Ministry Resources

3 Essential Factors for Living a Fearless Life

Author: Matt Smith

As I approached a moment of uncertainty, fear had me backed into a corner once again.

Fear has kept me from going after opportunities, taking important risks, and giving everything I had to follow my dreams. It always seems to find its way into situation after situation no matter how many times I’ve defeated it before. And it continues to plague every human being on this earth.

I’ve found there are at least 3 important steps to removing this relentless fear from my life.

1. RECOGNIZE THE SOURCE

Fear has a way of showing itself right when your need to be courageous is most important. Why does this happen? Because your enemy knows that if he can keep you afraid, he can keep you from being everything God has designed you to be.

The enemy wants you to fail. He wants you to be miserable and focused on your own problems. He knows if he can keep you focused on yourself, then maybe you won’t make an impact on someone else’s life.

The enemy knows his best chance of keeping you from your purpose is to make you afraid of it. This is often why your greatest accomplishments lie just on the other side of your greatest fears.

Thankfully, God has created and given us an antidote to fear. You might think that courage or faith is the antidote, but God’s Word offers a solution even more powerful than both combined.

2. ABIDE IN GOD AND LOVE OTHERS

God shows us in His Word that fear’s biggest weakness is love.

1 John 1:8 tells us, “Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.”

The word “perfect” used here in the Greek essentially carries the idea of “being complete or full.” Later in chapter 4, we are shown that as we “abide in God” (v. 17) and as we “love others” (vs. 11-12) we will become more complete in love and this will expel all fear from our lives.

If you could truly understand the love which your all-powerful, all-knowing God has for you, how could you ever be afraid? God is outside of time, which means He is able to see every moment in your life before it happens. Not only that, He has told us that He orchestrates events in your life for good (Rom. 8:28; Ps. 139:16). We need to spend time with God and remember these truths, and then share His love with others.

3. REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE

The good news is that you no longer need to be controlled by your fears. If you listen to the negative opinions of others or the nagging doubts in your mind, you’ll become paralyzed with fear. Why would you ever listen to anyone else except God? Doesn’t your Creator know who you are and your purpose better than anyone else?

When you discover who you really are in Christ, you realize you have nothing to be afraid of. Too often Christians can’t figure out if they’re Spider-Man or Peter Parker. They’ve been given great power, yet they keep living in fear, and forget who they really are. The irony of our enemy using fear is that he is incredibly afraid of who you are in Christ and what you’re capable of through Him. It’s time you realized who you are. You are loved, a child and heir of God.

You need to stand upon His Word when fear and doubts start their assault on your thinking. One of my favorite reminders is 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” When a fearful thought enters your mind, you must dismiss it knowing it has no place in your life. You are loved, you are powerful, and you are destined for incredible things beyond what you would even believe. Do not let fear keep you from it. Walk in His love.

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