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How to Transform Fear into Peace in 3 Easy Steps

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[How to Overcome Fear in 3 easy steps]

Fear used to utterly consume me.

After 7 years of physical abuse as a child, I remember the days that I used to flinch when someone raised a hand too fast.

Although I learned to conceal my fear better, I brought that fear into my adult life.

And it was paralyzing.

Fear seemed like this trembling shell that I was constantly wearing but could never take off.

When I began to read my Bible I began to recognize why God doesn’t want us to fear, but it took me a long time to figure out how to have God help me learn how to conquer my fear.

As I began to dive into God’s word I found three steps for how to overcome fear biblically.

1. Having an understanding of who God is the first step to deal with fear

Telling me that God is with me is not comforting if I have no clue what He is capable of.

This is why it’s so important to read your Bible because it shows the character of God.

Countless stories of how faithful and reliable God is are all throughout the Bible.

Knowing that Jesus calmed the wind and the waves when His disciples were shaking in their sandals in a boat helps you understand that He can do the same for you.

Or that God defeated Jericho by just having His people march, blow trumpets and shout.

Or that God kept His promise to David that He would make him King even though Saul sought repeatedly to kill him.

And why should He do for you as He did for them?

You’re just one person.

Because of God’s character. 

He knows that we are all wrapped in flesh that desires us to sin. 

And yet He chose us anyway.

He knew that Peter would fear and yet He called him out into the water anyway.

He knew David would commit adultery and yet He called him to be King anyway.

And not only did He call them, but He also protected them.

When Peter took His eyes off of Jesus He still reached out His hand and protected him from falling into the sea.

He protected David from Saul and even gave David opportunities to defeat Saul if he wanted to.

So I know that even though I fail, God’s character never will.

The Bible says in Hebrews 13:8 that God is the same yesterday, today and forever.

When God said that He will never leave or forsake us in Deut. 31:6 He still means that.

And if He is commanding us to not be afraid He is doing it for our good.

And knowing this teaches us how to deal with fear biblically.

How to Transform Fear into Peace

So if you know God’s character, and that He can protect you and sustain you from all your fears, how do you apply that to your life?

The Bible is all about applying what you know. 

Fear is something that can permeate every inch of your life if you let it.

I could turn anything in my life into something that I could potentially be fearful about.

As a woman, I fear things that have a 99% chance of not happening.

It starts with a small thought that always includes an “if”.

And by the time you know it I’ve made up an ENTIRE scenario that doesn’t exist….inside my mind that now has real feelings attached to it and different outcomes that all seem logical.

Here’s an example:

My husband travels a lot for work. So it starts off simple:

“What if his plane crashes?

I would be a single mother.

How would I tell the kids? 

My oldest would become depressed. How would I be there for them if I can’t even pull myself together?

Oh man, what if I had to plan his funeral? Would the kids go? How would we survive?

Oh…my…goodness…my daughter isn’t going to have her father there when she gets married to walk her down the aisle and have her father-daughter dance.

My oldest son will probably still be depressed and won’t make it to the wedding because he became a drug addict because I couldn’t support his emotional needs so he looked elsewhere.”

I’m literally on the verge of tears over a made-up scenario, my heart is heavy and I’m devastated over what?

Some thoughts that aren’t even true?

I heard once that women’s minds are like spaghetti. Everything is connected and emotional. 

And I think of spaghetti when I think of my “what ifs”

Because they seem to be endless and can always connect to another “what if”

Could you imagine if I gave all those thoughts a platform in my life?

They would be paralyzing.

That’s why you have to learn how to overcome fear in life as soon as it starts.

2. Stop thoughts of fear as soon as they start with a simple prayer.

“Lord, let my faith in you be stronger than my fear.” (I made a printable for this that you can grab here.)

As soon as one of those thoughts hit my mind- I pause and pray.

I’m not going down that pointless rabbit hole.

I need to recognize that when I give those thoughts that time, I’m placing a little faith in my worries instead of God.

Because if my worries are true, then the next “what if” is true. And the next. 

But God is bigger than that. 

He is standing with us here today, and He is also standing with me at the end of my life and yours.

He’s not constrained by time. He knows what will happen. Today wasn’t a surprise to Him and neither will tomorrow be.

So, if I know that God is in control, that He knows how to deal with fear, that He knows my tomorrows AND that He works all things out for His good- if I have submitted my life to Him and His good, then that’s where I need to place my faith.

Not in my fearful thoughts.

But only in my faith in Him.

So I use this prayer to stop my never stopping mind.

And it has become a discipline for me.

At first, when I would pray I’d continue the thoughts right after I said amen.

But as time moved on and that discipline has grown, I now know that it is my first line of defense against fear. 

This isn’t just prayer, it’s involving God in my thought process.

(You can read more about this prayer here)

You are asking God to intervene as soon as you know fears arise.

It’s not you fighting this alone, involving God will always be beneficial.

And next, we add our next line of defense.

3. Renew your mind with God’s word to make fear flee

One of my favorite Christian practices is only mentioned in the Bible twice. But it can apply to so much of our lives.

It’s called renewing your mind.

Romans 12:2 says: And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

And Ephesians 4:23 says: be renewed in the spirit of your mind

But how do you renew your mind?

You take a lie- in this case we’re talking about fear and renew it with God’s truth.

Whether that is replacing that lie with a Bible verse or what you know to be true about God.

Philippians 4:8 says:

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

So this takes some work. But the reward is so worth it.

Let’s take that fear of being alone.

Loneliness is a horrible feeling. And Satan loves to magnify it. You could be in a room full of people and still feel lonely.

And still think that none of those people care about you. 

Or want you.

Or need you.

But God’s word says something different.

And in this day and age, we have amazing resources that make this process quick for us.

We can google it. 

Now, of course, reading your Bible and finding verses that stick out to you is what I’ll always recommend doing first.

But you can always google Bible verses that speak to your current situation.

A quick search on Google gave me so many verses for loneliness.

Psalm 27:10- “though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.” (NIV)

1 Sam 12:22 “The Lord was pleased to make you His own”

Matthew 28:20 “Surely I am with you always”

Psalm 68: 5: “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows”

Take one or two of these verses and memorize them.

>>Want to check out 16 Bible Verses for Anxiety?

And when those thoughts and fears of loneliness rise up, renew your mind with God’s word.

You tell that lie to flee with God’s truth.

And just remember that this is a discipline. 

Sometimes it’s a small seed that has to be planted and then watered and given some love in order to see the fruit of your labor.

Write it down and memorize.

Or you can scroll to the bottom of this post and grab a free printable fear scripture card!

Conclusion

So to recap to learn how to overcome fear we first need to have an understanding of who God is, what He is capable of and His character.

Second, we need to involve God through prayer. Feel free to copy mine, it’s short and simple and to the point. “Lord let my faith in you be stronger than my fear.

And third, we need to renew our minds with God’s truth.

Make sure to grab your free fear printable here:

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