April 16, 2025 Devo

Fear is more than an emotion. For many of us, it is a shackle. It keeps us from enjoying the abundant life that God has for us. Some of us are so afraid of being alone that we stay in relationships with toxic people who treat us horribly. Some of us are so afraid of failing that we haven’t attempted anything of significance in years. Some of us are so afraid of what might happen in the days to come that we can’t enjoy this day we have. Some of us are so afraid of being rejected and hurt that we keep everyone at arm’s distance or sabotage the relationship if anyone gets too close. Some of us are so afraid of trusting God that we try to control every detail of our lives and sometimes the lives of those around us. Some of us are so afraid of dying that it’s been a long, long time since we’ve really LIVED. What fears are YOU chained to?
Fears are something that we don’t like to talk about. I have no doubt I made some of you uncomfortable just by mentioning the fears in the previous paragraph. We often like to pretend they don’t exist. We just learn to cope within the length of the chain it gives us. But do you really want to live that way? I want to challenge you to do what David did. He prayed about his fears. He laid them out openly before God, and God freed him from them all.
Notice it doesn’t say HOW God freed him. Maybe God simply removed the anxiety from David’s heart. Maybe God had David face them down or take action to overcome them like he did with Goliath on that battlefield. Maybe God had David remember all that He had brought him through and that comforted the fears. Maybe God just had David focus on HIM rather than on the things He was afraid of. Whatever God did, it worked. It doesn’t mean that whatever David was afraid of didn’t bother him anymore. But it does mean that they didn’t CONTROL David anymore. The fear shackles were broken. David was FREE.
My prayer for you today is that you will get honest with God about the fears that are controlling you. Lay them out before God and ask Him to do what He did for David. Freedom from fear and the Abundant Life you really want may be a lot closer than you think. Perhaps they’re just a bold prayer away. That’s God’s Word for you today.