Finding Peace In Fearful Times

Peace, Peace, Wonderful Peace coming down from the Father above.

These are the steps God showed me to find peace and overcome anxiety in fearful times.

In my last post Working Through Anxiety I spoke about anxiety that comes from oppression or a more “post traumatic event” type of stress. But in this post I wanted to address those situations in life that are real, present and that must be faced head on.

I think it ironic that I wrote my book Faith and Finance – Peace With or Without Prosperity several years ago dealing with how to find peace in the midst of financial despair. That was a real fear that had to be faced daily during and around the recession of 2008. It also serves as a good reminder that new fears and new situations arise as does the need for increased faith. The principles I am about to share are similar at the very basest level to those you can find in the book but really pinpointed down to those common denominators. The rest is up to you and your spiritual journey.

SEEK WISDOM

I cannot underestimate the importance of seeking wisdom in regards to overcoming fear. Stop right now and think about the fear that is haunting you. What would you do if …? How would you handle it if …? Now imagine the worst case scenario and as a child of God ask, “God what should I do if?” You must seek wisdom as it is the only thing that can help you know what to do in those situations, but wisdom sometimes feels abstract when you are facing something so tangible.

I regularly ask my children in our daily devotions; now where do you find wisdom? The answer is: The Bible.

You must have verses to claim during your trial. You must. They are your shield of faith.

You will hear me tell people about my visualization that my shield of faith (Eph. 6:16) is real and that as a fear is shot at me I hold up my shield like a super hero and it is deflected with sound of clashing metal. But if you do not have a verse to knock down the fear; than you may be dealt a severe blow spiritually speaking. And we are speaking spiritually. Fear is a soul issue.

James 1 is the section of the Bible where I would send you every day that you are dealing with a fearful thing in your life. I would ask you to read it every day until it starts sinking in and the verses start jumping out at you. But in regards to finding peace I want to point out that you need to TRUST that God will provide you with the wisdom for your specific situation. James 1:6 You must not waver and think that He will leave you stranded. If you are seeking wisdom and direction; BELIEVE that He will give you just what He asked. He promised. If you believe His promise, then you can REST in the fact that He does not lie.

You may have to wake up every day and re-surrender to acting on faith and believing that He will provide you with the wisdom you need, but if you consciously make that choice then you will have peace. You choose to let those worries subside when you choose not to waver in your belief that he will give you. Then be diligent; act upon the wisdom you receive.

USE WISDOM

My entire book Faith and Finance: Peace With or Without Prosperity deals with wisdom I received in regards to financial stewardship even when your ends honestly don’t meet. I asked God for wisdom. I pleaded. I asked pastors for their insight. I asked financial advisers for their insight. I read books by top financial gurus. But nothing gave me peace until I found answers in the Bible. You see; men’s wisdom alone is not enough. Traditional thinking is not enough. What makes sense to one pastor might not be biblical at all. In a multitude of counselor’s there is safety, but the underlying direction you choose must not contradict the Bible. You must not be lazy. You must search the Scriptures and God will provide the wisdom. (Prov. 3:5-6)

My point is; don’t just sit there and do nothing … unless you believe that God is telling you to do nothing. But even if waiting is the wisest thing to do; continue to study out every single thing the Bible has to say about your situation. Then go online and read what old evangelists and Bible preachers have taught and preached about your situation. Look up sermons online. Read legitimate Bible studies on the topic. Then compare the Scriptures with Scriptures and wisdom and absolute truths will be revealed.

I know this is difficult because we are “prone to wander, Lord I feel it.” We are not prone to delve into a Bible study. Our flesh wants to leave us wanting and worrisome. But the Bible is our shield of faith and our sword in battle. We are foolish to disregard our greatest asset.

But that all comes back to our will. I talked about submission in the first post about Working Through Anxiety. And so we come full circle back to where we started.

NOT MY WILL, BUT THINE BE DONE

Here are some great quotes by some notable Christians.

God will not protect you from anything that will make you more like Jesus. – Elisabeth Elliot

When I understand that everything happening to me is to make me more Christlike, it resolves a great deal of anxiety. – A.W. Tozer

We live in a world where people believe that God wants us to be happy no matter what. But the Bible says something contrary. (Job 5:17,
Psalm 127:5, Psalm 144:15, Psalm 146:5, Prov. 3:13, Prov. 3:18, Prov. 14:21, Prov. 16:20, Prov. 28:14, Prov. 29:18, Rom. 14:22) God says that man can be happy, but happiness is found in submission, obedience and trust.

At the same time, Christ struggled with God’s will. Happiness and peace are not the same thing. Christ was not happy to bear the cup of suffering and yet he learned obedience through his suffering. (Heb. 5:8) Are we greater than Christ? Or are we to be more like Him?

I am going to go back to the beginning of this post and ask you to do something again.

Stop right now and think about the fear that is haunting you. What would you do if …? How would you handle it if …? Now imagine the worst case scenario and as a child of God ask … “Am I willing to accept the worst case scenario, if it will make me more like Christ?”

That is where we sit. We must make that choice. We will not overcome fear if we cannot answer a “Yes!” to that question.

Christ obeyed unto death. God’s child suffered and died. Mary suffered reproach. Martyrs were sawn assunder. Moses suffered affliction rather than enjoying the pleasures of sin. Abraham by faith would have given his child. Hannah did give her child. Noah gave his whole life for others who rejected him. Daniel lived a life of a eunuch. Joseph suffered in prison for 14 years. Job lost his children and his livelihood. Our heroes of the faith did not “name it and claim it.” Some never received …

Heb. 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

I am not saying that the worst case scenario will happen. God will not provide a temptation any greater than we can bear. (1 Cor. 10:13) but He will allow what He knows is needed to make us more like Christ.

At the same time, I have asked God for something and he did not allow it and I find blessings in His leading. I have suffered loss and have found joy in His presence. I have accepted a worst case scenario and found God’s will was not that at all, but a blessing far more that I would have dreamed. If you delight yourself in Him, He will give you the desires of your heart … in His time and way.

I want to recap a bit and close.

If you are facing a fearful time in life, you can have peace. You can have victory over anxiety and worry if you will ask God to help you walk through these steps.

Seek wisdom
Use wisdom
Have a “Not my will, but thine be done” heart.

Lastly, I want to leave you with the words to this song.

Oh! to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh! to be like Thee, full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wand’ring sinner to find.

Oh! to be like Thee, lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer, others to save.

Oh! to be like Thee, Lord, I am coming,
Now to receive th’ anointing divine;
All that I am and have I am bringing,
Lord, from this moment all shall be Thine.

Oh! to be like Thee, while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love,
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

CHORUS

Oh! to be like Thee, oh! to be like Thee,
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.