5 Stones: A Faith-Based Response for Facing Fear!

Fear

According to two online dictionaries, fear is defined as “an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain or a threat.” and “a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain .. whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.”

We are living in unprecedented times for sure. Fear and anxiety are overwhelming the hearts and minds of men, women, and children across the nation.

And, in case you haven’t noticed, news networks along with social media sites feed that fear like gasoline feeds a fire.

Unfortunately for all of us, sensationalism sells. So, in the world of journalism, the more negative and outrageous the news story, the more popular it is.

So, how does all of that negativity impact us?

Well, according to a recent article in Psychology Today Dr. Austin Perimutter says negative news actually distorts our thinking. He says as we focus on everything that’s wrong in our world we become blinded to all the good things going on around us.

When we focus on sensationalized and negative programming we become angry, anxious, and stressed out,

In other words, all of that negativity feeds our fears and breaks down our faith. It distracts us from all of the good that is in our lives and from what God is doing or wants to do in us.

So what is the obvious thing that we should we do?

You’ve got to “limit your consumption of negativity at the source.”

In other words…turn off the news! Limit how much time you spend perusing social media sites especially if it’s making you feel anxious and afraid.

The Bible tells us in I John 4:18 that “fear has torment!” If you’ve been feeding your heart and mind on all of that hopelessness and fear, then that fear is creating torment in your mind and in your heart. The more you feed on fear, the more you will find yourself feeling depressed, oppressed, sad, anxious, and all that is the opposite of faith.

Faith and fear cannot co-exist. Faith is the opposite of fear.

For faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith brings hope and peace and joy. If you want to overcome the fear that is tormenting your mind, then you have to build your faith.

Faith is the connecting power in the spiritual realm that links us to God.

And, God is love and there is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: He that fears is not made perfect in love…He’s not made perfect in God.

So how do we conquer the giant of fear when it starts overwhelming our hearts and minds?

The Battle In The Valley

We are all familiar with the story of David and Goliath found in I Samuel 17, right?

If you remember the story, you will remember how the Philistines gathered their armies together at Sochoh, 

 The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side of the valley and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side of the valley.

Now on the side of the Philistines, there was a giant of a man named Goliath. Goliath would come out every day and taunt the Israelite’s.

“Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me;” Goliath would say, “If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” 

Goliath knew because of his size alone, he was creating fear in the hearts of the Israelites. And every day, he would stoke the fear just a little bit more. He would add fuel to the fire of their fear by his words.

But then an interesting thing happened. One day, David, the son of Jesse, came to bring his brother’s food.

When he got to the valley, he witnessed Goliath’s rantings, ravings, and threats. But, unlike the rest of the Israelites, when he heard Goliath, he wasn’t afraid.

The Bible says David marched right down to the river and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and (he) put them in a pouch that he had with him and he put his sling into his hand. And, then, instead of hiding in fear, he marched right up to that Philistine giant. 

Now when Goliath saw David, the Bible says he despised him in his heart because David was just a young boy. And he cursed David by his gods. 

Goliath said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?”

David answered right back at Goliath without hesitation,

“You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines. to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands!”

The Bible says then that he ran at Goliath.  And, as he ran, he grabbed a stone and his sling; and he slung that stone and hit Goliath right in the forehead. He hit him so hard, in fact, that the stone sank into his head and that big giant of a man that everyone was so afraid of, died a sudden death at the hands of that young boy right in front of all of the Philistines and all of the Israelites!.

And the Bible says when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned around and ran.

It took one young boy with a sling shot and 5 stones to cause an entire army to flee in fear!

The good news is, David hadn’t been following the Philistine Times or reading Goliath’s Instagram feed so he had no fear. No, David had been tending the sheep, worshiping, God, and meditating on the Word of God.

Victory

So my question to you today is, what are you feeding on? What is influencing your thoughts? What has been causing fear to rise up in your heart?

It may or may not have anything to do with the news or social media. You may be worried about your finances, or your children or your spouse. Your body may have been attacked by an illness.

Whatever the giant is in your life that is taunting you and keeping you awake at night, you have to stand up to that fear and know that that thing is not from God.

The Bible says, “In peace, I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

Did you know God never slumbers or sleeps? He is always listening to your prayers. I Peter 3:12 says, For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer.

The battles that you are fighting is not physical like that of David and Goliath. Your battle is spiritual and your enemy is the devil

Revelation 12 says “They have conquered him (the devil) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”

What are the five stones that you are going to use against your giant of fear?

Take a few minutes and find five scriptures that you can stand on right now regarding your circumstances and what is attacking you. If you have a worry, do a Google search and find scriptures that address what’s bothering you or use your reference Bible and follow the references provided in the margin that cover your fear.

You are a child of God and you have been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus.

So, now, like David, reach in your arsenal, grab a portion of God’s word and remind the devil who your God is.

Conquer him with the blood of the Lamb and with the Word of your testimony.

The most powerful prayer is reminding God of the promises He gave to you in His Word. When God makes a promise, He always keeps it!

Jentezen Franklin

Jeremiah 1:12 says, The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.”

And, Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

The only way to get peace is to take the Word and keep it in your heart and in your mouth. When thoughts of fear and defeat come against you, take out your weapons of the Word, read aloud the scriptures you are standing on, and remind the devil of what God has to say.

Zechariah 4:6 says, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel:
‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.
⁷ ‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel, you shall become a plain!
And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’

Speak to your mountain today and watch it become a plain!

Review

So in review, we have to remember

• Fear is defined as the belief that someone or something is dangerous and it is likely to cause pain or a threat.
• When we fill our minds with negativity, we become afraid, depressed, sad, and discouraged. And we give Satan a foothold in our lives.
• Faith and fear cannot co-exist for fear is not from God.
• But the good news is, perfect love casts out all fear.
• Like David, we serve a mighty God and if we take God’s word and put it in our mouths, we can defeat the enemy of fear.
• “For the most powerful prayer is reminding God of the promises He gives to you in His Word”
• Put the Word of God in your mouth. Speak to your mountain today and watch it become a plain!

Comment below with the scriptures God has laid on your heart that apply to your circumstances.

While the enemy is trying to remind you how big he is, you have to remind him of how big your God is!