Freedom from Fear Formula, #1
Nothing happens without God’s knowledge and consent.
Nothing happens without God’s knowledge and consent.
In the years since my battle with panic attacks, I have had the opportunity to speak with many people about how I was able to find freedom. As I spoke to different people, I realized that I found myself saying basically the same things over and over. After all, the truth doesn’t change, does it? Lol! From those conversations, four basic truths became evident. I have come to call these four principles the “Freedom from Fear Formula.” These truths will set your mind free from fear, IF you learn them, embrace them, and make them a part of your very being.
The first basic truth is to know, accept, and understand that God is sovereign. No matter what may happen in your life, it will not catch God off guard. He is fully aware of everything that transpires in the world He created. Now we may not like some of the things that come up in our lives, but that certainly doesn’t mean that God didn’t know about it, or allow it.
He took him to a very high mountain.
When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, the control of this world was handed over to Satan. If this were not true, then there would have been no temptation for Jesus to bow down before Satan. “Again, the devil took him [Jesus] to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’” Matthew 4:8-9 The devil could not give away what was not his to give. He offered to give Jesus the kingdoms of the world because they were his to give. He had received them from Adam. God has allowed Satan to have limited authority for a season, and his main goal is to destroy the kingdom of God – including us.
So we should never think that we can breeze through life without trials and troubles. God never promised us a life without trouble; He promised to be with us in the midst of that trouble.
He has the end in sight.
We also should never think that we can understand why things happen the way they do. God’s ways are higher than our ways. (For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:9) Proverbs 20:24 (NLT) says, “A man’s steps are from the Lord; how then can man understand his way?”
We only torture ourselves when we try to grasp with our finite minds why God allows things to happen. We must always remember that He is building for eternity. He has the end in sight and knows everything that will happen between now and then. We have very limited vision and knowledge only of the here and now. It is impossible to know what even the next hour will bring – much less the next day, month, or year. We must trust that we have a God who loves us and is doing what is best for us.
You are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.
Of course sometimes we think God is too busy to know, or care, about our circumstances. Psalm 37:23 (NLT) says, The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. And Matthew 10:29-31 (NLT) says, “What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.” Clearly these are the words of someone who loves us dearly and is extremely interested in every detail of our lives. A God who cares for us like that is not going to allow our lives to be randomly ordered by the one trying to destroy us.
And then there is the excuse that God just can’t control what happens – that it is out of his hands. Maybe even the idea that God just isn’t big enough to handle the universe. One of my favorite verses says, “I know the greatness of the Lord– that our Lord is greater than any other god. The Lord does whatever pleases him throughout all heaven and earth, and on the seas and in their depths.” Psalm 135:5-6 (NLT)
So, the first step to escaping fear is knowing that God is sovereign, and that He is the most powerful being in existence. There is nothing that happens without his knowledge and consent. Comfort yourself in knowing that God is totally in control of everything that happens in your life.
See you out there! 🙂
If you want to know more about God’s love for you, please click here.
GUARD RAIL: Know that God is sovereign, and that He is in control of everything in your life.
“I know the greatness of the Lord- that our Lord is greater than any other god. The Lord does whatever pleases him throughout all heaven and earth, and on the seas and in their depths.”
Psalm 135:5-6 (NLT)