Living Courageously: You Can Face Anything, Just Do It Afraid (21 page)

I have heard many, many stories of people on their deathbeds saying, “Jesus is here for me now. I have to go.” Or, “I see the light and I must follow it.” My life has been beautiful, and I want my death to be beautiful also. I believe we can prepare for death properly by simply not being afraid of it. We are all going to have to do it eventually, so why not do it afraid?

Fear is an enemy that torments the soul and seeks to steal our life. Conquering it is not something that we do in one day, or even in 1,000 days. It is something that we conquer one day at a time. I am writing the book, and I still confront and deal with fear… little, annoying fears that try to make me think I need to do more, or try harder, or be nicer. Fear can show up quite unexpectedly in many ways. One of our goals should be to recognize it so we can deal with it promptly.

Just this week I was waking up at about 2 or 3 in the morning and then having difficulty going back to sleep. After two nights of that, I found myself going to bed with a vague sort of fear that it would happen again, and sure enough it did. After about three nights of the same thing, God reminded me that I could pray and resist Satan, the source of all fear. According to God’s Word, the sleep of the righteous should be sweet (see Proverbs 3:24). I prayed immediately and went back to sleep and have not had any problems since then. If you have difficulty thinking about rebuking or resisting Satan, let me remind you that Jesus did it, and
His example is always good enough for me. We have power and authority over the enemy, but authority is useless if it is not exercised.

Being free from fear doesn’t mean that we will never experience it or be confronted by it. It means that we are committed to not allowing it to rule our lives, and when necessary we will do what we need to do, even if we have to do it afraid.

The truth is that reading this book may stir up the fears you have. It may make you more aware of them and hopefully more determined to confront them. Simply reading a book about something doesn’t mean we have no responsibility to apply the principles we have read about. Knowing about something has no value if we don’t do something with the knowledge we have. Wisdom is the proper use of knowledge. I have tried to impart most of what I have learned about fear over the past 38 years. I have given you information, but what you really need is
revelation
. Revelation comes as we pray about a truth we have heard, meditate on it, and put the principles to work in our life that we have learned.

I think one of our biggest mistakes in life can be to think that we should have victory in an area merely because we read a book or hear a message about something. James said that if we are hearers of the Word and not doers, we are like someone who looks at himself in a mirror and goes away and forgets what he looks like (see James 1:22–24).

If you are reading this chapter, I am assuming you have almost completed the book and I urge you not to put it back on your bookshelf and merely be proud that you have completed yet another book about God and His ways, and then go away and think,
Now I know all about fear
.

Knowing something mentally and knowing it by experience are two entirely different things. We often say that heart knowledge is much deeper than head knowledge. A thing gets into our heart as we exercise it, not just when we theorize about it. Each fear that you confront becomes a small victory for you and it prepares you to face the next one. Each time you feel fear and decide to “do it afraid,” you will enjoy your new freedom so much that you will soon be totally unwilling to do without it. You will soon be determined that your days of slavery to fear are over. That does not mean that you won’t still need to confront fear, but it does mean that you will be more and more determined to keep confronting it.

We all know from reading books and hearing wonderful sermons that no matter how much we need or enjoy them, it is easy to forget them. There are some books and teachings that we need to not forget on our bookshelves, but we should keep them nearby so we can refer to them often. I have reread some of the books that have meant a great deal to me several times, and there are certain sections of books that I go back and read over and over anytime I feel I am getting weak in an area.

This Scripture is very clear that even though we have been completely liberated from a yoke of slavery, we will need at
times to “stand fast” and not allow ourselves to be entrapped by it again.

Satan is very shrewd and he doesn’t give up easily. I guess we can say that he never completely gives up the hope of drawing us back into bondage. We must live watchfully, ready to recognize and immediately confront the things that steal our liberty in Christ.

The Bible says that the righteous man falls seven times and gets up again (see Proverbs 24:16). I love that Scripture and I am greatly encouraged by it. Even the most righteous person fails to do everything he knows to do all the time, but he is committed to not giving up. Just because you have a weak moment, that doesn’t mean you have lost your victory. If we give up even God can’t help us because we receive His help through faith, not through hopelessness. We need to stay positive, hopeful, and filled with faith, and when we do there is nothing we cannot overcome. I often say that anyone can succeed if they refuse to give up!

Some fears are more deeply rooted in us than other ones are, and for that reason they may be ones we will need to be more aggressive against. Mine is the fear of making people angry. My father was always angry, and I never really knew if I had done something to make him that way or not. The fear of making my father angry was constantly with me throughout my childhood, and I still find today that if I am around some family member who seems to be upset or angry, I start wondering if I did anything to make that person angry. I would like to be able to say that after all these years of teaching others I no longer have to deal with this one fear, but the good news is that I do recognize it and I do deal with, so I still have the victory.

Being able to recognize the lies, deceit, and strategies of the devil is a major victory. We should always be ready to resist him at the onset of his attacks. The longer we let a fear remain, the more difficult it may be to get rid of. So make a decision to be a person of action. Laziness, passivity, and irresponsibility are an open invitation for Satan to rule you. In Matthew chapter 25, we are told of 10 virgins who went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and got tired of waiting and fell asleep, the other five were wise and they stayed awake and continued their preparation to meet the bridegroom. Jesus said to them, “Be cautious and active because you don’t know the day nor the hour when the Son of Man will come” (see Matthew 25:1–13).

