Fear and how to conquer it

But, now, as Chritmas draws near, let us remember the words of the angels to the shepherds, "FEAR NOT!"

Easier said than done you say, and I agree.
Believe me, I know from experience how debilitating fear can be. I'm not talking, however, about normal fear. We all have that and its both necessary and desirable. But, as Dr. Norman Vincent Peale points out, "The line of distinction between normal and abnormal fear is very finely drawn. Before one realizes, he may step across the line...into the dark and shadowy regions of abnormal fear."* So, for the remainder of this article when we speak of "fear," let it be assumed that we are talking about abnormal fear. We could also call it irrational fear, because it has been proven that most of things we fear will happen never do happen. Yet, even though we may recognize it as being irrational, this fear can actually gain a grip on our minds and hearts and hold us back and keep us from accomplishing our goals and achieving your God-given success unless we learn how to conquer this fear.
But what can we do when we have these fears? Should we run away from them. Dr. Peal says no. "Do not run away from your fears. Decide to face them. When someone stands up to something, that something tends to fold. IT is far better to face your fears head-on."
First let's identify the objects of our fears. What are you afraid of? Some of us are
afraid of people. The Bible has an antidote for this fear. IJohn 4:18 says "Perfect love casts out fear." So learn to love those who you fear. Get to know them and find out how you can help them. What deed of kindness you can do for them? How can you pray for them? If you concentrate on these things it leave no place for fear.
Then, there is the fear of failure. We become afraid to try something new. We "freeze up." And often our fear of failure, if allowed to grow, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Job found that out. He says in Job 3:25, "The thing which I greatly feared has come upon me."
If we do fail, we can definitely learn from our failures. Then, as Dr. Peale
points out in his other book, Think Like A Winner, "Don't ever think that you will always fail. Think about the success that will come from your new wisdom. It's great to conquer this fear of failing. It sets you free to try new things " He then lists the following 7 things to do: plan, learn, think, study, work, believe and pray. "Then," he says, "you will have all you need to beat this fear."
Quoting further from the end of his chapter on fear of failure: "Don't wait to be sure of success, because you never will be. If you want to be safe, you will wait and wait. You will not climb mountains. You will not win races. You will not become truly happy."
So don't be afraid to be afraid. Be honest. Admit your fear. But then act as if you were not afraid. With the help of God, go on. Do your job. Don't let fear stop you. Learn how to conquer fear.
((See also the article on fear on my ezine blog, listed under the books below.)

Fear is that ugly monster that, when looked at closely, doesn't really exist. At first glance you hear his roar, he seems so big and so ugly. He forces you to be aware of his presence and his threats. And then, if we are wise, we realize that all of what he is saying is not true. There is nothing to fear. Rarely do we experience that which we fear. Most of the time it is quite the opposite. If
we keep our minds and hearts, as well as our actions, going in the right direction - in the direction of our dreams and vision - we can walk right past that fear of ours.
It is sort of like when you were a child and you were walking along and saw a huge dog in a front yard up the street a bit. Do you remember how afraid you were? And then you realize that the dog was tied up and couldn't get to you, so you strut on by. This is how it is with our fear. Know that fear is on a leash!
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--Taken from "The Six Basic Messages of a Motivational Speaker" By Chris Widener