Truth over Fear

My daughter Shelby is so very brave. She faces bigger kids and mountains and sickness like a champ.

 She has courage in the day time . But it starts to fade when the sun goes down. She has nightmares, scary thoughts, and struggles to fall asleep because she can't get frightening images out of her mind.

 (You've been there. I have, too.)

 It happened with Shelby not too long ago. She was trying to fall asleep (not an easy task for such an adventurous five-year-old) and I had encouraged her to think about a movie as she closed her eyes. Twenty minutes later, I heard her pitiful cry.

 I walked into her room and asked her what was the matter. "I keep thinking about the scary part of Zootopia," she explained, "and I can't stop. I'm very afraid."

 The Mom in me knew just what to say: "Honey, Zootopia is not real. It's just a pretend story." 

 "I know, Mama," she cried, "but it seems real in my mind."
And that's when the Sunday School teacher in me kicked in. There was so much more at stake here than a movie running through her mind; I had to teach her that believing truth is a learned response.

 I told her that in order to get lies out of her head, she had to choose to believe truth: That we lived in a very safe house with a brave dog sitting on the front porch. That her Dad and I were sitting right in the den, ready to love and protect her. That God was with her even though she could not see or touch Him. That He heard her prayers and loved her and watched over her even better than her dad and I could.

 And because she is five, she believed me. She said she would focus on truth rather than lies.

 As I walked out of her room, I almost fell to my knees. Because, you see, we adults struggle to believe truth over lies. And Satan is so adept at knowing the deepest fears of our hearts and whispering lies about them. He did it to Eve, planting the fear that God was not good and that He was withholding something from her (Genesis 3:1-6). Eve believed the lie of Satan instead of the truth of God and it led her to sin in her fear.

 Fear is the opposite of Love (1 John 4:18). And if you fear something, you are very likely focused on that fear instead of the love of God, which has the power to carry you when your fear seems overwhelming: "I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know the Messiah’s love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:17-19, emphasis mine).

 God's love is TRUTH. Fear is a lie of Satan.

 And Satan has only honed in on his skill through the many generations since Eve:

  • When you were in a bad dating relationship he told you that boy was the most important thing and you had to do whatever it took to keep him.
  • When you were lonely he told you that making friends was the most important thing.
  • When you were unsure about the future he told you that making money was the most important thing.
  • When you felt tempted he told you that your desires were the most important thing.
  • When you were torn between following God and being normal, he told you that being normal was the most important thing.
LIES. All of them.

The truth of Scripture commands you to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37). The word for mind is translated intellect, understanding, or intelligence. In other words, use your brain to replace lies with truth.

Truth is found in one place: God's Word. 

If the fear running through your mind is not backed up by Scriptures, I dare you to look that fear right in the face, with all the authority of the Lord of Lords, and speak the truth of God's Word. Out loud. 

Truth overpowers lie. Love overpowers fear.

Love the Lord with your brain, choosing His Word over whatever might try to stand against it. 

Let me help you. Email or PM me if you need Scriptures to face your fear.

@leslienotebook
myleslienotebook@gmail.com

THANKS so much for sharing, liking, and passing the word. I love meeting all of you!




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