Fear(Part 2): Through the Goo and into Victory!

If you haven't already, please read "Fear(Part 1): Thick, Black Goo"  here before reading Part 2 in this 2 part series. :)

So last time I explained what fear is and why we are all affected by fear. In truth, fear is a terrible emotion but a fairly common one, as everyone experiences fear in their lifetime. Some people experience it more than others, but when it comes down to it, everyone is affected by fear. Though there are different degrees of fear, there is not a single person on earth who has not been affected by fear at some point or another. So the question is, how do we get rid of this feeling of fear?

To find that answer, we have to start with Hope. Hope is the exact oposite of fear. Let me repeat that.

Fear and Hope are Opposites.

So for us, that's wonderful news. Knowing this truth is a huge step in the right direction to knowing how to combat fear. Here is the definition of hope. Hope: A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. Trust. Expectance. Promise.  At first, hope can seem kinda iffy. It's easy to think, "Okay so hope is just wanting something to happen." Actually, take a look at that end word there in the deinition of hope. Promise. Hope in something or someone can also be a promise of being taken care of. So for us, when we are combating fear, who is it that we should put our hope to get through tough times? The answer here, is as simple as Jesus.

"O Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. " Psalms 119:130:7

This verse here tells us that we need to put our faith and hope in Jesus, but it also tells us why. He has unfailing love and is full of redemption. In short, redemption means the act of being saved from sin. So the Bible is simply saying here that we should trust God and have our faith in him, simply because he has love that will never end and he has saved us from sin. I don't know about you, but It sounds like this is a reliable place to go to when it comes to being afraid. Perfect love casts out fear. Jesus is the very definition of perfect love, as stated here in 1 John 4:18 that states, "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." and 1 John 4:8, "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."

So now we know that we need to go to God when we are afraid. Here are some different ways that I have found can be really affective ways of going to God in the face of fear.

Prayer. Talking to God is always one of the best ways to go. There is nothing better than talking to a God who understands you so well and knows exactly the problem you are going through. With God, there is no questions. You don't have to explain yourself when it comes to God. He just gets it and it makes sense. The thing is, he is ALWAYS there with you and already knows each and every detail of your problem you may be facing. In the direct fact of fear though, God will give us peace. This is stated in Psalm 34:4, "I sought the Lord, and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears."

Reading the Bible. Reading the Bible is good for every occasion, and is something that you just can't go wrong in doing. But expecially in times that you are scared and afraid, pulling out your Bible can be really calming. There are so many good BIble verses on the topic of fear, trusting in God when times get hard, and leaning on God to take care of you, it's really hard to close your Bible still feeling stressed and worried. Here is a sample of all the wonderful Bible verses on the topic of fear and how to handle it.

Psalm 27:1, "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?"

Joshua 1:9, "I will be strong and of good courage for I know that you are with me wherever I go."

Call Out to God(Outloud). This one is so powerful. When afraid, taking a moment to stop what you're doing and verbally call out to God is so helpful when dealing with an overwhelming sense of fear. For me personally, I have found that once I do this and call out to Him, a lot of my fear if not all of it disapears completley. You don't have to get fancy with this one either, but even something as simple as "God", or "God help me" should do the trick. Remember that God can hear you, and you don't need something huge to get his attention. He's already focused on you 100% and looking out for you.

Stay Close to God. This one is one of those that helps in the long run. It can most certinly help at the time you are going through fear as well, but the closer you become to God, the more you are going to trust Him, leading to you being less fearful. It's a beautiful cycle and all starts with getting to know Him better. This can be done by reading the Bible, talking to God, singing praise songs and just getting to know your Creater and Father better in any way.

Fear is just such a huge topic, there is so much that could be shared on the topic of fear itself. I'm not going to go into it all here, but I may post some sucess stories from teenagers like you that have gone through a scary situation and gotten through it by the grace of God. So be on the look out for some of those stories here coming up! And if you want to share a story yourself, please send me an email at angelicaspassion@aol.com with the title, "Fear Story" and share your story of how God helped you through your fear. I'd love to share it!

In the meantime, here are some extra verses to look up on fear if you are needing a place to start.

