Your Emotional Health MattersÖrnek

### Fear Factor Here’s an embarrassing story. One night, as I was asleep, I felt something crawl over me. When I switched on the light, to my horror, I saw four big cockroaches crawling on the floor and one on my bed! I remember shouting, and all sleep vanished! I froze and, 30 seconds later, gathered the courage to smack them dead! Cockroaches, fear of heights, facing a tough boss, a diagnosis of illness, or rejection by loved ones are some examples of fears we face. Fear is a complicated emotion capable of crippling us. It stops us from realizing our true potential, prevents us from taking healthy risks, and reduces our lives to cowardly and unsatisfying ones. The issue is not the object of fear but the thoughts about it that crowd our minds, leaving us in a state of shock, worry, and anxiety. What do you do when your fears seem to have the upper hand? Moses feared repercussions and was reluctant to lead, Elijah feared for his life, Jesus’ disciples left him when they were afraid of getting caught. Maybe fear has taken your emotions and thoughts captive, and survival mode has become your prison. Isaiah 61 is your assurance that God has given you freedom from the emotional cage that fear creates! God redeems you to ‘thrive’ and not just ‘survive.’ Paul accessed this ‘freedom’ despite being imprisoned. How? He chose to thank and trust God. As a result, the prison became the pulpit for Paul! As you begin to confront your fears, God will help you THRIVE with power, love, and confidence. Christ has set you free, and you can choose to overcome your fears today! #### To consider: As you move past your fears, God uses that process to bring freedom to you and to another! So, where can you start? Begin here: 1\. Recall that God has not given you a spirit of fear and timidity but of power, love, and sound mind. 2\. Write out scripture that strengthens you on a post-it or a journal. Then when negative thoughts come, speak those verses to yourself. In this way, you’re taking those thoughts captive to the Word of God. 3\. Trust in God’s wisdom and courage and take the next step in the task ahead of you.