Escaping Fear and Doubt

Fear and doubt can creep up on all of us. We all have times where our life seems dry. Today we have three steps to escaping fear and doubt.

Downloads and Links

Watch the video of this teaching at https://www.celllifechurch.tv/escaping-fear-and-doubt/

Message

We have been a pastors and spiritual counselors to people for more than 20 years now. During that time, we have learned some tools which help us counsel people navigating their life in Christ. Part of navigating life is escaping fear and doubt, which creeps up on us all, and working through times in our life where we seem to not be accomplishing anything or hearing from the Lord.

I learned two questions to ask people struggling with just about anything from a friend and fellow minister many years ago. When someone comes to me struggling with anything, I ask them these two key questions, “How is your regular Bible reading going?” and “Tell me about your prayer life.” Often the person is not reading or meditating on the Bible regularly or they do not pray regularly.

We all have our dry spell moments. We do not hear from the Lord or see His hand on our life. Time seems to get away from us all and we can’t find enough of it.

We also all have those times when we are fighting doubt and do not understand what God is doing. We all have those moments where we wonder if all we are living for is even noticed or worth it.

No one is immune to this. We all have dry spells from time to time and we all experience fear and doubt from time to time. We read over and over throughout the Bible how some of the greatest heroes of the faith had fear or doubt or went through a time where they did not hear from the Lord.

There are three things that will change your perspective on life and the world around you when you add them to your daily life. These three simple pieces of advice will change your life forever when you put them into practice sincerely. I guarantee it!

These three things everyone needs to add to their morning routine are quite simple and only require a couple of minutes. We strongly encourage you to add these three simple things to your morning routine so you can start each day on the right path. These three things do not help much if you end the day with them. You must start each day with these.

First, Recite Romans 8:38-39

The first thing you must do daily is recite Romans 8:38-39.

Romans 8:38-39 says:

Romans 8:38-39

(38)  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,  (39)  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Apostle Paul wrote this in the Book of Romans to encourage us. At the time, Paul was in prison for being a Christian and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. This is part of what God inspired him to write to the church while he was there.

Write this piece of scripture on a piece of paper, take a screen shot of it on your mobile device, or print it out from the computer and put it in a place where you will see it every day without having to look for it. You can tape it to your bathroom mirror or place it near your coffee pot so you see it each morning. Place it on the corner of your desk or table so it is unavoidable each day. Put it somewhere so you will see it each morning as you start your day.

Here is what we would like you to do with this piece of scripture. Each day recite Romans 8:38-39 out loud. Yes, out loud. There is amazing power in not only speaking but also hearing the word of God spoken aloud. Speak it out with boldness and believe it. It is God’s word. We can stand on it as a promise from God.

It will not be long before you have the verses memorized. Don’t remove the reminder from wherever you put it when you do! It can’t remind you if it’s not there. Don’t stop speaking it out load each day. Speak it out and believe it. Nothing can separate you from the love of God in Jesus, nothing.

Second, Ask for the Lord’s Compassion

The second thing you must do daily is to ask God to give you a measure of His compassion for those you encounter that day. If you already pray daily, add this to your daily prayer. If you don’t pray daily, or don’t know how to pray, just ask God. That is all prayer is. Just talk to God like you would talk to anyone else. Starting each morning with prayer is essential to living an abundant life in Christ, and this request is one of the essential parts of that morning prayer.

When Jesus was teaching his disciples to pray, we learn from part of his example prayer to ask the Lord to forgive us as we forgive others. This is right in line with that. We must ask the Lord to give us compassion for others as we experience his compassion for us.

When asking God for a measure of His compassion for others you will start to feel for people around you. You will start caring about people that are in a tough place and your heart may even feel compelled to help them. By all means, help!

You are the hands and feet of Christ, so go for it! Help when the Holy Spirit prompts you. You do not need anyone’s permission. You already have God’s permission. Jesus talks about that in Matthew 25:33-45. We are all called to help the people around us and be a witness of the love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness that Jesus brings. But you can only do that effectively if you are starting each day with a time of prayer and a time of reading or meditating on the Bible.

Third, ask to See the Way the Lord Sees

The third thing to do each day is ask God to let you see the world through His eyes. This goes along with the measure of compassion and they work hand in hand. When you combine the compassion of God with His view of the world, your world will be shaken! Don’t let that scare you, it is a good thing! We need our world shaken from time to time.

It breaks us out of the ruts of life we find ourselves in. We start to see people around us in a different light. You will notice that you start to judge people less and love people more, even people you do not agree with.

When the Lord starts to help you see people as He sees them you will see that some of the truly happiest people may not be the most financially secure. You will see those that appear to be the most successful on the outside are the ones with the biggest fears and doubts. You will see the causes of people’s attitudes, good and bad, and understand where the attitudes come from.

When you see people the way the Lord sees them, you will know how to best serve them and counsel them. You will know how to lead them and love them. This will help you speak into their lives and help them to become followers of Jesus and draw closer to Jesus every day.

All of this, when joined with God’s compassion, and the knowledge that nothing can separate us from the love of God through Jesus, will bring a new dawning in our lives. Your world will change in a great way.

The dry spells and doubts will become far fewer and shorter in duration. You will find God whispering to your heart in ways that bring you joy and plant seeds of joy in those around you. You will be blessed in ways you never thought were possible.

Conclusion

So, there you have it; three simple tools to help you escape fear and doubt and get rid of spiritual dry spells in your life. Each day speak Romans 8:38-39 aloud, ask the Lord for a measure of his compassion for those you come in contact with that day, and ask the Lord to let you see those you encounter the way he sees them. It’s simple. It just takes a little discipline to get going. Do these three things every day and teach others to do these three things every day.