The Honey Bee Press October - December 2013 | Page 2

Honey Bee Press Page 2 Facing My Fear [excerpt] by Rev. Letrice Weaver Rev. Letrice has more to say about Conquering the Spirit of Fear support her book entitled, An Invitation from the King: Experiencing God’s Power to Transform You Into the Person He Created You to Be . This book and other products from her “Because of Christ I am” collection are available for purchase. Please email [email protected] for more information. ©Letrice Weaver. The continuation ... Getting rid of fear is not easy. And whether it’s fear of sickness, lack, failure, success, the unknown, your future not being good enough, rejection, getting closer to God, what people think, or any fear you struggle with that I did not list, God wants you to know that fear is not one of the garments He designed for you to wear. In fact, I want you to put your name in this scripture found in 2 Timothy 1:7— “God has not given _______ (put your name here) the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.” In order to break free from your fears, hindrances, your past and opinion of man, God’s word has to be the final authority. All of the fears I just listed are designed to restrict you and keep you from being the person God has called you to be. If you allow them, these fears will cause you to not experience the full and abundant life that Christ gave His life for you to have. As a child of God, if you choose to stay bound by these things, it can be likened to a prison guard giving a prisoner the keys to unlock his/her prison door, but instead of opening the door and walking in their freedom, the prisoner chooses to stay locked up, even though he or she has been granted full access to the outside world. I can’t begin to tell you how many times being bound by what someone thought about me has stopped me from being free to be who God made me to be and from doing what God told me to do. I remember it was the opinion of man that was one of my biggest excuses when God called me to public ministry. ... Eventually, I had to make a decision to either yield to the opinion of man, disobey God, OR yield to God and trust that He would take care of everyone else. And that’s exactly what I believe we all must do if we’re ever going to experience the abundant life God desires for us to live—we must trust God. We must trust that He will work out everything we can’t see and everything we can’t figure out. We must, as King Solomon wrote in the book of Proverbs, trust in the Lord with all of our hearts. (See Proverbs 3:5) At this point, you may say, okay, I acknowledge that fear is in my life, but how do I get free from it? I can’t give you a step-by-step formula of “how to’s,” but what I can offer are some keys that God used to uproot the spirit of fear out of my life. ? Acknowledge that God did not give you the spirit of fear. ? Meditate on the word of God so that His word can become the truth on which you now stand. ? Spend time in the presence of God receiving His love. The Other Side of Fear Bold “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.” Proverbs 28:1 Capable and Competent “I can do all things through Christ which strengthenth me.” Philippians 4:13 Intelligent “...But we have the mind of Christ.” I Corinthians 2:16 Kept in Perfect Peace “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” Isaiah 26:3 … Although I was ecstatic about the fact that God had removed t h a t l o n g - s t a n di n g fe a r , [speaking in front of a class of 15 to 20 people] little did I know that there was something even greater He had in mind for my life. I didn’t realize it at the time, but God was preparing me for what He had in store. Over the course of the next three years, it became clear why God did what He did in my life. Shortly after the class, God began to slowly open up doors for me to teach His word in Bible studies at my job and in a Women’s Ministry in which I was involved. To my surprise, the first time I taught at one of our women’s meetings, the other ladies wanted copies of my notes! Although I kept struggling on the inside and arguing with God to let me stay in the background, the more He kept pushing me forward. About two years later, I remember like it was yesterday, this one particular weekend that God sent so many people my way, including people I didn’t even know, to confirm what He had been trying to tell me for years, but I just didn’t want to receive it. After God spoke to me so profoundly that entire weekend, on Sunday night, it seemed as if God backed me into a corner with no place to run. I was driving in my car on my way home. I had just left a graduation dinner where even there, God was still speaking to me. As I was behind the wheel, tears began rolling down my face because I knew what God was calling me to do. In my little 4-door car, traveling down a long road in one of the suburbs of Atlanta, GA, God spoke to my heart and said, “Have not I called you to preach the gospel?” When I heard those words from the Almighty God, something inside of me broke. It was only the power of God that enabled me to make it home that night. Although I knew I had to get up early the next morning for work, as soon as I came home, I ran straight to my closet and cried for hours. I said to God, “you couldn’t be talking to me.” I asked the same question Moses asked God when He called Him to go forth and fulfill his purpose, “Who am I?” How many know despite the myriad of excuses we may give, God always has the final say? … Despite your weakness, you’ve got the greater one living on the inside of you! Pray right now: “Lord God, I realize I have worn the garment of fear, and have allowed hindrances, my past and opinion of man to stop me for too long. I recognize that your word declares in 2 Timothy 1:7 that you have not given me the spirit of fear, but the spirit of love, power and a sound mind. I repent for allowing my past to get in the way of the awesome future you have planned for me. I repent for allowing the negative words that other