Devotional: Combating Lies 9

Good morning all! It's time again for a Sunday Devotional. My series right now is looking at different lies that we may believe about ourselves, and how to combat those lies using scripture. Here are number one, number two,  number three ,  number four,  number five,  number 6,  number 7, and number 8 if you are interested!

The ninth lie is this: I need to continue being a fearful, anxious person. 

The truth is: I am free from fear!

Key Scriptures:

Psalm 34:4-I sought the Lord, and he answered me;  he delivered me from all my fears.

2 Timothy 1:7-For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

1 Peter 5:7-Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

1 John 4:18-There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Friends, this is such a personal one for me...I'm not sure if it's because I am a slightly anxious person, but fear is something I struggle with almost daily. I am that weird person that is scared to get up and go to the bathroom in the dark at night, because obviously I'm 5 years old instead of 25. I am that introvert who after spending time in social situations has to analyze everything in my head before I can sleep at night. I am that crazy person who has experienced death and sickness in my family in the past, and so I am plagued with fear for every single family member in my life, even going so far as to having nightmares about them being ill, etc. I am inherently fearful.

Several years ago, when  I was a young teen I would wake up several times in the middle of the night each night from nightmares and see only the darkness in my bedroom. I learned simply to pray, and pray without ceasing as the only way to keep my fears at bay. Through prayer I was able to tangibly feel God's presence and know that he was protecting me from whatever cruddy images my mind was producing.
Then last year, when Sean and I moved into our new house we got a rock thrown through our window on the second night we slept in our bedroom. Glass flew across the foot of our bed and the sound was like a gunshot to a sleeping person. That day Sean had to go to work so I was home alone and I just remember walking around an unfamiliar/new house with unfamiliar sounds and experiencing paralyzing fear at times thinking that someone else was in the house with me/robbing us, any number of horrible things. The only way to get through those times was to remember the above verses. To remember how much God cares about my fears and anxieties (even the silly ones) and is willing to deliver me from those fears if only I would call out to him for help.
 I pretty much go through my days in a constant state of open communication with God. Sorry (not sorry)  if this makes me seem weird to all of you, but just knowing that I have the strength and protection of the Lord with me at all times is what helps me to overcome those things that could otherwise take my time captive and leave me in hermit-mode. 

God's perfect love will drive out fear in your life. It perhaps isn't immediate, but it is certainly evident. I am living proof of that.