Do This When You Are Afraid

Ezra 3:3
Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening sacrifices.

New Living Translation
Even though the people were afraid of the local residents, they rebuilt the altar at its old site. Then they began to sacrifice burnt offerings on the altar to the LORD each morning and evening.

Good News Translation
Even though the returning exiles were afraid of the people who were living in the land, they rebuilt the altar where it had stood before. Then they began once again to burn on it the regular morning and evening sacrifices.

Fear can disable you from doing what you must. Fear discourages. Fear causes you to give up. Fear masquerades as a caution against possible danger but in the end, it is self-defeat!

Fear is when you agree with the imagination that there will be a terrible outcome. Fear is a belief that you will fail. Fear is a belief that the worst will happen and you will be harmed and even die. Fear is a negative view of the future. It actually becomes fear when you start believing it and acting on it.

Fear is part of self-preservation triggered by the mind to ensure you don’t harm yourself or engage in harmful activities. Unfortunately, we can never do away with fear completely. Therefore, we don’t eradicate fear, we manage it. Unmanaged fear creates failures in men.

Fear should guide us on safety measures to take, but fear shouldn’t stop us. The absence of fear means we will not take precautions. The absence of fear is a shot-lived venture that looks like courage but is outright foolishness.

If you do not manage your fears and they reign over you, you now become a coward. Everyone has fears, but cowards are guided and mastered by their fears. Cowards don’t take risks and they do not try anything new.

Our text today tells us that as Israelites rebuilt their place of worship, they were surrounded by hostile neighbors who didn’t want them to rebuild. The Bible says they were afraid. What did they do, now that they were afraid? They continued building. Don’t stop don’t give in to fear, keep going and God will bless you. This is what you do when you are afraid.

Are you afraid of cutting off bad friends? Just do it. Plan activities without them that will replace activities and time you spend with them. Get a new communication line that will cut them off. Then compose the text to inform them that you are taking a break from the relationship and may be unresponsive for a while. Then without much editing and overthinking, send the text and after some time change the line. The point is to just do it, don’t allow fear to postpone the idea. Just do it!

Are you afraid of breaking up or approaching a potential partner? Just do it. It is better to live knowing you lost the chance and you move on, rather than imagining there is a chance when probably there is none. It is better to be at peace after breaking up from a toxic affair than out of fear staying in and ruining your mental health and risking physical harm to yourself.

Are you afraid of saving money? You think it is too small. Do you fear it won’t grow? Don’t delay, save that small consistently and look at it after three months. Are you afraid of investing? After doing all the research, take a risk. Not investing is a sure risk that will return nothing. Take a risk of getting returns.

Are you afraid you won’t be consistent with a healthful habit? Don’t delay, give it a try. As you fail, keep trying. Success is made of moving from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm, someone said.

Are you afraid of following biblical truths? Are you afraid of your religious leaders and relatives? Fear has no other solution, just do what you fear. God is with you. Delay does not contribute to overcoming fear, delay enhances fear. Just do what you must!

The only solution to fear is to confront it. If you entertain fear it grows and disables you from action. Fear must be confronted in order to downgrade it and overcome it. After making an analysis of risk and discovering it’s just fear, tell someone who will encourage and Supervise you as you confront it. If you fear sleeping in darkness, do not delay, pray briefly, switch off the lights and sleep. It will be hard and wild the first time, but as you repeat it you overcome. Keep repeating the confrontation of fear and you will win. Two secrets, first don’t delay action, second keep repeating the confrontation of fear.

Do you fear telling off an abuser? Do it immediately and repeat it every time they dare you. Do you fear public speaking? Accept the assignment, go with written back up notes and do it immediately. Never refuse a public participation assignment and the fear will go. Do you fear that the work is too much? Break it into small pieces and do a piece of it immediately. Keep doing it.

The solution to fear is to do what you fear doing. The secret to success someone has said is to do that which you fear to do. Self-discipline which is a core ingredient to success is doing that which you fear. When you are afraid, do that which is worth doing, do not give in to fear. May God grant us grace to keep going in spite of fear, in Jesus’ name, Amen!

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