This was sent to me tonight from Linda Toupin. The encouragement is welcome. Fear is one of my biggest battles. I can relate to each one of these to some degree. How about you? Being a Christian and knowing Gods purpose for my life, there is no room for fear, yet it still creeps in. I hope that you find power in the words from Pastor Rick Warren.
WHAT
YOUR FEARS DO TO YOU
By
Rick Warren
The single greatest
barrier to your becoming all you're meant to be is inside you. It's
not the circumstances around you... it's not the people with you ... it’s the
fear in
you!
Your unconscious fears have four
devastating effects on your life:
1.
FEAR PARALYZES YOUR
POTENTIAL. It keeps your talents locked
up...holds you back ...and causes you to miss opportunities. The great Swiss
psychiatrist, Paul Tournier, once said this: "All of us have reservoirs of full
potential, vast areas of great satisfaction, but the road that leads to those
reservoirs is guarded by the dragon of fear." If you've ever been afraid to try anything, you know that fear
creates a self-imposed prison.
2.
FEAR RUINS MY
RELATIONSHIPS. It's the root of many of your
"people problems". Fear prevents you from being honest with others. You fear
rejection - so you wear a mask, pretend to be what you aren't, and deny what you
really feel. Fear also keeps you from making commitments. You may be afraid of
being hurt again. Fear prevents true intimacy because fearful people have a
hard time giving and receiving love. Your
fears affect everyone you relate to.
3.
FEAR HINDERS MY
HAPPINESS. Alfred Hitchcock admitted, "I
turn my fears into movies." (Which we
then pay to see!) Like movies, we replay our fears over and over in
our mind: What if....what if... what
if....? You can't be happy and fearful at the same time. The Bible
says "Worry robs you of happiness." (Pr. 12:25
GN) How often are you worn out by your
worries?
4.
FEAR SABOTAGES MY
SUCCESS. Have you ever said or thought,
"I was afraid that would happen"? We
often set ourselves up for failure - by focusing on what we fear will happen rather than what
we want to happen. Fear creates what it fears. The
Bible says, "Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your
thoughts." (Pr. 4:23 GN)
As a human being, you
were born with only two natural fears: the fear of falling and the fear of loud
noises. (You can see these in babies.) All your other fears were learned - from
experience... parents... peers...and others. So the good news is this: whatever
is learned can be unlearned! You
don't have to hold onto your fears. There are several steps to unlearning your
fears but here's how you get started:
"I prayed to the Lord and he answered me;
He freed me from all my fears." (Ps. 34:4
GN)
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