How often do you experience fear? Do you think of it as a silly feeling or a real problem? One of the first things you will experience in your pursuit of change, growth, entrepreneurship, choosing your spouse, parenting or anything in life is FEAR.
There has been an acronym for FEAR which is False Evidence Appearing Real. However, in its reality is not quite the way it sounds. Fear is still a reality. It is true however, that often times fear is not based on something that has actually happened. Fear is usually based on the potential of what could occur.
However, your brain and your emotions do not know the “reality” or “unreality” of the nature of your fear. Your brain is not able to naturally determine whether the reason for your fear is real or fake. Therefore, it acts as if you are going through a legitimate problem responds accordingly.
Fear has a deeper reality than the aforementioned description. Fear is actually faith in reverse. In other words, fear is faith in that which is negative, scary, forbidding, intimidating, horrific, etc. In fact, fear is faith in the devil. He is the only one that has fear to give. God cannot give you fear because he does not have it. But satan does have fear – and plenty to give.
Faith believes that God is incapable of protecting you, guiding you, supplying for you and being present with you. God is always there, but fear will say that he is not. Fear will say that God is not, will not, therefore, he cannot.
Fear also assist us in determining that we can’t do what we are most capable of doing, or most desiring to do. The heart often becomes confused and paralyzed. Fear is rooted emotion/reality that is attached or connected to many things we deal with when it comes to making decisions in life. So when making a decision here is a guideline I follow in order to be properly positioned to do what I know I must do.
1. Be convinced. I must be convinced of whom I am and what I am supposed to be doing. This removes additional insecurities and fears that could paralyze me from moving forward.
2. Pray. Prayer is the highway of communication between God and man whereby all distractions are removed and God’s voice, guidance, leading and mandate become clear.
3. Read. I am pretty consistent in my Bible reading and study. So I try to find scriptures that will bring clarification about what I’m dealing with or decisions I need to make. If it’s in the Word then it is God’s will. God’s Word is God’s Will – every time. I’m convinced of that.
4. Talk. Talk about the decision you are about to make. I often talk to my wife and sometimes with a friend about a decision I am contemplating. They may be able to not only give me good and sound advice (at least their opinion) but they will also pray for me during the process. There may be a time when coaching might be necessary so I will call a friend who is also a Life Coach. Even a Life Coach needs another Life Coach from time to time.
5. Feel. Lastly, I wait for peace. Peace is not a definite deciding factor but it is a good measure because it indicates that I may be going the right direction.
Emotions are unreliable, but often times when you’re not doing what you’re supposed to do, you will know it – you will definitely feel it. However, if it is something we want to do real badly, then we manage our feelings to feel right. Did you get that?
So I funnel my decisions through more important “filers” before I listen to my feelings. I want to make a concrete and God willing decision. I talk more explicitly about this in my book, which has helped many discover their life’s purpose.
This is definitely not a scientific or theological method of dealing with fearful thoughts and feelings during your decision making. This method works for me and tons of other people. I am curious as to what methods work for you. Share your methods in the comments below and let’s grow together.
PS. By the way, if you enjoyed this post please comment below and share it with your friends.
There has been an acronym for FEAR which is False Evidence Appearing Real. However, in its reality is not quite the way it sounds. Fear is still a reality. It is true however, that often times fear is not based on something that has actually happened. Fear is usually based on the potential of what could occur.
However, your brain and your emotions do not know the “reality” or “unreality” of the nature of your fear. Your brain is not able to naturally determine whether the reason for your fear is real or fake. Therefore, it acts as if you are going through a legitimate problem responds accordingly.
Fear has a deeper reality than the aforementioned description. Fear is actually faith in reverse. In other words, fear is faith in that which is negative, scary, forbidding, intimidating, horrific, etc. In fact, fear is faith in the devil. He is the only one that has fear to give. God cannot give you fear because he does not have it. But satan does have fear – and plenty to give.
Faith believes that God is incapable of protecting you, guiding you, supplying for you and being present with you. God is always there, but fear will say that he is not. Fear will say that God is not, will not, therefore, he cannot.
Fear also assist us in determining that we can’t do what we are most capable of doing, or most desiring to do. The heart often becomes confused and paralyzed. Fear is rooted emotion/reality that is attached or connected to many things we deal with when it comes to making decisions in life. So when making a decision here is a guideline I follow in order to be properly positioned to do what I know I must do.
1. Be convinced. I must be convinced of whom I am and what I am supposed to be doing. This removes additional insecurities and fears that could paralyze me from moving forward.
2. Pray. Prayer is the highway of communication between God and man whereby all distractions are removed and God’s voice, guidance, leading and mandate become clear.
3. Read. I am pretty consistent in my Bible reading and study. So I try to find scriptures that will bring clarification about what I’m dealing with or decisions I need to make. If it’s in the Word then it is God’s will. God’s Word is God’s Will – every time. I’m convinced of that.
4. Talk. Talk about the decision you are about to make. I often talk to my wife and sometimes with a friend about a decision I am contemplating. They may be able to not only give me good and sound advice (at least their opinion) but they will also pray for me during the process. There may be a time when coaching might be necessary so I will call a friend who is also a Life Coach. Even a Life Coach needs another Life Coach from time to time.
5. Feel. Lastly, I wait for peace. Peace is not a definite deciding factor but it is a good measure because it indicates that I may be going the right direction.
Emotions are unreliable, but often times when you’re not doing what you’re supposed to do, you will know it – you will definitely feel it. However, if it is something we want to do real badly, then we manage our feelings to feel right. Did you get that?
So I funnel my decisions through more important “filers” before I listen to my feelings. I want to make a concrete and God willing decision. I talk more explicitly about this in my book, which has helped many discover their life’s purpose.
This is definitely not a scientific or theological method of dealing with fearful thoughts and feelings during your decision making. This method works for me and tons of other people. I am curious as to what methods work for you. Share your methods in the comments below and let’s grow together.
PS. By the way, if you enjoyed this post please comment below and share it with your friends.