Putting the Nail in the Coffin Over Your Fears

If you feel stuck or held back, it may be because fear has trapped you into a position of limitation. Many times, we are held back by the fears that accumulate in our lives. When we face the fear that is driving our limitations, we open up the possibilities of our life like never before.

To break free, we have to shift our prayers from “God rescue me,” to “God, I make a decision to step out in faith. I will not let fear dictate my life anymore.” Many times our “God rescue me” prayers come out of our passivity. Fear will keep us from taking action, so we end up asking God to take action for us.

That’s not how this works. Overcoming the fear factor takes your active participation. You are often one decision away from everything changing when you say, “I am not going to let fear dictate my life any longer.” I have made personal declarations that say, “I am not gonna let these fearful thoughts, feelings and imaginations nag me or rule me anymore.”

Making a Decision

The voices of fear are there. They will always look for ways to talk. The more attention we give it, the louder the voice becomes. The less we take action, the stronger fear appears.

The good news is, you don’t have to live under the abuse of fear’s thoughts.

You may hear the enemy’s thoughts all the time, speaking to you on a daily basis. But you no longer need to think they are your own thoughts. I used to just say, “Oh, this is the way I feel.” I know better now, so that empowers me. But it also make me responsible to take action with my thinking.

Taking Action

Knowing the enemy is speaking and discerning your thoughts is just the beginning. You now have to take action to move into how God thinks, making what He says your identity. This takes an overcomer’s heart that can withstand resistance, because there is great spiritual opposition to God’s thoughts.

Prepared for the Resistance

These battles do not always leave after just one prayer. There is a war waging that needs a relentless heart that daily declares, “I am not budging. I am standing my ground against these thoughts,” whatever they may be. If we do not cultivate a relentlessness, the enemy will simply wear us out.

To make the turn, we often have to take a position against fear which says, “I do not care how loud you are talking. I do not care what you are saying. I am not serving you. You can talk all day. What you are saying is not my heart’s desire. I am no longer giving you my attention. You can bark all you want, but we are not having hanging out anymore.”

It is Not My Heart to Serve Fear

I remember when Melissa and I were expecting our daughter Abigail. Before this, we lost a pregnancy, which was a shocking blow our hearts. As with anyone who goes through the loss of a baby, this was devastating and heartbreaking. I had to learn how to grieve and allow myself to heal from the hurt of that loss.

As we began to heal, we were soon expecting again. But during this new pregnancy, fear attacked me like a storm. It hit me in the vulnerable place of my heart that experienced the previous loss. It projected doom towards the future, that my previous loss would keep repeating. The assault of thoughts said, “It’s gonna happen again. It’s gonna happen worse this time. God is gonna leave you hanging on this one.”  

I couldn’t shake it. I teach people how to overcome fear, but this one was beating me up pretty badly. The attack was hitting a raw wound where I was weak.

Not only were the thoughts hard to shake, they were stealing my ability to enjoy our current pregnancy and the anticipation of our daughter Abigail.

After much resistance and this fear factor not budging, I got fed up and took a strong stance. I got sick of this fear ruling my attention and focus.

Taking a Stand Against Fear

So while driving in my car on day, I made this declaration out loud. I said,

“God, You love me so much. You know exactly what I am battling with. You know about this fear I am warring against. Father, I want to tell You, it is not my heart to be in fear over our next child. Living in worry, anxiety and stress over this is not my heart. I am feeling the thoughts of fear, but that is not who I am, nor is it my intent to feed these fears.

So I wanna tell You this and make it clear before all the heavenlies, my heart’s intent is to trust You with all of my heart. I do not need to fear. I release control and choose to trust your heart for my family.

While fear is screaming at me, I’m not serving it. I don’t care what’s happening in my body. I don’t care if I’m weeping. I don’t care if I’m shaking. I’m telling You and anyone else listening that it is not my heart to serve this fear. So fear, you can talk all you want, I am not budging any longer!”

A few moments later, it broke. After a long battle, it finally broke. The enemy knew I was taking my freedom seriously. Part of putting the nail in the coffin was that I stopped the condemnation I felt for having the fear. I also made it clear that my direction in life was not changing. When I took a stand, it released me from the internal pressure and it disempowered what the enemy was doing over my heart.

In addition, we gave birth to the most wonderful daughter a father could have. Abigail is a princess who has an amazing life of power ahead of her. Part of the victory involved me as a father putting a nail in the coffin over my old ways where fear would steal my focus and perspective.

Taking Action

So where do you need to put the nail in the coffin over certain fears that keep harassing you? Here are some things you can consider:

  1. Embrace what God says about you without fear in the equation. What would you look like without fear? What would your life and decisions look like if fear was not a driving force in who you are?
  2. Make a decision and establish your heart’s intent of where you are headed. This is important so that you do not cave in to the accusing thoughts that beat you up over your fear struggles. Get clear on who you are and where you headed.
  3. Speak and declare this new identity over your life. Let God and the enemy know as you declare your intention. You will not break through hoping for freedom to simply fall on you.
  4. Do not allow the resistance to dictate your actions or your direction. I had to learn to move into new directions, while feeling the fear resistance all the way. Expect resistance. It is all a part of the journey and your formation.
  5. Ask God to help you develop your renewed focus, so that fear no longer becomes your greatest influence.
  6. You have to take action! Taking a stand involves taking action in what fear is trying to prevent you from doing. Until you take action, overcoming is just a nice theory. Taking steps of action is the greatest thing you can do to overcome the bully of fear.

This is putting a stake in the ground. May God meet you as you say yes to the greater potential that God has given you and destroy fear’s influence and for all.

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