Are you afraid are rejection? Are you afraid your boyfriend
will leave you? Are you afraid you will let your parents down? Are you afraid
that no matter how hard you try, you’re going to fail anyway? Are you afraid of
being bullied at school? Are you afraid you won’t pass that Algebra test—God
just didn’t wire you to do math?
Are you afraid you’ll say the wrong thing at that party and
make a fool of yourself? Are you afraid of losing your friends? Are you afraid
that you’ll never finish school, or you won’t get accepted into the university
you want to attend? Are you afraid for others to know you deep down, that if
people knew the real you, they wouldn’t like you?
From Seventh Dimension
– The Door, a Young Adult Christian Fantasy
The dog stretched and cocked her head enjoying the
rubdown.
I laughed. “Is your name Much-Afraid?”
“I was always afraid until the King healed me.”
In The Donkey and the
King, Much‑Afraid was terrified for Baruch to leave her behind at the
stable. During the time while Baruch was gone, the King helped Much-Afraid to
conquer her fear. When we meet Much‑Afraid again in Seventh Dimension - The Door,
she has overcome her fear. God could then use her to help Shale.
I John 4:18 states,
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”
Do you know that the opposite of fear is love? Shale, too,
had many fears until she embraced the King’s love. Every time you are afraid,
that means you are not allowing God’s perfect love into your heart. God’s
perfect love will cast out your imperfect fear. In fact, your imperfect fear is
made perfect in weakness. In your weakness, God can help you. Once you
recognize your weakness, you won’t rely on yourself and your own abilities. You
will rely on God to help you.
Begin
with prayer. Most of us struggle with fear at some level because we don’t love
perfectly. We aren’t able to receive God’s love fully because we are sinners. Still,
God never gives us more than we can bear. Just as the King helped Shale to
overcome her fear of rejection, God will help you to overcome your fears,
whatever they might be. Pray to your heavenly Father, cry out to Him—He won’t
reject you, even if it seems like everybody else who is important to you has.
The King told Shale, “I love you more than you
will ever know.” In the same way, God loves you. Someday when we meet the King
face‑to‑face, we’ll truly know how much He loves us.
Every
time fear threatens you (and I do believe there are demons of fear), remember the
words of the King. Let His perfect love fill your mind and your heart. Let
every cell within you find intimacy in your heavenly Father. Find all your
strength in Him. Don’t just be a fan of Jesus Christ, like on Facebook or
Twitter, be a follower. Make Jesus your King of kings and Lord of lords. Let His
love conquer any fear that creeps into your heart. Then you will be able to
love others in the same way God has loved you.
Again,
focus on the King’s love. Believe. Your heavenly Father is waiting on you to
surrender to Him. He is never too busy, and I guarantee you, He is not
sleeping. Imagine touching Jesus’ scars with your hands. Remember, the King died to defeat every fear
Satan will tempt you to believe. Don’t be seized with a knot in your stomach and
crippling doubts.
Let God’s
love indwell you. Put aside every anxious thought. You must choose to trust in the
King. There is no other way. Don’t
give up. Don’t give in. Don’t wait. Begin with reading Scripture and pray for
God’s help. Take captive every fearful thought, and give it to Jesus Christ.
Meditate on God’s Word. If you do this every time you become fearful, you can
claim victory over this in your life, but it will take time, especially if you
are prone to being fearful. Old habits die hard, and Satan is relentless. But
God will help if you are faithful in prayer and read your Bible.
