‘God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.’ 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
Fear is something you will experience each time you try something new, like a new job or a new relationship or a new investment strategy. You will never succeed as long as you keep giving in to fear. The corporate world risks failure every time they launch another product. The fashion world risks failure with each new clothing line. Yet they’re willing to take multimillion-dollar risks to improve their merchandise and boost their sales. Do they always win? No, but without taking a risk they’ve no chance of succeeding at all. A poet wrote: ‘There was a very cautious man who never laughed or played; he never risked, he never tried, he never sang or prayed. And when one day he passed away, his insurance was denied; for since he never really lived, they claimed he never died!’ The fact is, we all fail! The failure rate of the human race is one hundred percent, and everyone (you included) qualifies for membership in this club. But that doesn’t mean you have to live in the fear of failure. Faith in God is what gives you the courage to confront your fears and live the life He meant you to live. If you don’t, you’ll suffer the regret of ‘what could have been.’ You’ll never be perfect, so you’ll never be perfectly successful. That doesn’t mean you will not succeed in life but you must try. Fear is a ‘spirit’ and, if you let it, it will control you. God offers you three better options: ‘Power…love…a sound mind.’
SoulFood: 2 Chron 1-4, John 10:22-42, Ps 83:1-8, Pr 26:13-16
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2011
