Overcoming Fear
For how long will a chosen people walk in a spirit of fear and torment?
Fear is a strong feeling caused by the awareness or threat of evil, pain or dread; a feeling of anxiety. Fear often comes due to what our senses produce. The sensory system expresses what we have seen, heard, touched or felt. We may all be able to relate to a situation that fear may have accompanied it. You were either affected directly or indirectly.
For a born again believer, to live a life of fear, is unacceptable and contrary to the word of God. Mind you, there is a Godly fear. Which is considered a fear and reverence for God (Philippians 2:12). The fear that bounds and intimidates you, doesnt come from God. In II Timothy 1:7, God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Fear is a perversion of faith or the opposite of. Thinking and believing something harmful or terrible would come to pass; rather than thinking on those things which are pure, good and acceptable by God.
In my last year of high school, I worked part-time in the fast food industry. For about a couple of weeks there had been a series of armed robberies occurring in the area. On one slow night, nearing the end of shift, a young man dressed in a black, hooded sweat shirt walked in the door. I walked up to the register to greet him by saying, Welcome, how can I help you? While I waited for his response he began reaching in his pocket and pulled out a black gun and pointed it at me. As he aimed, I began to scream and back out of the way. He attempted to take the cash register and ran out of the door. This experience had given me a scar that eventually gave me a scare. From that point on, every customer who was a male was a suspect and anyone overly dressed was also. It affected my choice of places to eat, where to go and what time. It later affected my choice of employment. Practically I was bound.
I graduated from high school and began to go to college. While completing my first year, I met my husband. We married and moved to Savannah. In my search for a job, I never would consider one that involved cash handling. At this point, I wasnt aware that my life was still affected by a past experienced. About two and a half years later, we moved to Tennessee. I was a stay at home mom but my season changed. I began looking for a job but it seemed almost impossible. I asked and prayed that God would send a good job with benefits along with growth opportunities, a.s.a.p. After the many weeks of searching, God used my husband to step in. He would bring home leads and asked me to follow-up on them. Of course, I hesitated to accept them. I assured him that everything was under control. He later asked me about a placing an application with the nearby bank. That day he cut the hidden scar of fear wide open. I told him it was the worse place to work and the most obvious place that a robbery could occur, my answer was no. After weeks of no response, he insisted that I take the test for banking. I took the test, passed and interviewed in the same day. In the following two weeks I was scheduled for an interview, with a bank three minutes from home and thirty seconds from the interstate. I circled the parking lot twice in prayer, observing my surroundings. In doing this, something got a hold of me, I began attacking fear with faith. I told God that, I would do what he had me to do. I would go where he wanted me to go, I would be his yielded vessel. When you open this door, be everything to me. You must be my protection from hurt or harm, my peace and security. You must get the glory out of every situation. Grant me favor and promotion. Send your angels to keep watch over this facility, as long as Im here, keep away robberies or any dangers. In my spirit, God spoke, I will grant you your request, from this day forward walk in peace and courage for I am with you wherever you go. Ive always protected you and always will. I walked in the facility and spoke with the interviewer and our spirits connected, for she was a believer also. She desired to hire me, but it would be my decision. She informed me that the branch was a prime location for robberies; due to its distance to the interstate. At this point, I had to put God to the test. Did he really speak to me in the car? I told her that I look forward to working with her, shook her hand and left. I suddenly began to declare what Gods word had to say about me. I walked in daily praying for the branch and those who worked there. We would turn on the news in the break room and hear about robberies occurring not far from us. God had kept his promise to me. God is real! I was so confident in Gods protection that fear had slipped my mind. Co-workers would come in and say that they had a dream that we were robbed. I would boldly tell them not to speak such things and to know that God was going to protect us. I had a covenant with God and while Im here he will protect us. I know they wondered, whats so special about her. I had the Greater One living on the inside of me.
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