“For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind.”    II Timothy 1: 7

Fear is one of the tools that the devil uses to prevent the children of God from fulfilling their purpose and destiny. Many of us live with fear and some women are in a state of almost constant fear, worry and stress. These worries prevent us from operating our lives at our best.

Many women, especially the matured singles who have believed God to marry, often fear they may never marry. Many who have been married before and do desire to be married again fear they will never meet the right man.

Many, who have been widowed fear loosing their husbands again if they do remarry, The fear of what people will say has robbed some women of their opportunities to be happy again. Some widows fear what their friends and in-laws would say if they were to remarry.

With those who are divorced, the fear of making a mistake the second time around can and does prevent some women from remarriage. When our life is ruled by fears, we are wasting a lot of time and energy

But I have great news for you! The Bible says that; “Our God has not given us the spirit of fear, but the spirit of power, and the spirit of love and the spirit of a sound mind.

Why worry about yesterday? Yesterday is gone! One of the best things about the past is that it is over! There is a much better place to focus your attention: the Present! This new moment is fresh and new.

God has given you the power to do or think whatever you want with it. I want to encourage you to seize that power by focusing your attention on what you want. Many of us fear what the future will bring before the future arrives, but you can never predict the future; you can’t control the future by worrying about it.

The fear of how do I pay my rent? How do I pay the school fees and bills? When will I have a man to call my own? When will my breakthrough come? Are all normal fears but they shouldn’t paralyse us.

Many of us act as if our fears are fixed, as if our situations will always remain permanent. When you put your trust and faith in God, you do not need to fear what others fear.

The Lord has commanded us to “Fear not! For I the Lord, am with you”

When the Lord is for you who can be against you?

Even if you fear that your entire world is crashing around you, believe in God and He will give you the strength to hold on.

The greatest promise you can have for the future is the Lord’s assurance. He doesn’t want us to fear because we can live without fear by building our faith on what He has promised us in his word. Fear is the opposite of faith, faith promises, and fear paralyses.

Are you afraid of failure, rejection, or of taking a bold step of faith?

Most of the time God is waiting for us to take the first step of boldness to come out of our fear and occupy the positions that He has ordained for us or to begin to do that which He has called us to and then leave the rest to him.

Many times, we feel that fear is impossible to conquer, but there is a way out to conquer and overcome it.

First you must realise it when you are operating under fear and, then you let God deal with your fear.

Here is another great promise that we have from Him. He says;

“But now, thus says the Lord who created you o Jacob, (Why not put your name here e.g. O Dupe) and He who formed you, O Dupe, FEAR NOT, for I have redeemed you.

I have called you by my name, you are mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And through the rivers, they shall not over flow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy one of Israel, your saviour…” Isaiah 43: 1-3 you can read on till the end of this chapter.

My sister, I don’t know what situation has brought about fear in your life, be reminded that no matter your situation, we serve a great God who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that you can think or imagine.

His words are His promise to you and they never fail. God is saying to you today stop letting fear rule your life, rather than embrace fear begin to pray and talk to God about your fearful situation.

Speak back His promises to Him, call upon Him to help you deal with your fearful situation and be able to trust Him to do so.

Learn to talk to Him through prayers. He is the only one that can help you overcome your fear. He is the only one that can direct and order your steps to the place of your breakthrough. In Him lies confidence and direction. Has the Lord opened a door for you that you are afraid to walk through?

My sister you have to arise and decide today to overcome fear in your life, don’t allow fear to cheat you out of that which the Lord has ordained for you, the devil knows what is ahead for you on the other side that is why he would use fear to keep you from getting there.

Studies have revealed that many who are diagnosed with terminal illnesses such as cancer; do not die from the illness itself but from the fear of the illness. Many could have received their healing but because of fear have lost out.

I remember a few years ago, whilst I was pregnant, my next door neighbour died during childbirth. The fear of child birth immediately gripped my spirit, especially since I’d never gone through child birth before.

I immediately sought counsel with my mother in the Lord then, who prayed with me in order to overcome the fear. She reassured me that dying in childbirth was not of God but of the devil and I need not allow the devil to rob me of my joy of pregnancy,

God proved Himself faithful during the delivery of my baby.

So, do not judge your life by what is happening to other people. We are all running a different race at different speeds. The fact that sister A is still not married, does not stop you from getting your own heart’s desire. Have faith today and overcome fear. Whatever the magnitude or cause of your fear, fear is the same and must be dealt with through prayer with God’s word.

The only fear that we are permitted to have in our lives is the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Psalm 19:9 When you fear the Lord, you will walk in His ways, not in the ways of the world. Dating a married man is a total lack of the fear of God.

Unforgiveness, bitterness, gossip, envy, and jealousy shows no fear of God.

Dishonesty at your place of work amounts to no fear of God. Not showing love to your fellow mates especially others who are in worse situations than yours is having no love, and no fear of God.

Some unmarried sisters are never happy at the news of other sisters getting married; this shows no fear of God.  Some fear man rather than fear God by engaging in relationships that they know the Lord will not approve of, i.e. they become unevenly yoked with unbelievers because of the fear of not meeting a man who is a believer.

“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” Proverbs 29:25. Decide to fear God and keep His commandments today, and let Him deal with your fears, by surrendering your life to Him. If you are ready to do this today, please say this prayer;

Heavenly Father, I surrender my life and my fears to you today, please forgive me of my sins and deliver me from my fears, I realise that I can of my own self do nothing. Accept me into the kingdom of your dear son in the matchless name of Jesus. Amen.

Congratulations, if this article has blessed you or if you have just given your life to Christ, I would love to hear from you.

Please send an email to singleladytd@gmail.com

God bless you.

Modupe Kazeem - (Guest columnist)

Edited by GABRIELLA OSAMOR