Fear not. If we are doing God’s work, we will face fear and discouragement. In a house full of kids and teens, everyone can be happy one minute not so thrilled the next. One moment you are ready to face the day and the next you are wrapped up in defeat. This work is not easy.

The phrase “Fear Not” occurs 365 times in the Bible. Apparently God knew we would need to be reminded of this on a daily basis. “The only fear in the Bible is the fear of God. Fear is the enemy of confidence. Fear not means don’t run,” According to Joyce Meyer in Do it Afraid.

Why do I mention fear? Fear causes us to quit. Fear causes us not to even begin in the first place. Why would God say “Fear Not” - because with fear we are paralyzed. Fear is the enemy of victory and it is an enemy from within. Not a true threat but a manifestation of our own self-doubt. One of the greatest human fears is a fear of failure. We must remember this as we discipline our children – that they share that same fear of failure. Our home must be both a safe place to succeed and a safe place to fail. We must discipline out of love and not from our anger. I write this as much to myself as to anyone else. I procrastinate out of fear. I am a perfectionist out of fear. I settle for less than God’s best out of fear.

I think that Mark Twain said it best, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not absence of fear. Except a creature be part coward it is not a compliment to say it is brave; it is merely a loose application of the word. Consider the flea! — incomparably the bravest of all the creatures of God, if ignorance of fear were courage.”

Want to know more about what gives me courage? Check out 4 Facts that Change Everything and By Faith.

What helps you say goodbye to fear? Would love to hear from you in the comments.