This week's topic: F E A R
Week 4
What is fear?
It is defined as an unpleasant emotion by the belief that someone or something is
dangerous and may cause pain or threaten us. It also allows us to respond to danger to be able to protect ourselves.
Fear sometimes makes us so scared, that we freeze and it seems impossible to move.
Many things can trigger the feeling of fear! If you are watching or being part of something that causes fear in your life, you should consider removing it for it can destroy your courage. Pray and ask God to help!
What are some things that you fear?
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Spiders
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Big dogs
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The dark
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A shot at the doctors
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Not knowing anyone on the first day of school
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Losing someone you love
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Not knowing what will happen (the unknown)
The bible shows us that even people of faith feared sometimes. Many of them were frozen with fear. Some may have responded or behaved in the wrong ways because they were afraid. Some were afraid of being rejected by others. Some were even discouraged because of their fear, saying, "I don't think I can do this." Here are some examples of these people:
Moses
Moses is well known for being an amazing champion for the Lord. We know the story of how he helped deliver the people of Israel from the oppression of the Egyptians. People looked at him as a hero and someone to have respect towards. The interesting part is he did not start this way. He gave God many excuses like “they might not listen to me” and “I really have a hard time communicating please send someone else”. All these excuses were guided by the emotion we call FEAR. He feared the unknown, the what if? God even got angry with Moses because of his excuses. The fear in Moses's life was causing him not to move forward with God’s instructions. Fear was keeping him from seeing God work in his life and showing him miracles. It was paralyzing him. Once he let go of his fear, he received courage and was used by God. If you'd like to read more, the story can be found in Exodus 3 & 4.
Simon Peter
Simon Peter was another champion in the bible. After walking with Jesus and seeing all the miracles and believing Christ was the messiah, he had a moment of fear that caused him to deny Jesus. Read Luke 22: 54-62 and answer this question, how many times did Peter deny Jesus?
He felt shame and wept after realizing his denial of the Lord. The fear of the rejection by others and being captured caused him to deny his savior Jesus.
How can we apply this to our lives?
The only thing that God wants us to fear is him. Proverbs 9:10 says, "The fear of the Lord is
the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
But this fear is not the fear of being scared and rejecting him, but the understanding he is powerful, great and should be honored with respect and reverence. He is Almighty God that has control of everything, even the air you breathe.
We need to understand fear is part of our humanity. The problem with fear is that it can have
some very debilitating consequences. It can freeze us and not allow us to serve God. It also can make us deny God. Fear will hold you back from doing something great. You are not the first and will not be the last person to have this feeling. How do we deal with it?
Have no FEAR Jesus is here! We need to ask God to help us with our fear. He is faithful and a gracious God that will help you in times of fear.
Here are some verses that can encourage you in times of fear
Click on each picture to check out the verse!
sing this song
William Murphy - Everlasting God (Lyrics)
Trusting in Jesus will help with any fear you may have!
