30 Day Challenge - Day Twenty-Eight

Day Twenty-Eight – Oh Fear
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).

The other thing that causes fights is fear. It is a subtle form of pride because it is still self-focus. However, it is rooted in lack of trust. When we fear things will not go the way we would like them to we can start to try to control situations. We chose to manipulate things instead of trusting God to work it out.

Do you struggle with this fear?

Do you struggle with a need to control things?

It is still self-focus. The remedy to it is resting securely in God’s perfect love for you. We must believe it and trust it. 

1 John 4:17-19 says, “And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.”

God’s perfect love for us expels all fear. We can rest in His capable hands. We can trust Him to handle anything in our life because of His love for us. Then when we trust and believe in His love for us we can in turn pour out love toward others.

So don’t fear things going in a different direction than you hoped. God works things out in His ways. We cannot control them. Let things go in another direction. Be flexible. Love others this way as you die to your need to control and rest in HIS perfect love for you. In turn pour that love out toward others.

Today’s Action
Discuss with your siblings anything that you see them trying to control. Offer suggestions to help work through this together. Also, examine your hearts for any areas of fear in your heart. Discuss this and offer suggestions to help work through it together.

Parent’s Action
Again help facilitate this conversation and make suggestions depending on your observations of your children. They can be great cheerleaders for one another as they work through areas of difficulty together. It is often helpful for others to pinpoint these areas in our lives because often we cannot see them clearly.