If You Are Afraid This Is Why

Emotions have messages. Feelings don’t just happen; they are triggered by your thoughts. This means that different emotions are caused by different thought patterns. Emotions, in a way, are your thoughts finding expressions through your feelings. So your emotions carry messages that reflect what you have been thinking about and how you have been thinking. For instance, when you feel guilty, it means that you have broken one of your principles. It means you have done or said something that you consider as being wrong.
Shame communicates that you think yourself unworthy, because you have done something stupid, hence, not deserving of acceptance or love.
When you feel disappointment, it simply means that an expectation you had was not met or you have been let down. Worry means that you are not adequately prepared for what’s coming. So what message does fear communicate?

Fear communicates a myriad of messages depending on the object of the fear. However, generally, fear communicates inadequacy; “I can’t handle what I am about to face.”
“I don’t have what I need to meet a particular situation.” “It’s well over my power or control.”
Whether it’s the fear of public speaking or fear of death or fear of the future or fear of rejection or fear of not been hot enough, the underlying message is that of being insufficient, incapable, deficient or “not enough” for the situation in question.

God’s plan for your life isn’t to be driven by fear. No! God wants you governed by His Word and Spirit. However, if your life is driven or controlled by fear, I have good news for you. And this is the good news: You can master your fear. That is, no fear is unbeatable. And some fears can be captured with just a little bit of effort. For instance, I have this fear of large bodies of water. I know it’s simply because I don’t have swimming skills. I feel inadequate to meet this challenge. What I need to conquer this fear is just a few swimming lessons. For now, I feel swimming is unnecessary. I will knock out the fear when I feel a real need for swimming. ?
Similarly, the fear of failing exams or interview can be stumped out, if one would only make adequate preparations for it.

I remembered how I overcame the fear of public speaking back then during my undergraduate days. I was so shy of standing before people. I would always feel like “all eyes on me!” It’s a terrible experience you don’t want to go through!
When I started nursing thoughts of speaking to people, helping them with life issues, I knew I had to do something about the fear. I prayed about it, but it didn’t seem to do much. Then I started something more practical. I had read that the best way to conquer your fear was to do what you feared doing. So I took that path. I would deliberately let my colleagues settle down in their seats in those large lecture theatres. I would wait until almost everyone was seated, then stroll in through the front door. I would linger a while in front, while looking straight into those crowd of eyes gazing down at me.
No one really knew what I was doing. I was fighting and daily mastering the fear of standing before large crowds. And I didn’t stop there; I then started making some presentations in the fellowship, and organizing small talks around the campus. I called them Power Seminars. Each seminar gave me more confidence, and a greater desire for another. I kept doing what I had feared doing, though with so much determination and effort. And here am I today!
Have I completely conquered it? I have learnt to feel the fear, but never allow the fear stop me from doing what I need to do. If your fear no longer holds you back nor stops you from giving full expression to your life, then you have conquered your fear.

What’s your fear?
Identity it. Then make practical efforts to master it.
Don’t let that fear govern you. Brake its hold on your thoughts and emotions. Then step out and do what you desire to do.

I shall conclude our discussion on fear in the next post, where I shall be talking about God’s remedy for your fears.

Much Love!