to cope with fearful thoughts?" then I would say that I am learning to fear less when such happens by applying each of the above Biblical principles whenever I have negative thoughts and fears attacking my mind. Being honest, I am not perfected in this area (i.e. matured fully) and I still have to learn by practice. I cannot say I am fearless (much as I would like to); however, I do however believe it is definitely possible to be fearless when under trial, e.g. Stephen was fearless when he was crucified and even asked to be crucified upside down! Also, the big coward, Peter denied the Lord 3 times in the same day because he was fearful in mind yet went on to become a 'cornerstone' in the church faith! So yes - I do believe it is possible to be 'fearless' in fearful and stressful situations.
On a slightly different note but on the same theme, something else worth considering perhaps is getting adequate sleep/rest where possible because a tired mind is so much more vulnerable and likely to succumb during what I would term 'spiritual warfare'.
Exercise also - I don't practice what I preach with regard to exercise being honest (at least not as much as would be really beneficial) but health experts tell us that Exercise releases hormones into our blood-streams which have a positive, healthy effect and if the saying healthy body healthy mind is correct - then this is something I should consider seriously also. I can remember long ago hearing a sermon Re: Elijah and how it taught about diet and Exercise, i.e. the birds fed him well (diet); he had a period of resting (refreshment); and he had to walk some distance (exercises) and God used all this to help with his depression and negative thinking. Sorry if this is not very clearly explained but I heard the sermon about 20 years ago and would need to study the chapters which cover this period of depression and negative thinking which came after a great Spiritual victory.
P.S. sorry this is a long post - helpful I hope despite this.
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Fearless or Fearful... - 9/6/2008 2:01:22 PM
|
|
|
MyCatSmokey2006
Posts: 3122
Status: offline
|
Excellent post, Little_1! I want to point out that Stephen was stoned to death and Peter was crucified upside down.
_____________________________
Melissa
<----Cyber Kitty!
Pray and Rejoice, God is in control!
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Fearless or Fearful... - 9/9/2008 1:13:55 PM
|
|
|
growingseed
Posts: 157
Joined: 5/24/2005
Status: offline
|
It's not that we fear, but rather do we depend upon what Jesus teaches us to rely on. Sometimes when dealing with my kids or even grandkids, i pray that they aren't going to be used to teach me a lesson that i've been missing. The lord uses anything he wants to direct us toward him and we can't help(which is Doubt) feel that he may just do that. Job is a good example of direction getting without even being punished for any sins committed. But understand the more i do rely on his grace in my life, so that anything he does is always for the best for everyone involved and sometimes with others who aren't involved. I believe Jn 10:28-29 when Jesus states that we are in his hands and that his hands are in the fathers hands, with that i receive grace which reduces my fear.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: Fearless or Fearful... - 9/10/2008 3:56:33 PM
|
|
|
pstrdebi
Posts: 739
Joined: 4/28/2008
From: So. Oregon, by way of So. Cal.
Status: offline
|
I thought I would tell you about the reason I posted this topic...
As I said before... I have dealt with fear and anxiety in the past to a great extent. It used to overwhelm me... overcome me... and consume me more than imaginable. So much so that I couldn't eat, sleep or function.
By the grace of God... I have been delivered from the worst... the anxiety. Yet... still, every so often, that old fear creeps back in. Not like in the past by any means.
I posted this because of something that happened the night before (I posted).
My daughter, son-in-law and grand-babies were heading from Oregon to So Cal... to my oldest daughters house, where we'll meet up with them all this weekend. They left a week early to do some other visiting. They stopped to visit us before hitting the road... and soon after they took off, I headed off to bed. As I lay there... that old fear started to come on. Fear for their safety on the road. I started praying, saying, "Oh God... I don't want to go through this again... I just can't! I cannot deal with these fears... You HAVE to take them from me." Just as I finished praying this, my daughter called me to say goodnight and informed me of the Jaguar that was doing 90 miles per hour and passed them, then "kissed" the center divider and spun out right in front of them. My son-in-law swerved and by the grace of God, was able to avoid the accident.
We hung up and as I snuggled into my pillow, I could feel God saying, "Do you see?" It was His way of telling me that there was no need to fear... His hand was upon them.
The fear left and I was able to fall righ | | |
Forum Tools
Printable Version
