I crawled into bed and slipped under a blanket of fear. My husband was out of town for work, and I was afraid to go to sleep. Fear had become a constant companion during his nights away.
Knowing I needed to trust God, I went through the motions of what good Christians do: I prayed, read Scripture and taped Bible verses on sticky notes to my lamp and bedside. But then I also put a phone under my pillow and a neighborhood directory beside my bed.
The next night, I took it a step further by putting toys on the stairs — to trip possible burglars. I brought my children into my room to sleep there as well, and moved the dresser in front of our bedroom door.
Although I thought I was controlling my circumstances, fear had taken control of me. Frustrated that I still couldn’t sleep, I opened the Bible and read a familiar passage:
“‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze’” (Isaiah 43:1b-2).
As I read each word slowly, God showed me something I’d never seen: My fears were like flames and my efforts to protect myself were like gasoline. Every attempt to ease my fears was like dousing fuel on the fire, and now it was consuming me.
Gently, the Holy Spirit reminded me that God had not given me a spirit of fear but a spirit “of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7b, NKJV).
Suddenly I knew the only way to overcome my fear was to walk in faith through what I feared the most. I had to put away the props in which I’d placed my faith and go to bed trusting God, realizing that even if my fears came true, He would be with me.
I crawled out of bed and put everything away. The dresser went back in place. My kids went back to their rooms and I went to sleep without my phone under my pillow. And that night, I slept better than I had in weeks!
Fear loses its power when we actively trust God more than what we fear. {Tweet}
Let’s ask the Lord to show us today what we’re afraid. What could be paralyzing your faith, and keeping you from living confidently in His peace and freedom? And let’s be brave enough to give God a chance to come though for us by taking one small step of faith in that area where we’re most afraid.
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What small step of faith could you take to walk away from or through one of your fears today?
Share your thoughts below and ENTER TO WIN the audio version of A Confident Heart! ChristianAudio invited me to do the reading, so you’ll actually hear me telling the stories and sharing the teachings when you listen to it. And I’m so excited to give one to two of you that enter to win!
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Just what I needed to hear!
I am 75 years old and still afraid to be alone at night. Now I will put aside my fears and trust that God has me in the palm of his hands (as he always has).
What a great devotion today. Thanks for sharing. I would love to read your book. Keep on putting the word out there to everyone and touching lives.
I may not have barricaded my bedroom door but I sure have barricaded my heart and my life! If I let it, fear determines everything I do–or don’t do. I am learning to trust God second by second, minute by minute.
After reading your devo, spent time in prayer, giving a current situation to God (again), repenting of fear, rejecting and renouncing any lies of the enemy, and trusting Him (God) in a time of waiting!
I was married for 30 years, we started dating when I was 14 and all through high school and got married at 18. We have two beautiful daughters. 4 Years ago on July 28, 2011 my world fell apart, my husband who was a pastor of our church was arrested for raping and kidnapping 3 prositutes at the church parsonage (no one lived in) I stood beside him for 2 years, going to see him and getting a lawyer, taking all of our savings and borrowing money from family and friends. I lost my job the same time. The only thing that got me through was my faith in God and family and friends. After being with someone all your life and they are suddenly gone, its hard and scary. I am scare of living alone and being alone the rest of my life. I have a fear of losing my home and being homeless. I struggle to survive and put food on the table. I know God loves me but I can’t get over my fear of always being alone. I cry almost every night for my husband who will be in prison for 18 years. I finally divorced him last year, just so i could try to get my life in order. My girls are older and have their own lives, so i am alone most of the time. I pray all the time and read my Bible and ask God to help me with my fear. I also still have a fear of living alone, and sleep with my bedroom to locked and a knife beside my bed. please pray for me.
I’m a struggling and overcomer of fear as well. One of my fears is being trapped in a small space. I could take the elevator here at work today to face my fear but I REALLY don’t want to. I work on the 3rd floor and haven’t been in an elevator in many months. May the Lord help me overcome. I wouldn’t be scared if I was 100% sure it was going to open. But I know people, some of my close friends who have gotten stuck in elevators. With my anxiety that I sometimes have (regardless of elevators) I sometimes have shortness of breath or problems feeing like I can’t breathe. I feel like one of the worse things in the world would be to be stuck in an elevator or any small space.
