II Timothy 1:7

One of the reasons I chose “Fearless” as my word for 2014 was that I stumbled upon this verse during a Bible study last year. II Timothy 1:7 – “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” It stuck with me and I found myself coming across it over and over. I didn’t think this was by accident. God was speaking to me through it. Each time I ran across the verse it was during a time I felt overwhelmed with fear and unable to move forward.

God doesn’t usually shout from the rooftops or appear in a fire. Most of the time we hear His voice in a whisper. A whisper that echos in our mind letting us know He is there. Some don’t hear His whispers and I have been guilty as well. One thing I have been working on in the past year is listening for God to speak. He is always hear with us so I figure He talks to me alot. But, just like my kids, I don’t listen.

Each time He whispered this verse to me, I listened. What stuck with me the most was that he says He gave us a spirit of power, love and self-control. I knew He gave us a spirit of love and I get the self-control but, power. Whoa! That stopped me. I had forgotten one thing. As a child of God we have access to His power that only He can give us. Power over temptation, power to pray and power over fear. That changed the whole way I look at my life. Now, when I fear I remember I have access to His power. And I know the power of Jesus is stronger than anything that can come into my life. Any fear that I have. Thank you Lord for giving me a spirit of power, love and self-control. 

Why Choosing to Live Fearless

So with 2014, I decided that I would choose a word that would be my focus for the year. It would be my guide. I prayed about this for a couple of days. I tossed around some words and then it hit me. Fearless. You see fear is my biggest issue with anything I do. I am constantly battling it. I fear bad things happening to my loved ones. I fear the evil that exists in our world and how I protect my family from it. I fear failure. Need I say more. There isn’t much I don’t fear and yet those who know me would be shocked to know this is my issue. I hide it well and I don’t share my fears with others. But, I am putting it out there. Yes, I am fearful but I am choosing Fearless as my word for 2014. Why? Because it constantly reminds me to “Fear less”. In fearing less, I must trust God more.

Every day my word reminds me to trust God and let it go. Leave it at His feet. Leave the worry behind and drop the fear. It is working. I am not going to say I don’t fear but I am fearing less every day. I am pushing myself outside my boundaries, stretching and challenging myself. I want to really live this year not just get by. I want to grow. I want to excel beyond my expectations. I know that to do this I must let go of the fear. And here I go…