Locating Fear in Your Life
Fear. I'm not a fan. "Is this thought from God?" I think we all may wonder this at times, especially if it's a thought of impending doom. What happens when you have a thought about a family member dying? Keep your phone close by just in case she calls? Maybe you call her. You respond to a thought of impending doom as if it is reality. It feels as if something bad is happening. The pain with a fearful thought is the confusion of location. Did it come from God, myself, or others?
Let's think of the influence of others. This includes what others have said to you about their life, beliefs about God, choices, and interpretation of their experiences. This also includes what happened to others and your interpretation of these things. Others may be friends, news anchors, pastors, family, as well as Satan. Others have said things to you; This is true, not necessarily the interpretations though. It is true what happened to your friend. It is true that your step-father said things.
The influence of myself would include what has happened to you and your interpretation of these things. If others speak about your experiences then then their spoken words would fall under the "Others" category. Sometimes you have not previously experienced the things you fear. It is possible that you fear what others have experienced.
Addressing Fear for the Christian
Separate others, myself, and God. It is easier to separate facts than interpretations. When you try to separate interpretations from myself, others, or God then the waters become murky, the lack of location. Look at facts first, the experiences. You can locate when you look at the fact of the experience. What if the experience associates with feeling sadness? The interpretation of the experience may feel like fear but the fact of the experience is sadness. Jesus wept (John 11:35-38) when he heard that Lazarus died (the fact), even though he raised him from the dead shortly after. Jesus felt out of the experience instead of Lazarus's resurrection. You have facts and God has interpretations.
Counseling in Fort Worth for Fear and Anxiety
Cowtown Christian Counseling serves Fort Worth with counseling and therapy for fear and anxiety from a Christian perspective. Our counselors do their best to be careful surgeons of you and your experiences, as well as the Christian faith. If you would like to schedule an appointment, please click the "schedule" button at the top of this page.