When fear takes over our lives, we can’t fully live. We become paralysed by our fears, afraid to move forward into the future or experience our present. But the truth is that many of our fears don’t come to anything. A lot of the things that we worry about never happen, yet we’ve spent hours, even days and weeks, agonising over them. God doesn’t want us to be living like this. Jesus said: ‘The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full’ (John 10:10 NIV). God wants us to live life to the full. And that means a life without fear. When we’re struggling with fear and anxiety, it can seem impossible to us that our lives could ever be free from it. How can we stop worrying and live our lives to the full? Firstly, we need to immerse ourselves in God’s Word and learn exactly who He is. When we read Scriptures about God, we see that He is a faithful, trust-worthy, loving God who cares for us and wants to provide for our needs. Once we’ve done that, we can put our trust in Him and hand our fears over to Him. And if anxiety is really stopping us living life to the full, there’s no shame in asking for help from a professional. While trusting in God doesn’t exclude us from difficulties, we can know we’ve always got God right there with us, facing everything alongside us. The question is, are we willing to choose faith over fear each day?
