4 Signs That Fear is Ruling Your Life and How to Overcome It

1. You lack peace:   (Ex. you lie awake at night and cannot fall asleep due to thoughts that are running wild)  God gives us the solution when He says in Isaiah 26:3 AMP “You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character], Because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation].” Here are a few ways you can keep your eyes “fixed” on God.
   1. Read the Bible and think about His truth therein
   2. Pray and talk to God
   3. Ask for His perfect peace in the midst of your circumstances
   4. Listen to Christian worship music in your car
2. You lack faith, and may even be angry at God:  The words you speak lack faith and are negative and reveal that you expect the worst out of a situation.  Instead, remember that God is the only person Who can accurately predict the future, let Him do His job and you do yours.  God tells us that our one job is to ‘believe Him.’  John 6:29 (ESV) “Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’”  God is clear in Scripture as to who our enemies are and it is never Him.  He is all we need.
3. You lack confidence and worry about what other people think of you or your actions: We become concerned about what other people think when we are putting ourselves as the main character in the story instead of God.  Next time you wonder about what a person thinks of you, replace that person with Jesus in the same scenario and determine to only concern yourself with what He would think. Philippians 2:13 (AMP) “For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.”
4. You lack sound thinking and self-control: which causes you to make decisions based on emotions v. wisdom and prayer.  Fear distorts reality and can cause us to act irrationally and become driven by our emotions instead of led by the Spirit.  Romans 8:14 AMP “For all who are allowing themselves to be led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”

When we see the outcome of what can occur when we act in fear (which is always sin of some sort) and not faith it is easy to understand why God, in His great love for us, would tell us so many times in His Word to have no fear!

Written by Jamie Shaver