Face your Fear
1 Samuel 17:45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm. There are a lot of things people are afraid of today, Cyberphobia - the fear of computers; Ecclesiophobia - the fear of church; Lunaphobia - the fear of the moon; Chrometophobia - the fear of money, Peladophobia – the fear of baldness, and Phobophobia – the fear of being afraid among others
In 1 Samuel 17:21, the nation of Israel faced and feared a giant. Their fear of Goliath kept them from seeing victory. Most time fear does the same to us – it keeps us from seeing spiritual victory in our lives. We must learn to face fears the same way David did.
1. FACE YOUR ENEMY – don't run from your problems
For 40 days the Israelites and Philistines had faced each other. Every day at morning and evening Goliath would come out to taunt and ridicule the soldiers and their God. The effect was clear:
1 Sam 17:11 On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
Try to put yourself in the place of those soldiers. Have you ever had someone ridicule you or insult your father or mother and you were too afraid to do anything about it. How did it make you feel? Weak? Helpless?
Running from problems never makes them go away. It only makes them stronger and bolder but makes you weaker and more defeated. A fear unfaced will become an enemy foothold in the future.
What fear does is to manipulate and taunt you with the unknown. Fear of death, fear of failure, fear of marriage, fear of going bankrupt, fear of tomorrow, His goal is To create cowardly, joyless souls.
Fear imprisons, faith liberates; fear paralyzes, faith empowers; fear disheartens, faith encourages; fear sickens, faith heals; fear makes useless, faith makes serviceable-and, most of all, fear puts hopelessness at the heart of life, while faith rejoices in its God. -- Harry Emerson Fosdick
2. FOCUS ON GOD – measure problems against God and not yourself
There is no question that Goliath was a formidable opponent. He was a giant. He stood over 9 feet tall and wore bronze armor that weighed 125 pounds. He wore bronze shin guards to protect his legs, and had a javelin and a spear with an iron point which weighed about 15 pounds. He was MASSIVE! Compared to any other man he was a giant, but compared to God he was nothing. When you focus on God, the giant before you will become an ant.
3. USE GOD'S WEAPON AND TACTICS not your wisdom and understanding
Saul wanted to dress David in his armour to fight Goliath but after trying them on David took them off saying "I cannot go in these because I am not used to them." if he had use them, he would have failed woefully and the enemy would have prevailed. But instead, he used the weapon of God which is a small stone and a sling. Known for sure they the weapon of God may not be reasonable or it may be useless to man, but with all anything is usable.
Nobody can fight your battle for you, If you want to be great, you must stop living a coward, Success is not never falling , but rising above obstacles and picking lessons from every failure .
Those who will be great will live above fear and critics, nobody can design your future for you , only you can
So STAND UP NOW and start rewriting your story for good
IT IS NOT TOO LATE to face your fear. With God, victory is certain
God bless you.
Prayer key:
1. Lord thank you for the blessing of today in Jesus Christ name.
2. Lord, give me the grace to face my fears and overcome in Jesus Christ name.
3. Lord, empower me, and help my faith in you in Jesus Christ name.
4. Thank you Lord for answered prayers in Jesus Christ name. Amen.