Fear
Fear of Failure – Part 2

Scripture Reading: Nehemiah 2:1-5

Key Verse: Nehemiah 2:2

So the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad? You don’t look sick to me. You must be deeply troubled.” Then I was terrified

As we look at Nehemiah’s battle with fear, take note of what happens after the words, “then I was terrified”: “but I replied” (Nehemiah 2:3). In other words, Nehemiah had a choice, either cower and say nothing of his hopes to help the Holy City or step up, defeat those feelings of fear, and speak up for God.

We face those same options in our lives. The question is not whether Christ followers will feel fear—we will! The question becomes, what will we do when we feel fear? The first obvious option is to allow it to paralyze us. Remember, fear really has no power over our wills—we always have a choice about how to deal with it. If fear stops us from doing what we feel God wants us to do, then fear wins. God understands our fears but He wants His children to fight and He will help us!

AA has an acrostic of the word “fear” that I really like: F=false, E=expectation, A=appearing, R=real. A high majority of our fears fall into this statement. They are false expectations, but they appear real! Someone else has said 80% of all we worry about never comes about. The Bible has so many “do not be afraid” verses because God knows how strong our feelings of fear can be; how they can stop so many of us from doing what God wants us to do. I’ve been claiming 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.”

Father, I will cling to your promise of power, love and self-discipline for me. In Jesus’ name, amen.