How do you face your fears? We all have them and most of us have developed various coping skills.
When I was small and afraid at night I leaned on the scripture, "What time I am afraid I will trust in thee" Psalm 56:3. I would repeat it over and over until I finally felt calm.
When my husband took a job that required him to work the night shift, I was afraid. We lived in a suburb at the time, and I had always been used to living out in the country. I would open my bible to Psalm 91 and read it over and over until I could sleep. I would often wake up with the bible open laying on my tummy. Eventually I got over my fears and could sleep like a rock whether I was alone or not.
Every experience you face and get through becomes ground to stand upon when the next fear comes. If He helped before, He can help again. So far, I have faced:
- A wreck in which I was injured. Sometimes I can close my eyes and still see our truck sliding off the road into a ditch flipping over until it came to a stop.
- The day I found out my husband had lost his job - and I had just found out I was pregnant.
- My labor with my second baby where I was truly convinced she was not going to be able to get out and we would both die. I was telling my husband what to tell our first daughter as she grew up without her mommy!
- The first time my husband had to be hospitalized and I was informed, "To be on the safe side, we are putting him on suicide watch." I thought that would be the lowest point of my life.
- The second time my husband was hospitalized, I had to take him to a facility 1 1/2 hours away at night and our vehicle kept breaking down. We managed to get to the hospital and I had to spend the night in a waiting room crying and praying and trying to figure out how to get home.
- The day my husband's doctor said, "You know he will never work again, right?" I felt as if I had been slapped in the face. I was working only 20 hours a week with three kids. I was definitely afraid I would never be able to support us.
Summing it up: Always recall how He has helped you in the past. For quick emergencies, I rely on Psalm 56:3. For demoralizing or paralyzing fear, bring out the big guns and feast on Psalm 91. Memorize it, write it out, or print it out and paste it all over your house. Do whatever you have to do to keep His words in front of your eyes.
Speak life into your situation. Remember, the enemy is not a mind reader. He doesn't know what frightens you - unless you tell it. Speak the Word - it never comes back void.
What are some ways YOU cope with fear? I'd love to hear your ideas.
I'm linking this post at Inspire Me Monday, #TellHisStory, #TuneInThursday, Let's Have Coffee and Porch Stories
This is a great post! I love how you list the examples of God's faithfulness in difficult situations in the past. Remembering how he has helped us in those times can definitely boost our faith for our current fears. And Psalm 91 is one of my favourites too! Several years ago now I was in hospital undergoing all kinds of tests. I was anxious about the outcome and Psalm 91 was the one thing that seemed to calm me down. I read it over and over until I knew it from memory and then kept reciting it in my head. I still know the whole thing and it is definitely the first Scripture I go to in times of fear.
ReplyDeleteRecalling God's faithfulness is the answer for our fears - and so many other things! What a list of God's providing, leading and answering prayer. Just one of those situations would be huge. God is so good!
ReplyDeleteSo good to have these examples to lean on and learn from for fear. Glad you could lean on His truth to get you through these very difficult times.
ReplyDeleteI have a plethora of coping skills!
ReplyDeleteJerralea, yes! We need to be reminded that God's been there every step of our journey, He has never abandoned us, He has been our salvation ...
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