Let’s be honest, fear is a very common reality in our lives. We let our emotions to dwell in fear whenever something becomes out of reach, or when we feel we are not in control of something or someone. If we forget our keys, we immediately allow fear to creep into our hearts and think “omg! Did I loose them?” Images of all kinds of scenarios will run into our minds until, we find the dreaded keys that decided to hide in the pocket we never use. We can replay this scenario throughout the day many, many times and in many situations. 

Our society has changed the word “fear” in many instances to “stress”. We allow fear or stress to be a cushion for our emotions. We let it be the cup that holds our coffee. 
What if I told you, that as God’s children we must be intentional on resisting fear inside our hearts? That God wants us to not be afraid of anything? God has a way for us to handle the darts of fear and stress that attack us every day.
Jesus, our perfect example, was never swayed by fear. He did not permit fear to be the standing ground for anything that he did. Not even when he was a child. 

At 12 years old, he traveled to Jerusalem with his parents and headed to the synagogue to learn from the elders. In the process, he is “lost” by his parents for 3 days. When they ultimately find him at the temple, he is very clear to his mother, who is frantic (I would have been a hot mess) about loosing “the son of God” and demands an explanation from him. He replies to her, “mother, Didn’t you know I will be about my Father’s business”. He knew what he had to do, and he wasn’t afraid, not even at that young age.  
So let’s think about what are the places that fear creeps in and how to stop it. 
Fear will immediately show you the worse case scenario. It’s task is to render you hopeless. Expectation is a fruit of faith, so if you allow expectation to grow to counter the fear of being hopeless, you are allowing faith to grow in your heart, thus dissipating what fear could have caused inside of you. 
Fear has no place in your heart when you are secure in your actions. Even though we might not know where our solution comes from, we know that “all things work for good for those that love Him”. Regardless of the outcome, this is where we grow in faith! We KNOW wholeheartedly that God is acting in our favor! Fear is easier to ignore when you have a way out.
The most important part is to be intentional and recognize when fear is at work! Catch it, recognize it, and reject it. 
The enemy recognizes that if he keeps you looking at the fear, you will not grow in faith. Fear is the number one thief of the goodness of God. Not because the goodness of God is not there, working for us, but because we can’t see it! Sometimes we are so afraid of what might happen that we are not willing to consider steps to move into the promises that God has for us! And that’s what the enemy attempts to do through our whole lives, confuse us with fear, letting us assume that “stress” is actually part of who we are, but it’s not! Fear and stress are not yours, and they MUST BE DEFEATED! 
To live a life without the influence of fear is a hard task, but not impossible. It’s an exercise that we can take on,every day, on the smallest of things. That way, when the bigger ones come, you my friend, will be ready to allow the fruit of hope and expectation to do it’s job in your heart. If you feel overwhelmed today, ask God to give you bravery, to open your heart and mind to His thoughts, and to remind you when you have to reject what’s in front of you. Don’t worry, God is on your side. And if He is with you, who can be against you?