The battle has already been won, the victory has been won. Take the land and Fear not. We win in our weakness, we win in our surrender.
Hey Besties, yes, if you’ve made it here again we’re best friends. I love the cringy introductions. Welcome to Maranatha blogs where we explore the heart of God for us. Like always, if this is the first time you’re hearing about Jesus Christ you are also welcome here. Thank you for coming here to share with me a few moments of your day.
Today I’d like to talk about my walk with fear. I’ve been very open on this blog with my struggles dealing with fear and anxiety in the past. I have some fresh perspectives for you. Sometimes, I feel like fear is the thorn in my flesh. In scripture, Paul talks about the thorn in his side that God allowed him to live with. Let’s take a look at scripture:
2 Corinthians 12:7-10; 7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
This bit of scripture is so powerful. When I sat in stillness to think about my walk with fear I remembered Paul’s story in the bible. The thorn in his side agonized him, it was at this moment that he had a divine revelation that he needed to decrease so that Christ can increase. When I start feeling afraid now, I allow myself to decrease so that Christ will increase. Fear is mentioned over 300 times in the bible. God says do not fear, fear not. This repetition came along with the constant reminder that God is here. I had the misconception that the presence of these commands meant the absence of fear. If I can leave fear behind, I’ll never struggle again. If we can leave fear behind we can really do anything right. We live in a broken world, with broken people and broken things plagued by sin. Therefore fear very much exists. I have walked in total freedom from fear. I’ve had days of feeling really brave. Really standing on the command, do not fear. The truth is you wouldn’t feel brave everyday. My mistake was feeling defeated on days when I didn’t feel as brave in his command, on the days when I could barely climb out of bed to jump ahead of my day. The fear that paralyzes, the fear that silences, the kind of fear that will kill purpose, the kind of fear that will wipe you out clean. The fear that will make you hide in the shadows. One day on my journey I sat with it, not in a way to unpack my belongings in the darkness. In a way that acknowledged my weaknesses. In a way that said, here I am Lord. I’m not strong enough to beat this fear, but you are strong. I have strength in God. How can we truly experience the power of God if we’ve never had anything that weakens us to the point of a reminder of our human fragility?
The revelation of this scripture shows that experiencing fear is an invitation for God to show up in our weakness. God did not mention/assure us about fear over 300 times in scripture to hint at it never existing again. In fact, fear is mentioned repeatedly because it is so ever-present. Our weakness is an opportunity to show forth God’s strength through us, in us, with us, and around us. Resist the urge to go in your own strength.
The moment we rest our weaknesses in the strength of God we begin to walk in authority. The truth is God has given us the authority to conquer the tactical enemy of fear. The truth is fear is not of God and he wants us to walk in freedom. As crazy as it sounds sometimes it really takes resting in our weakness,for the strength of God to show forth. If we were to depend on our logic to combat against fear then we wouldn’t open our eyes long enough to see him. Resist the urge to stand in your own strength.
If you struggle with fear. Feeling afraid of the future, or the present and even the past. Afraid to step into a new city, a new job or even to be a new parent. Fear can show up as simple as being afraid to speak up or embracing change. I’m challenging you today to resist the urge to fight on your own, acknowledge this weakness and allow the strength of God to show forth.
“Paul says when I am weak then I am strong.”Why? Weakness is an opportunity for God to show us his abilities.
There’s power, authority, boldness and braveness right at the end of where our fear lies, at the end of our weakness. Trading our weakness for God’s strength is a sign of surrendering. When we surrender we press into this by leaning into the word in prayer, consecration and fasting. The act of surrendering emboldens us and combats fear. When we allow ourselves to become weak we subscribe to the promises of God. I’m here to tell you today that the presence of fear is not the absence of God. It’s an opportunity for him to show forth his strength in our weakness. It’s an opportunity for us to surrender. Actually, God is way more present in our fragility than we can even comprehend.
In a world that screams be strong, go crush it, be ironclad. I dare you to be weak, for it is in our weakness and surrender that the strength of Christ shows forth.
Maranatha 