God is bigger than my Fears

Do you have big problems? How big is your God? What is your view of God and how He can help you in your life? We can be
surrounded by circumstances, fear, self-pity, relationship struggles, financial hardships, health issues, and so much more. When
we look at the issues and worry and fret about them, they become bigger and God becomes smaller. How big is your God?

One can watch the news or read a news paper and see so much evil of people being brutally killed, we see terrible crimes, and
horrible despicable things happening all over the world. Is God bigger then all of that?

This is the first of a new series, “God is BIGGER!” We need to remind ourselves of Who God is and what He is capable of
doing. Our problems are no match for our powerful God!

There are many Bible stories of God showing how BIG He really is and what He did for the people who cried out to Him.

Daniel expressed how awesome God is with his words after God showed him the dream of the king and it’s interpretation.

Daniel 2:20 – 23 NKJV

Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the
times and seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings: He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have
understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him. I thank You and
praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of
You, for You have made known to us the king’s demand.
Wisdom and might are God’s. Times and seasons are His. God removes kings (leaders) and raises them up. God gives His
wisdom and knowledge to those who are wise and seeking it. God reveals deep and secret things. God knows what is in the
dark, and light dwells in Him. He answers those who call to Him.

Jesus moved with compassion and healed many and raised the dead.

Matthew 19:26
But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
“With God all things are possible!” Not just some things, but all things! What looks impossible to you is possible with God.
Nothing can stump God or make Him wonder if He can fix it. He is the great physician. He is all knowing and all powerful.
Ephesians 3:20-21 NKJV
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to
Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

In the book of Job we read:

Job 26:5 – 14 TLB

The dead stand naked, trembling before God in the place where they go. God stretches out heaven over empty space and hangs
the earth upon nothing. He wraps the rain in his thick clouds, and the clouds are not split by the weight. He shrouds his throne
with his clouds. He sets a boundary for the ocean, yes, and a boundary for the day and for the night. The pillars of heaven
tremble at his rebuke. And by his power the sea grows calm; he is skilled at crushing its pride! The heavens are made beautiful
by his Spirit; he pierces the swiftly gliding serpent. These are some of the minor things he does, merely a whisper of his power.
Who then can withstand his thunder?

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All people will have to stand before God and give an account of their lives. What will you say about yours to a God
who “stretches out the heaven over the empty space and hangs the earth upon nothing? Who makes it rain, and who made the
oceans and set their boundaries?”
If the God of heaven can do all that, He is BIG ENOUGH for any situation in your life. I love that God can do all of that and yet
He created us and cares for us personally.

Now that we have painted a picture of how powerful God is, let’s look at what He can overcome in your life! In this series we
will look at how God is bigger and more powerful to help bring breakthrough in many areas of your life if you will let Him.
Let’s start today by looking at Fear.

GOD IS BIGGER THAN MY FEARS

Fear, we all have to deal with it, sometimes everyday, in our life. Fear can paralyze us if we allow it too. Fear does serve a
useful purpose in that it is a vital response to physical and emotional danger—if we didn’t feel it, we couldn’t protect ourselves
from legitimate threats. But if we allow it to rule above our faith, and what God wants us to do for His Kingdom, the devil wins.
Remember that the devil is full of fear.

I’ve heard the saying, “Fear is nothing more then faith in the devil.” Ouch! I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to ever
have faith in the devil! We are serving the enemy when we fear and pull away when God wants us to push forward and
persevere and expect a breakthrough.
It’s amazing what we lose in life by listening to fear instead of listening to God. Choose to listen and obey God’s voice and not
your fears. You will gain so much and stay on the right path.

If you listen to your fears, you will die never knowing what a great person you might have been. ~ Joyce Meyer
Everyone struggles with fear! Fear is a spirit!

