There have been many times in my life where fear crept in.
When I was a child, I was tormented by demons. I have been in car accidents and perils at sea. I have been carjacked and mugged at gunpoint.
While these experiences did have a certain level of fear they were quite minor to the time I experienced panic attacks.
On June 1st 1999 a strange man was telling me that my Dad had four and a half months to live. I was in Michigan. I will never forget that day. I flew to Texas to take care of Dad as he was dying of a cancerous brain tumor. Toward the end of his days after much fasting and prayer, I woke up in sheer panic in the late hours of the night. I had to run outside. I thought I was going to die. During these episodes my heart would pound at 140-170 beats per minute for long periods of time. I didn't know the human body could endure so much.
I was experiencing fear in a big way.
What was the root of that terror?
The fact that Dad was dying meant that I could never go home. The rug was being pulled out from beneath my feet. The man I loved as much as my own life was lying in the other room dying. When he left, it meant there was no going home anymore. Home isn't a physical location. Home is the people you love.
When I said I was fasting and praying - I was. I was down on my knees seriously pleading with God. None of us wanted Dad to go.
The hard part was that I knew God could save him. Why didn't He?
Dad didn't want to be saved. He made his mind up that he was ready to go. He kept saying that he had led a good life and was ready to go. So he left on the exact day the surgeon in Lubbock said he would.
My panic attacks continued for some time. These episodes were so traumatic that I went to see a psychiatrist. In our first and only session, she told me to read a book.
The book was: "Master Your Panic and Take Back Your Life" http://amzn.to/KOS8YB
I read about thirty pages of that book and was healed. I am not saying that I stopped having panic attacks, but I did manage to see them coming and learned how to ward them off before they took got a foothold. Pretty soon I gained control again.
I quickly realized a principle in that book that is in the bible. Fear is a spirit, and as Christians, we need to fight that spirit. It is from the enemy.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
There is a spiritual battle that rages in an intangible world. We must be on guard with our spiritual eyes open.
Fear is looking for a foothold in our lives through our perception of circumstances.
Fear is the polar opposite of faith.
If you are experiencing fear or worry - Stop it.
Ephesians 6:10-11 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. (11) Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
We must guard against fear before it has a chance to creep in. If our armor is on the ground while we are sleeping, fear has a chance to get a foothold. To fight against fear we must exercise faith.
How do we use faith? We quote the Word to our Circumstances.
I do it over and over again until I believe it. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). So I speak the Word a lot!
The sword of the spirit is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17). Use it.
Psalms 56:3-4 What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. (4) In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
Hope this helps......
Agape....
While these experiences did have a certain level of fear they were quite minor to the time I experienced panic attacks.
On June 1st 1999 a strange man was telling me that my Dad had four and a half months to live. I was in Michigan. I will never forget that day. I flew to Texas to take care of Dad as he was dying of a cancerous brain tumor. Toward the end of his days after much fasting and prayer, I woke up in sheer panic in the late hours of the night. I had to run outside. I thought I was going to die. During these episodes my heart would pound at 140-170 beats per minute for long periods of time. I didn't know the human body could endure so much.
I was experiencing fear in a big way.
What was the root of that terror?
The fact that Dad was dying meant that I could never go home. The rug was being pulled out from beneath my feet. The man I loved as much as my own life was lying in the other room dying. When he left, it meant there was no going home anymore. Home isn't a physical location. Home is the people you love.
When I said I was fasting and praying - I was. I was down on my knees seriously pleading with God. None of us wanted Dad to go.
The hard part was that I knew God could save him. Why didn't He?
Dad didn't want to be saved. He made his mind up that he was ready to go. He kept saying that he had led a good life and was ready to go. So he left on the exact day the surgeon in Lubbock said he would.
My panic attacks continued for some time. These episodes were so traumatic that I went to see a psychiatrist. In our first and only session, she told me to read a book.
The book was: "Master Your Panic and Take Back Your Life" http://amzn.to/KOS8YB
I read about thirty pages of that book and was healed. I am not saying that I stopped having panic attacks, but I did manage to see them coming and learned how to ward them off before they took got a foothold. Pretty soon I gained control again.
I quickly realized a principle in that book that is in the bible. Fear is a spirit, and as Christians, we need to fight that spirit. It is from the enemy.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
There is a spiritual battle that rages in an intangible world. We must be on guard with our spiritual eyes open.
Fear is looking for a foothold in our lives through our perception of circumstances.
Fear is the polar opposite of faith.
If you are experiencing fear or worry - Stop it.
Ephesians 6:10-11 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. (11) Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
We must guard against fear before it has a chance to creep in. If our armor is on the ground while we are sleeping, fear has a chance to get a foothold. To fight against fear we must exercise faith.
How do we use faith? We quote the Word to our Circumstances.
I do it over and over again until I believe it. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). So I speak the Word a lot!
The sword of the spirit is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17). Use it.
Psalms 56:3-4 What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. (4) In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
Hope this helps......
Agape....
Let all the people say AMEN! Great testimony!
ReplyDeleteAmen, Amen Bro!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing this article.
ReplyDeleteWhen people do have serious concern about a sick or dying friend or family member, or a mortgage gone wrong, or the gut instinct that the United States of America is in peril,...some call this emotion fear.
Sometimes we do have legitimate things in our lives that raise our "fight or flight" syndrome & a form of panic or action starts to kick in.
Sometimes, we need to wrap up loose ends, or get right with God. Sometimes we have to refinance or move, & sometimes we have to defend the liberty that is being stolen all across planet Earth by a dark force.
We hear what you are saying. We like what you said. We are still a little foggy on the emotions we need to have when our lives are indeed in danger, or a dark storm cloud is approaching over the horizon.
You're quite right that panic attacks get nothing done, but it is always smart to avoid the default crutch of "God will fix things".
It's a fine line between doing the things that we have control over to improve our situation, and praying for support, guidance, strength & advice.
Good topic.
Thanks.
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