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| Volume 18 Number 1 January 2016 | Page 12 |
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| Volume 18 Number 1 January 2016 | Page 12 |
T. Pierce Brown (deceased)
Since teachers may occasionally be afraid that they will fail, and since each student needs to learn how to have the courage to stand, I started to entitle this article, “How to Overcome Fear.” Then, I realized that we do not need to overcome fear as much as we need to be courageous. There is a difference! There are various kinds of fears. Hebrews 5:7 says about Jesus, “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to deliver him from death, and was heard in that he feared.” So we do not need to overcome all kinds of fear, but we do need to have courage. Developing courage will help us to overcome the fears that need to be overcome, and more importantly, to function properly in spite of the fears that may still remain. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is the will to go on in spite of fear.
Let me suggest some things about fears in general, and how to remove some of them. Then, we need to know how to have the courage to serve God and our fellowman in spite of fears. Most of us have fear of failure. In addition to that, we have fear of someone finding out about our failures, sins and shortcomings. Keep in mind that those fears are related, but different. There are rational fears, such as fear of stepping out of an airplane at high altitudes without a parachute. There are irrational fears, such as fear of stepping into an airplane at all.
In general, to handle any fear, it is usually good to try to logically analyze exactly what it is one fears, and why. For example, one might have “stage fright” when about to make a speech. A person knows that he may “blank out,” forget what he meant to say, stumble over words or in some other way fail to communicate properly. Now what will be the result if any or all of that happens? Will you be burned at the stake? Will you be shot at sunrise? Will you be disgraced and shunned for life? When one examines carefully the worst that could happen as a result of his or her failure, and then the worst that would probably happen, 90% of his fears will become so insignificant that they will not matter.
The second step, though, is that if the fear is not a real danger which needs to be avoided, face the fear that remains, admit it and act anyway. This takes a little courage, but almost everyone has a little courage. When one acts with what he has, he develops more courage.
Daniel may be a case in point. There is little doubt that he was afraid of lions. Yet, probably he was not nearly as afraid after he had and demonstrated the courage in spite of the lions. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego were no doubt afraid of fire. It burns! However, when they demonstrated the courage evidenced in Daniel 3:17-18, they probably were never quite as afraid again. Their answer contains the principle about which we write. “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known, O king, that we will not serve your gods. Nor will we worship the gold image you have set up.”
There is a different kind of fear we mentioned with which we need to deal, and that is the fear of others finding out about our failures, shortcomings and sins. One effective way to deal with that, in most situations, is to simply follow the admonition of James 5:16; “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, they ye may be healed.” This is not to be a “one way street,” where one confesses to his “senior advisor” and gets advised, or to his priest and gets absolved. If I have already told you my sins and faults, then I cannot be in fear of you finding out. I will discover, in most cases, that I get strength and help from you to overcome them. In any case, I do not then have to live in fear and anxiety that someone will discover the truth about me.
So, to have the kind of courage God commands and commends, take the following steps. 1. Examine the things you fear to see if they are worth fearing—whether rational or irrational. 2. Evaluate the worst consequences if the things you fear actually happen. 3. Ask yourself if God is able to help. It will be almost impossible to develop courage if you do not believe in a God that can do things! 4. Deliberately and consciously cast your care upon Him (1 Peter 5:7), and leave it there! 5. Then, act as you think you should act in spite of your fear.
Joshua 1:1-9, with special emphasis on verse 9, touches on these thoughts. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” If God wants a thing done, act upon your faith in the promise that God is with you, and you will have courage, demonstrate courage and grow in courage.
Trent Childers
Jesus taught to love our neighbors as ourselves (Luke 10:25-37). Let’s not pass over that phrase “as ourselves.” In order to properly love our neighbors, we must properly love ourselves. Low self-esteem is an improper view of self. Following are some ways to prevent and overcome low self-esteem.
Keep the truth that you are made in God’s image close to your heart. God’s image is stamped on every human being. We are unique, and yes, we are useful. We are worth something to God. Jesus approached the reputably poor of society. He realized their value. He realized a tax collector and a harlot could glorify and serve Him. We need to realize that we can serve God, too.
Realize that God has work for you to do, and He believes in you. Upon finding out about Jezebel’s death threat, Elijah became depressed and wanted to die. Read 1 Kings 18 and 19 to soak in this situation. He had a warped view of reality. In that mindset, he did not believe he could be useful, but the reality was that God had work for him to accomplish.
We need to believe this regarding ourselves and develop a passion for carrying out God’s will for us. Elijah lost his passion for that period of time because he had a warped view of the situation. He didn’t see it as God saw it. God sent an angel of the Lord to let Elijah know He had confidence in him. We need to see it as God does, realizing what He has for us to do and develop the passion to accomplish it.
Spend much time with edifiers and encouragers, and not so much with spirit dampeners. The family of Jesus is to “stimulate one another to love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:23-25). Paul’s letters reveal that he was a great encourager. He began the first Corinthian letter with words of high esteem to a problem-laden church (1:1-9), and near the end, he told them their labor was not in vain in the Lord (15:58). We need people to encourage us in our work, not discourage us.
In life, we are going to encounter spirit-dampeners, and we should desire to show them the love of Jesus, but we can choose to properly limit our time around them and surround ourselves instead with those who will build us up as God’s children. Low self-esteem can be crippling. Let’s help one another to keep these things in mind so that we can overcome and prevent low self-esteem.