I don’t think it would be wrong to also say, “Be cautious and active because you don’t know when the devil will attack with fear, or anything else he can do to keep you from God’s wonderful plan for your life.”

Knowledge prepares us for the battle. You have what it takes to win. Actually, the Word of God says that we are more than conquerors through Christ who loves us (see Romans 8:37). You are armed with the truth of God’s Word, and you are dangerous to the devil as long as you continue lifting up the shield of faith and actively applying the truth that you now have knowledge of.

God’s Word arms us for battle. There is a war to be won, and we must see ourselves as soldiers in God’s great army. You have the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth that is the Word of God, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit (God’s Word), the shoes of peace, and the shield of faith. And to add to this, we have the power and privilege of prayer (see Ephesians
6:13–18). How can we be defeated? We cannot as long as we put on the armor that God supplies rather than storing it on a shelf somewhere and thinking that God will take care of us while we are inactive and passive.

With all of my heart I want you to believe that you already have the victory through Christ, and with His help (grace), you can apply that victory daily. God has given us all that we could ever need through Christ. He has blessed us with every blessing in the spiritual realm (see Ephesians 1:3). He has given us power and authority over all the power the devil possesses (see Luke 10:19). We have what it takes, but we must be active and never give up. Remember, a fall is not a failure! The righteous man falls seven times, and still he gets up again!

In the Old Testament, God promised the Israelites that they could live in a place He called the Promised Land, a land that flowed with every good thing they would need to be fruitful and enjoy life. He also told them they would have to possess the land. He gave it and they had to possess it! The same thing is true for us today. Jesus has purchased with His own blood our freedom and every good thing we could ever desire, but we must possess it.

When we study the word “possess,” we find it means to possess by dispossessing the current occupants. That sheds much light on what is required to live in the freedom that has been provided for us. We must be determined, alert, and unwilling to settle for anything less than complete victory.

When I first began to understand the amazing life that Jesus had provided for me, I felt angry that I had been robbed of it through deception. I was also a bit miffed that after many years of regular church attendance, I had not been clearly informed of what was mine through Jesus. I had been told what to do, but not how to do it! I pray I never make that mistake as a teacher of God’s Word. I want to help people, not frustrate them.

I was a frustrated believer in Jesus who had very little—if any—victory in my daily life. I had assurance of Heaven, but no joy in living. I had no idea what was in my heavenly account; therefore, I lived as a bankrupt believer.

When I began to seriously study God’s Word and found out what was mine, I didn’t realize that the devil would oppose me every step of the way. Paul told Timothy to be prepared to “fight the good fight of faith” and “lay hold of eternal life” (see 1 Timothy 6:12). Eternal life does not merely refer to going to Heaven when we die. It begins the moment that we receive Jesus as Savior and Lord, and means life as God lives it. That sounds exciting! I want that kind of freedom and enjoyment, and I am unwilling to do without it. What about you?

Thank God, I finally saw the light and now know that although Satan will resist my freedom aggressively, I do have the power
and authority to dispossess him and possess what is mine in Christ, and you do too.

Possessing the full freedom that is yours in Christ is a journey. There is always new ground to take. Learning how to confront fear is one of the very important things we need to learn because fear is one of the main tools of the devil.

Take a week and purposely pay attention to any fearful thoughts or feelings you might have. I believe when you realize how often fear comes against you, you will be surprised and appalled. But please remember that just because you feel fear does not mean you have to bow down to it. Recognizing fear is a good thing because you can simply smile and say, “No fear lives here!” You can do it afraid!

Pay attention even in little things. My hair is a little bit too long right now, and when it is, I have more difficulty getting it to look right. Today I have an important meeting and of course, like any woman, I want to look good. I found myself thinking,
I am concerned that I won’t be able to get my hair to look good
. Does that qualify as a fear? Maybe it is not a full-blown fear, but it certainly isn’t faith, so I decided to ask God to help me, and I am expecting it to look great!

Tomorrow I have a four-hour mentoring session, and 20 seasoned women in ministry will be asking me any question they want to ask, and of course I am supposed to answer them. Will I have all the answers, and will they be right answers? I can be afraid that I won’t and will end up looking foolish, or I can go in faith believing that God will give me what I need when I need it.

My back is aching a little and I am out of town and can’t get to my chiropractor. I have had some major back issues in the past, so it might be easy for me to accept the fear that they are starting again. I choose to believe it is due to sleeping in a different bed, and I will do some exercises for my back muscles and have a good day.

I am offering these simple examples so you can see that all fears are not huge ones. Many of them are vague, nagging little thoughts that prevent us from fully enjoying life. If you are ready to confront fear, you may as well confront all of it!

Don’t be impatient. Possessing freedom is an ongoing process. It is something we gain and then need to maintain. Always look at and enjoy your progress instead of merely looking at how far you have to go. Today is a new day, and every new day is a day to begin again. Thank you for allowing me to share with you what I have learned about confronting fear by doing it afraid, and remember the quote at the beginning of this chapter: “Courage doesn’t always roar; sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, ‘I’ll try again tomorrow.’ ”