2 Timothy 1:7 NJKV

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
FEAR is something that causes feelings of dread or apprehension, a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil,
pain whether the threat is real or imagined! (dictionary.com)
The word “fear” in this text is translated in the Greek as “timidity.” God doesn’t want us to be timid. We get timid and pull
away instead of pressing forward and taking the land.
What fear can cause
Fear can cause us to reduce the size of God and elevate the size and opinion of man.
Fear can cause us to reduce the size of God and elevate the size of your problem.
Fear can cause us to lead people in the wrong direction.
Fear causes us to stay quiet when we should clearly speak up.
Fear causes us to be passive about an issue that The Lord has clearly brought to our attention.
Fear causes us to seek consensus rather than really seeking the voice of The Lord.
Fear causes us to not engage the broken, the hurting, the misfits and the neglected.
Fear causes us to refuse to embrace change. (Fear of the unknown)
Fear causes us to try and control things and take matters into our own hands rather than trusting The Lord and trusting others.
Fear causes us to conceal sin and shame in our lives when God’s Word is so clear that we should ask others for help.
Fear causes us to seek the easy decision, what’s comfortable rather than seeking the right one.
Fear makes us choose wrong choices.
So what do we do with our fear? I don’t know how you have dealt with fear in your past, but it is my heart to help you
overcome any fear, and to realize God is bigger than anything that comes against you.

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 How to overcome fear
1. Overcome fear with faith.
Fear is the opposite of faith.

A.W. Tozer said, “Fear is of the flesh and panic is of the Devil.”
It seems when we entertain thoughts of fear, and allow it to settle in our spirit, panic will set in. Many people have had panic
attacks in their life all due to fear. Most of the time the fear is something we think will happen and not a factual outcome.

The Bible says, that Satan is like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8). He roars that he might make us afraid. The roar of a lion can
actually paralyze its prey causing it to be its easy target. If Satan can create fear in us, we become an easier prey for him to
destroy.

God offers us faith as Romans 12:3 says, “For by the grace (unmerited favor of God) given to me I warn everyone among you
not to estimate and think of himself more highly than he ought [not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance], but
to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree of faith apportioned by God to him.”

Everyone is given the measure of faith as a born again Christian. You have faith, you don’t need to pray for it. I don’t need to
pray for faith, I just need to use the faith that I have. The more I use the faith that I have, the stronger it will get. Faith can grow
and the only way it grows is if you use it. Faith is a powerful force that resides on the inside of our spirit. When it is released
tremendous things can happen.

We have to have faith to get up in the morning. We have to have faith to raise our children, or drive in traffic, or get married and
stay married. So also we need faith to overcome our fears. Faith is a decision we make about where we are going to put our
trust. Our trust has to be in God and His Word. He is for you and not against you. He has great plans for you. He brings
opportunities for you to walk in and wants you to walk in them fearlessly.

There are times I feel anointed to preach the Word of God, then there are times. I may be fearful or don’t sense God’s anointing
that I have to step……. into it by faith and God always meets me and helps me to get to where I need to be.

We can release our faith in three different ways: by praying, by saying, and by doing. Stop saying how you feel or think and
start saying what God says about your situation. Allow your faith to arise in times of being afraid. The shield of faith is your
best weapon to overcome the lies and roars of the enemy.

2. Confront your fear.

What we cannot perceive, predict, understand or explain, creates in us an unknown fear. That is why children are afraid of the
dark and cautious of strangers over which they have no control. We need to learn how to confront our fears. Again, “Knowledge
is power.” Once we understand what the core issue is, it decreases its hold on our life and the fear subsides.

Sometimes when we go through fearful experiences, we fail to analyze it. Understanding what was previously unknown can go
a long way to dispelling fear. Understanding a problem is 90% of the solution.

Be determined to overcome and confront what is making you fearful. You can never overcome anything you don’t confront! We
can fear our past, or fear of natural disasters, fear of relationships, or fear of a new job or opportunity. When we choose not to
confront, the fear controls you and your decisions.

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Confrontation is not usually pleasant or comfortable. Most people don’t want to confront issues in their life. They would rather
live with it, allowing it to rule them, instead of overcoming and pressing forward with out the bondage of it all. But when
someone has confronted issues in their life, and overcome them once and for all, they look back and ask themselves, “Why
didn’t I do this a long time ago.” You see now they are walking in freedom instead of the bondage the fear or their flesh had on
them.

