Last week, I shared a message entitled “Choosing who you will serve”, describing how you must choose which master you will serve. If you obey the commands of fear, then fear will be your master, but if you choose to obey God, then he will be your Master.
This week, I want to share how you can choose to obey God rather than fear.
Let me start with one of the Ten Commandments: “You must never worship or bow down to [other gods], for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not share your affection with any other god!” (Exodus 20:5).
For years, you may have bowed down the god of fear. Has irrational fear ever commanded you, “Don’t go there”, and you obey willingly? Has fear every whispered into your ear, This must be a very serious disease. Surely you will die from this. Or how about this one:You’ve done some really bad things. You can’t go to God now. He’s mad at you.
So, where do you start? You start with repentance. Repentance is confessing your obedience to fear as wrong and then choosing to do the right thing. Repentance is action. You must choose to do the right thing and then follow through with action.
“But, I don’t feel very strong,” you may say. “If God will just give me the strength and courage, then I can overcome this fear.” Here’s where the problem lies. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is how you respond while experiencing fear.
More than likely, you will never “feel” strong when it comes to fear. If you did feel strong, then there would be nothing to fear, and this wouldn’t be an issue.
Here’s the key: no matter how you feel, choose to follow God and not the fear. God promises you that if you will make the choice to follow him and trust him with all of your heart, even in the midst of fear, then he will strengthen you.
“The LORD who created you says: ‘Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior'” (Isaiah 43:1b-3c).
“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble” (Psalm 46:1).
If you would like to make this choice to follow God instead of fear, pray this prayer:“Father, I have obeyed the voice of fear and it has controlled my life for too long. I want to follow you. I want to obey your voice. Today, I repent for my idolatry–for bowing down to the god of fear. I confess it to you as wrong, and I ask you in Jesus’ name to forgive me for these wrong choices. Lord Jesus, come into my life and give me strength. Today, I choose to obey your voice. I won’t obey my feelings, if they are contrary to what you want. I will step forth in faith, trusting you to take care of me, trusting you to give me strength. No matter what happens, I will trust you, because I know you love me. Father, I ask these things in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.”
