When you’re full of fear and anxiety, you don’t get close to other people. Instead, you back off. You fear being rejected, manipulated, vulnerable, hurt, or used, and these fears cause you to disconnect from the people around you..
This fear is as old as humanity. When Adam and Eve sinned, God came looking for them. Then Adam said, “I was afraid . . . and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10 ESV). People have been hiding ever since..
You may not physically hide, but you hide your true self. You don’t let people know what you’re really like. You don’t let them see inside you. Why? Because you believe that if you show people your true self and they don’t like it, you’ll be up a creek without a paddle (to be in a difficult situation). Instead, you pretend to be someone you’re not..
This fear leads to things that will damage your relationships:
– Fear makes you defensive.
– Fear keeps you distant.
– Fear makes you demanding.
But where do you get the courage to take the first step to connect with someone and move toward godly relationships?
You get it from God’s Spirit in your life. 2 Timothy 1:7 (TLB) says, “For the Holy Spirit, God’s gift, does not want you to be afraid of people, but to be wise and strong, and to love them and enjoy being with them”..
Rather than fearing people, you’re free to love them and enjoy being with them..
Thank you Holy Spirit for helping me to cast out the spirit of fear and giving me the courage to take the first step to love others..
“There is no fear in love; perfect love drives out all fear……..”(1 John 4:18)
April 20
April 20, 2024
My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you… —Galatians 4:19. Paul had a clear goal for new followers of