It is a night and day difference of being paralyzed by your issues and trying to live your life from day to day in struggle and
misery, then to confront the issues and decide you want to change, (and be determined to change) and walking out the other side
as an overcomer in liberty and power. It’s your choice: Fear and bondage vs. Freedom and power!

3. Be courageous.
Courage is not the absence of fear, but courage is actually forward motion in the presence of fear.

God wants us to be strong and courageous. He spoke this to Joshua many times before he crossed over the water to possess the
promised land.

Joshua 1:6 – 7 Amplified Bible

“Be strong (confident) and of good courage, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to
give them. Only you be strong and very courageous, that you may do according to all the law which Moses My servant
commanded you. Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.”
Joshua was just getting ready to face the giants in the land and to possess the promises God gave Moses forty years earlier. He
needed courage to be encouraged to go even in the face of any fears he may have experienced.

Hebrews 13:6 Amplified Bible

“So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm
[I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?”
What can man do to me? Our flesh screams daily for being comfortable. Our spirit should be tenacious to overcome our flesh
and to press forward with the new God has waiting for us.

The Webster dictionary speaks of being encouraged as: “to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope.”This is what we need to do for
ourselves. We need to encourage ourself in the Lord. I have written on this in my article, “How To Encourage Yourself In The
Lord.” It is the number one article on my Blog. Daily I have people reading that article and they found it by searching the
internet on “How To Encourage Yourself.” Everyone of us need to be encouraged daily. If we lose our courage, we have lost
the war.
Courageous is possessing or characterized by courage; brave (dictionary.com). We need to have brave hearts in this journey of
life. Anyone can give up and retreat. It takes a courageous person to press on in the midst of fear or discouragement.
4. Ask for God’s peace to reign supreme.
John 14:27 Amplified Bible
“Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let
your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit
yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]”
God has given us His peace. It is one of the fruit of the the Spirit. We already have it. Allow it to grow in your life. “Stop
allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and
unsettled.”

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There are times it comes right down to our choices. Do we choose to be fearful and intimidated, or do we choose to walk in
God’s peace and assurance that He never leaves us and will take care of us. If he takes care of the sparrow, surely He watches
over you and I!

Luke 12:6 – 7 Amplified Bible

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And [yet] not one of them is forgotten or uncared for in the presence of God. But
[even] the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not be struck with fear or seized with alarm; you are of greater worth
than many [flocks] of sparrows.”
God doesn’t want us to walk in intimidation. He wants us to walk in boldness and to have our spirits be at peace.

Philippians 4:6 – 7 Amplified Bible

“Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite
requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state
of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of
whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus.”
5. Confront the devil and cast him out!
Never let fear fool you into thinking there is nothing you could do about it. Sometimes by the grace of God, with a little effort
you can put an end to that danger. You must have an active engagement with the problem, or in other words take precautionary
measure. If you fear that your children may catch polio, then get them vaccinated.

Don’t allow anything, or anybody to rob you of your God-given peace! The enemy can’t do anything to us, only if we let him.
His biggest weapon he uses against us is our own mind and what we think. So he will fill your mind with doom and gloom. He
will tell you that there is no hope. These are the times we confront the devil and cast him out, and shake him off! Amen!

In order to overcome fear brought about by Satan you must have a bold confrontation with him. Jesus did this many times when
dealing with and casting out evil spirits.

Col. 2:15 Amplified Bible

“[God] disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of
them, in triumphing over them in Him and in it [the cross].”
You must realize the fact that Satan is real, but a defeated foe. We will overcome when we take our authority in the name of
Jesus. For greater is He that is in us then he that is in the world (1 John 4:4).

God is bigger than any fear you may face. Remind yourself of 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of
power and of love and of a sound mind.” His spirit lives in us! God is big enough for anything you are going through.

You may be facing…

Fear of the unknown = God is bigger
Past hurts or failures = God is bigger
Self-pity = God is bigger
Relationships = God is bigger
Sin = God is bigger
Disease = God is bigger
doubts = God is bigger
Experiencing a storm – God is bigger

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Be strong and courageous and get a glimpse of who God is in your life. He is Bigger than anything and everything you face!

Your sister in Christ,

Pastor Kris Belfils