Proverbs 29:25
Psalm 86:11
Jeremiah 32:40
Isaiah 41:10
2 Timothy 1:7

If you have a topic that you want me to write about, I'd love to hear about it! Please send me an email at angelicaspassion@aol.com with the title "Topic Suggestion" and I will get back to you! :)

Facing the Unknown

Hey guys! :)


I've just about disappeared off the face of the earth when it comes to blogging. Well I finally decided it would be a good idea to get back into the swing of things, and start blogging again! I recently moved from doing an online public high school to a traditional public school system, so I have been trying to get the hang of things there and not get too bogged down with school work and sports. A friend of mine brought it to my attention that I should start blogging again, and maybe start blogging about my experiences at the high school and my transition from going to an online school to a public school. So in the future weeks, I will be talking about topics related to high school students as well. :) So now that you're all updated as far as my school change goes, I had something on my mind that I felt like I should share with you guys. Enjoy! :)


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I don't know about you, but I personally don't like much change in my life. Overall, I am perfectly content to stay in the same patterns and habits that I have been doing for years, and never change anything about them. You might be thinking, "Well why? Don't you want to try new things?" The answer to that is yes, of course. But sometimes I can get into the habit of thinking that life would be easier if I didn't try new things. If I just stayed in the same old patterns that I have been keeping up for years and never change a thing. Sure, I'm kinda right. Life would be a lot easier. But God wants us to be a light for others to see, and for me, this meant going back to the public school.

"In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:16(NIV)

Trying new things can be very scary. I think just at anyone you meet can tell you that the unknown can be a little nerve wracking, if not downright frightening. As humans, we try to take control of the situation and make sense of everything ourselves. As soon as we can't make sense of something ourselves, we panic. But when life changes and things start working a little differently then we're normally used to, why do we panic? Doesn't God tell us not to be afraid when trouble arises?

"Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand." Isaiah 41:10(NIV)

When we are placed in scary situations, it is very important to really remember just how big our God is. Why do we freak out when we're moving to a new school, a new city, a new state? Why do we freak out when things don't go as planned? Because even though they are unplanned on our part, they are all apart of God's plan. Keep these things in mind the next time you start to worry about something small and trivial. We have a BIG God. Why do we worry about the little things? God says that he will always take care of us, no matter what happens in our life.

"Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are?" Matthew 6:26(NIV)


** Another good passage in the Bible to read when you are afraid or worried is Psalms 23. :)

Those long talks...

Hello Family and Friends,
Tonight I realized something special. Sometimes when you have a lot on your mind, all you need to do is talk. It all started with a random question. From there is evolved into a long, few hour conversation that lasted until midnight. All I have to say is I love my mom. I really don't know what I would do when I felt so hopless without her. She sat there tonight answering all my pressing questions, all my thoughts that bothered me, all the recent guy drama. She listened and then gave advice. After talking with her for 2 hours I finally felt like I could sleep, because we have to get up early. I felt so much better. Sure, some of my questions could not just be randomly answered just like that with a snap of your fingers..but sometimes just knowing someone cares can be enough to relax and calm you. I found this Bible verse calming tonight. I thought I would share with you guys. Have a good night, God Bless!

"Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9
 

Thinking about the Bible and Mission Trips

Hello Family and Friends,
Tonight I have found I have had an interesting topic on my mind. The bible. A random verse came into my head and I decided I had to share it with you. Here it is.

"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 Version.

I have also been thinking a great deal about going on a mission trip. The more and more that gets shared in church about going on a mission trip and how much their lives are touched by going...it makes me really think about going. Sure, there is so much that when your there you don't have here...but at the same time it can be such an experience. I guess, when God's ready he will make it happen. Right now I just need to trust him. Sometimes that is way harder than expected.

Sometimes people tend to take things for granted. Everyone does it. For some reason..today it seemed to hit me how much my family really means to me. I mean...this has been the life I have always known..but what if they weren't there. What kind of life would I have? Some interesting questions for us all to think about. :) I'm going to head to bed so have a good night. God Bless!

Night Time thoughts :)

I could not get to sleep tonight, and decided to Open the Bible to Matt. 14: 22- 33. I realized just how much I actually love this bible story. When reading it tonight I kinda had to laugh at myself thinking, Jesus here told Matthew that he had little faith after being afraid on the water. I can easily relate due to being afraid so often. It occurred to me tonight that Jesus does not want us to be afraid, instead he wants us to trust him. But in the case that we are afraid, he is here to help us and give us a hand. I really found that passage really good, and I found it spoke to me.  I think sometimes I don't give God enough credit, and tend to take matters into my own hands when afraid..thinking I need to help myself..when in reality things would be so much better off if I were to trust him and decide everything was going to be alright. There's my thoughts for the night. :) Have a good night.