*One time I was in the car and my husband had the keys and locked the door and I was waiting for him for some reason. Anyway for a second I panicked and thought about breaking the window (because I didn’t have the key). Then, I remembered that I can unlock the door with my hand since I was in the car. Lol! Anxiety makes me spacey sometimes.
I am afraid to stay in my marriage and afraid to leave it. I can start a savings account to help me financially if and when I start on my own.
I would to win this audio book. Renee has a way of speaking the bible and truths.
Fear paralyzed me back in the winter. I found out my house was in the last stages of foreclosure and was about to be sold on the courthouse steps. My husband had somehow stopped making money, stopped paying bills, and had hidden it for a very long time. I was about to be homeless, not to mention the embarrassment of it all, living in a small town where everyone knows everything. I fell on my face and cried to God, and cried and cried and cried. He somehow put the right people in the right places at the right time to save me from committing suicide, to save our house and He is working on saving my marriage. God is always faithful even when we have no strength. Without Him, I would most certainly be dead. I thank Him every single day for all He has done and I want others to know that you can ALWAYS FULLY TRUST GOD. He worked things out for us, but even if he hadn’t, I learned so much about who God is. He loves us and He will never ever leave us. When you fear the worst, stop looking sideways and look up! Now, when fear takes over, I immediately pray “God, you are sovereign, you control the whole universe, and you love me. I am your child and I will trust you.”
This has been a recurring theme in many devotions and blogs I’ve read this week. It keeps pointing me back to my fear of putting myself out there in my own blog. I start writing and then delete it quickly because I fear what people will think about it. But I am praying that God will use me to speak comfort to others experiencing a loss similar to mine.
I would like to win this for my daughter. We adopted her late in life with a history of abuse. This left her with many fears. She has been on a journey to overcome her past. In the last several months, she has actively taken part in her healing. I’m so proud of her. I think this book would be a great tool for her.
I would love to get this book. I have it and love it. I want to get it for one of my friends who is dealing with many of fears. I do not want to share what she is suffering from but her fear feels like its crippling her. I really would like her to have this wonderful book. I would’ve give her mine but I shared mine with another friend of mine. Thanks.
Thank you for sharing your story, and thanks to all whom commented. It is reassuring to know that many people struggle with fear. I do, and I especially hate that my children do too. I lost my husband to cancer a year and a half ago, and that has brought on many new fears for my family and me. I would be grateful for your prayers. God bless and keep us! Amen.
I have struggled the past 14 years on and off with anxiety. Almost constant for past 3 years. I have been working really hard to heal my mind/fears…..but I am not fully there yet. This sounds like a great audio that could help me. Thank u.
Working on claiming His promises and living like that
This was a right on time word THANK YOU JESUS I have been struggling with fear so long and I thought I was the only one I thank JESUS for everyone on here especially you RENEE cause now I can see a light at the end if the tunnel all I have to do is keep moving can we all just continue to pray for each other
Fear of being vulnerable and what people will think is crippling me! I realized that my battle is spiritual and that the enemy wants to keep me down. The small step I need to take is to find a trusted, godly woman who I can confide in – someone who will mentor, pray for and with me. The Lord has been laying that on my heart for a long time. I need to open up to someone and share my sorry…one step at a time! I trust my Jesus and look to him everyday for guidance. I can see He is working. Thank you for giving your hearts in these P31 devotions – God speaks to me through them!
Wow. reading a few comments above it truly is amazing how God works through us and brings a devotion like yours to so many people who are struggling with that same problem!! I too have been riddled by fear throughout my life, and although I look to prayer and scripture (not enough) I still fear. I need to trust in Him completely and declare out loud that Fear is NOT from God. Sin made fear, not God!!
Taking the step of praying to God that I will follow His will even if it is something out of my comfort zone in church, my career, or relationships.