"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest
forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet
unto the nations." Jeremiah 1:5 KJV
Nothing kills the dream more quickly than doubt and fear. Fear is cancerous and when permitted it will feed on all your positive thoughts and dreams. By all means, fear should never be allowed to come close to our big dreams and great ideas, it will eat them up. Fear, my friends, is opposed to success and it should never be part of the process towards our success.
Do you remember the time when you had an idea to accomplish something but due to fear you could not implement it? Fear paralyses our ability to achieve and succeed in life. However, overcoming fear is not instantaneous. Overcoming fear is a process. Each time we overcome our fears, we grow personally and expand our possibilities of success.
So how does one go about overcoming fear? In this article I am discussing Biblical principles on how to successfully overcome fear.
1. Know who you are in God
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you..." Jeremiah 1:5a Here God was assuring the prophet of old, Jeremiah of what he meant to Him, who he was to Him and the reason for his existence. It was from this assurance that Jeremiah's faith in God was revived to respond to God's calling for his life. I need to share with you that you are not an ordinary creature. You are a divine formation. God formed you in His own image.
One interesting thing is this; before God formed us He knew us. We were known to God before our existence. It is not a surprise to God that we exist for He knew us long before our existence. God knew even the very challenges that we would experience in life and He prepared us so well for all these. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all." Psalm 34:19.
When we know who we are in God, we "will fear no evil for thou art with me." Psalm 23:5
2. Know your uniqueness in God
"Before you were born I sanctified you..." Jeremiah 1:5b
Not only did God form us, He also sanctified us so that we can be unique individuals who have no competition. The word sanctified is derived from the Greek word “hagios,” meaning a separation. So in the process of our formation, God took us through the phase of separation. He made us special and unique. Jesus had a lot to say about sanctification in the Book of John 17. In verse 17, He says "Sanctify them in the truth: Thy word is truth." In other words, Jesus was suggesting to the Father to separate the disciples from the rest and make them special.
Right from the beginning mankind was made sanctified until sin came in. Then the sanctity got messed up. We re-enter this state of separation when we get born of God in salvation through faith.
I wish to suggest to you that you are special and unique in the sight of God. You have what nobody else in the entire universe has. You have no competition to the gifts and talents God has endowed upon your life. You have nothing to fear because of your uniqueness in God. "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well." Psalm 139:14
What God has placed on your inside, no circumstance can withstand.
"The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1
3. Know that you are appointed for a special assignment
"I ordained you a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5c
Third, God ordained us. Jesus in the Book of Mark chapter 3:14 ordained twelve men for some assignment; "And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach." The word used for "ordain" (Greek "poieo") means "to make", which suggests "to appoint" or make someone for a specific assignment.
God "made" or "ordained" Jeremiah to be a prophet. Jesus "made" or "appointed" the twelve to be His disciples. There's always a responsibility attached to every ordination or appointment and that assignment must be fulfilled by you because it was you who was appointed for it. Next time you want to execute a plan or implement some idea and fear steps in, remember this one thing, there's an assignment in your life. There's a purpose for your life. There's a destiny to which God has called you.
The ordination of God represents the presence of God in our lives as we fulfill the purpose for which were made. We need not fear to do what we have to do because we have the presence of God accompanying us. God's ordination in our lives is an attestation that God is for us in what He appointed us to do. Whatever God calls us to, He commits to be with us there. "If God be with us who can be against us?" Romans 8:31 KJV
ITU Maboye
http://www.itumaboyeministries.blogspot.com/
