Conquer+Stress,+Fear+and+Anxiety

Conquer+Stress,+Fear+and+AnxietyOvercoming Fear Is Possible
Doing the very thing that makes you afraid can be God’s way
of helping you overcome that fear.
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my
life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Psalm 27:1
I remember the first time that I went to Zimbabwe to evangelize out in the rural areas of the
country. That first day was a little scary (to say the least). The person driving me around dropped
me off in the middle of nowhere! I was with a young teenage boy who had been in the area
before, but there was nothing familiar in sight. We could not see any villages, there were no roads
except the one we were on, and we were very near the Zambezi River where all the wild animals
go for water during the day.
I would be lying if I said that I was not a little bit anxious and fearful. I didn’t even know where I
would be at the end of the day or who was coming to pick us up. As the day got later and began
to cool off, the wild animals started to move around more and my anxiety increased all the more.
You can probably imagine why I was not optimistic about my evangelism trip at this point. I did
not even speak the language of the people that I was there to evangelize. However, after a week
of walking in 100-degree heat every day, nearly 200 people had come to Christ. The next week I
stayed with them and discipled them every day for about eight hours and a church was started.
So, what did I learn through that experience?
This trip was one of the greatest lessons of my life. I learned that I could trust God completely to
help me reach people that needed Christ and that He was my protection at all times – even in a
very dangerous setting. It strengthened me that I could trust God – especially when I was afraid.
By the end of the first couple of days in the country I found that I no longer felt afraid, and eagerly
wanted to return to the rural areas and start evangelizing the next day. It was great. No wonder
David could say in Psalm 27:1 “Whom (or what) shall I fear?”
Learning how to overcome fear is one of God’s spiritual tools.
Everyone has certain things in their life that make them afraid. However, doing the very thing that
makes you afraid can be God’s way of helping you overcome that fear.
I remember the first time that I ever flew. I was very nervous, and every time the plane
encountered turbulence, I would become anxious. I would immediately think “Are we going to
crash?” However, I have been flying for many years now, and I rarely even notice the turbulence,
and I certainly am not afraid or anxious about flying.