Where God's love is there is no fear, because God's perfect love drives out fear.
1 John 4:15

We fear rejection, so we follow the crowd. We fear no fitting in, so we take the drugs. For fear of standing out, we wear what everyone else wears. For fear of blending in, we wear what no one else wears. For fear of sleeping alone, we sleep with anyone. For fear of not being loved, we search for love in all the wrong places.

But God flushes those fears. Those saturated in God's love don't sell out to win the love of others. They don't even sell out to win the love of God.

Do you think you need to? Do you think, If I cuss less, pray more, drink less, study more... if I try harder, God will love me more? Sniff and smell Satan's stench behind those words. We all need improvement, but we don't need to wood God's love. We change because we already have God's love. God's perfect love.

That was very well put! Amen!

God bless you!

JEnnifier

AMEN indeed

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
2 Timothy 1:7 (New Living Translation)

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent!
Acts 18:9 (New Living Translation)

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Throughout Scripture, the Lord gives us evidence that many people deal with anxiety, even those considered pillars of faith. For example, we can deduce from Acts 18:9 that the apostle Paul must have felt fear, since God instructed Him not to be afraid “any longer”.

The fact that fear is common, however, does not mean it’s from God. Of course, certain situations… like hearing a loud noise when we’re alone… will trigger a frightened response. But the Lord doesn’t want us to live with ongoing anxiety.

Worry can be deeply ingrained in the way we think. Sometimes we have unhealthy thought patterns that stem from feelings of inadequacy, a sense of guilt, or a mistaken view of God. It’s not uncommon for insecurity in childhood to develop into a lack of confidence later on.

Life experiences can be another factor. A person who’s lost a parent suddenly in a car accident is likely to struggle with worry.

He wants His children to feel secure in His capability and trustworthiness.

annette,
I have been stuggling with anxity strongly for a month now at first i thought God was punishing me and then i realized he was not and now i feel that if i just change all of these things in my life if i just be more hummble if i just dress in a certain was if i just all of the sudden become a paul or peter it will go away. i have always wanted God to use me but the task recently has seem too large and it throws me into fits of fear that i will come out of this bitter because i will change without really wanting to and then its all in vain anyway. reading your post helped me a great deal. thank you.

I'm new here, although I've had the program for quite some time. I'm going through change of life, so the anxiety I experiences goes in cycles depending on my 'cycle'. So I've developed a pretty constant anxiety state that arises in various settings based on the unpredictablity of it showing up. It's like a double edged sword. Myself and daughers are into music and I sing on our Praise Team at church and have a very strong faith. But I have to say it's so frustrating when I have to back out of singing due to anxiety. My biggest concern is that I'll lose control on the stage or pass out....and like I said....my period (which I'm still having) seems to exasperate the problem. Several of the guys on the Praise Team said they were going to get a SWAT team implemented to pick me up and bring me regardless because they don't want the evil one keeping me from ministering. I LOVE ministering through music and my joy has been stolen through the past couple years of struggle. I'd love to connect here and hopefully gain some valuable insight and not feel so alone in this. Thanks for listening!!