Emotion 4: Scared
Scared
(hyper vigilant and alert of threat)
I think of scared as the “red flag” of being alert. The body is wired to protect itself. Sometimes God tells us to flee and other times He tells us to fight. All body systems get activated with a job to “get in” or “get out”!
Anxiety is the same. It tells our bossy to take refuge. Fight or flight is meant to help us step back from a situation and recognize the need for strategy and alertness. Not to avoid it all together most times.
Sometimes we are told in the Bible to put on the armor of God, among other scenarios God advised men to “be alert” for the enemy who comes to attack. There are times where people fall into the “trap” and remain stuck with worry. David in Psalms 55 got stuck in actual worry, and many believe it was because he recognized that a very close friend was betraying him and their people. He works through the “stuckness” of his fear and gets back aligned with the truth casting his anxiety on God. This allows him to make decisions about his friendship, boundaries and his value—his calling in regards to the kingdom he was a part of.
Is it easy for you to put on the “Armor of God? Do you feel stuck? Being scared can mean being physically scared or emotionally scared or scared in an intuitive way. When you can decipher what type of scared you are, you can begin to process your way through it. You can draw near to God and ask him to help you with your Armor. Let him stand by you while you dress against your fears.
Scripture
Deuteronomy 31:6-8
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you’. Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, ‘Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. 8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed’.
Fear would have looked like believing lies here. Moses realized yesterday was not capable of taking new land at 120 yrs old. He was alert and aware and God told Him he would appoint Joshua. To be alert and feel scared is to note where you need safety. God provided it here with strategy. Worry would have gotten the people nothing. Worry is irrational and it’s leaning out of guidance and Gods whispering voice that leads. The TRUTH IS, that God is always with you. Christians don’t die. We have no reason to fear. Being scared is to be alert. It need not go beyond that if we can seek God for which route keeps us safe. Abiding.
God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self discipline. 2 Timothy 1:17
Cast your worries on him, for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7
Casting means to send something off and then it will come back. We send our worries to God—we speak them out loud or write them down—then He helps us find safety or perspective that we are indeed safe.
Fear comes to punish (torment) with lies. If we know we are not condemned to be alone and rejected, we can mature into a state of mostly peace. The “scared” will come, but we have the “knowing” of the truth, that we are safe. Even death cannot separate us from God.
Check this one out:
“There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection]”. 1 John 4:18 (AMPC version)
What is true about your fear? Call it out, check it out, find out what is true.
So the key is to identify if you are safe, and then either get safe, or if you already are, sit in that truth.
Authored by Jessica Jeans
Content inspired by Linda Tonnesen and Carl Barry, founder of Shadow Work.
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