Pulling Weeds: The Daily Process That Will Grow Faith and Kill Fear

Jerusha: I’m so excited to introduce you to one of my favorite people and very good friend, Stephanie M. Gammon! Stephanie is a gifted writer and an exceptional encourager, as you’ll see in this post! In honor of Stephanie being a suspense writer, I’m giving away one paperback copy of Lynette Eason’s Called to Protect. Leave a comment below for your chance to win!

By Stephanie M. Gammon

Fear is natural to our human nature. From the moment we are born, we enter a world damaged by sin. A world that runs on fear.

Have you ever witnessed an infant jolt in fear, throwing out all limbs upon being startled? This innate reaction is called the Moro reflex and though this instinct disappears a few months after birth, our inner man never seems to lose the reflex of fear.

Fear weeds its way into every corner of our life, infiltrating the recesses of our hearts and minds until even our subconscious actions have been tainted by it.

We fear for our safety.

We fear for the well-being of our loved ones.

We fear conflict.

We fear failure.

We fear being alone or unloved.

We fear authenticity.

We fear embarrassment.

We fear our fear.

Though fear may be a natural consequence of living in a fallen world, the Good News for us is that our natural, human nature no longer rules us. We’ve been saved from our old nature and given a new one. We no longer live. Christ lives in us.

This is a beautiful and unfathomable concept, but—I have to confess—has left me wondering, “If Christ lives in me, why am I still carrying the weight of fear?”

In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus beckons us, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Now we know that every word from the mouth of God is truth. So, if His yoke is easy, why do we still lug around the burden of fear?

In the above referenced scripture, Jesus says, “Learn from me.” Let us take a moment to sit at His knee and contemplate His lesson. How does Jesus view fear? What does Jesus says about fear? What does Jesus pray?

What Does Jesus Say about Fear?

In Matthew 10:28-31 Jesus admonishes us, saying, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.”

Is Jesus contradicting himself? To say, “…fear Him…” but moments later add, “…do not fear…?”

Never. He is teaching us the only valid fear for our new nature is the fear of the Lord. When the God of the universe has numbered every hair on our head—declaring our value to Him—we can rest in peace, knowing that He is watching us and keeping us.

How Does Jesus Pray?

I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. – John 17:15-19

Sanctification is a glorious privilege that was earned for us by Jesus’s work on the cross. Sanctify—Greek hagiazō—has depth of meaning. It means to make holy, it signifies being set apart for God, it also means to purify internally by renewing of the soul.

Jesus prayed for us to be sanctified as we remain in this world that is ruled by fear. He prayed we be set apart. Renewed.

Sanctified from Fear

Jesus shows us our only fear should be the fear of God. He prays that we be sanctified and renewed. Can sanctification be the secret to banishing fear in our lives?

In 1 John 4:15-18, John wrote, “We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.”

What does it mean to be perfected in love? The word for perfected here is transliterated as teleioō. It carries the sense of, “adding to what is yet wanting in order to render it full and complete.”

I don’t know about you, but these are soothing words to my ears. As I continue along the path of sanctification—being continually set apart to God, being day-after-day renewed in my soul—I can grasp the promise that God is faithful to add to me that which I lack.

And I lack faith. I lack trust. I lack the ability to live without fear.

As Jesus works His miracle of perfection in my heart, I can joyfully wait in patient expectation, knowing that as God adds to me the ability to live in faith and trust, every fear will be banished.

Fear is not a permanent part of my life.

The Father is pulling out that hateful weed. He is renewing those thought patterns that were born in fear, damaged by sin.

As I work with God, taking every fear captive, He is making me perfect. I can rest in the knowledge that He will complete the work He has started.

While I pursue sanctification, the fears that burden me are being destroyed. Jesus Christ himself is faithfully adding to me the courage and faith I lack.

Have you seen the process of sanctification at work in your own battle against fear? How does this reminder that God will continue to grow your faith encourage you? Please share!

Photos by Helena Yankovska, Nathan Bingle, Gabriel Jimenez, and Brooke Lark on Unsplash. Original graphics designed by Jerusha Agen.

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Stephanie M. Gammon fell in love with writing as an elementary kid with a beat-up typewriter—she fell in love with Jesus a decade later. Though her technology has changed, her passion for writing about Jesus has remained the same.

Whether she’s writing a heart-to-heart blog post for her church or personal website, or plotting heart-stopping romantic suspense, she aims to shine Jesus’s truth to readers.

Represented by Cynthia Ruchti of Books & Such Literary Management, Stephanie has placed 3rd in RWA’s Daphne Du Maurier Contest for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense and finaled in ACFW’s First Impressions contest.

Visit Stephanie at www.stephaniemgammon.com or connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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In honor of Stephanie’s visit to the FW Blog, I’m giving away one print copy of Lynette Eason’s Called to Protect to one of you! Simply leave a comment below to enter the giveaway! (Winner to be randomly selected Oct. 14, 2019; winner must have continental U. S. mailing address.)

Called to Protect

For the past year, Chloe St. John has been working as a K-9 cop with her German shepherd partner, Hank. After being dumped by her fiancé for another woman, Chloe has decided that Hank is just about the only male she likes. She’s over the whole romance thing and focuses her attention on doing her job. Because a serious case of human trafficking with connections to her missing cousin just landed in her lap.

When US Marshall Blake MacCallum’s daughter goes missing, he’s ordered to kill the judge he’s protecting and tell no one about his daughter’s disappearance or she will die. Blake races against the clock to rescue his daughter while Chloe and Hank are asked to be a part of the task force assembled to bring down the traffickers. Chloe finds herself attracted to the silent, suffering man, but thanks to her previous bad judgment, she wonders if she can trust him. And can Blake trust himself around this firecracker of a woman?

Bestselling author Lynette Eason warns readers to buckle in for a fast and furious ride that will have their hearts pumping from the very start.