Billy Graham - “Whatever the fears, encourage yourself to face them—and then turn them over to God. God loves you, and when we know Christ and have put our faith and trust in Him, we know He’ll never abandon us.”
We can let them guide us or we can let God guide us.
The command to "fear not" or "do not be afraid" is the most repeated command in the entire Bible. Life can be scary, and God acknowledges that.
John 16:33 says, "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."
God knew we would need to be reassured over and over again not to be afraid, which is why it is repeated. We need to hear it and acknowledge it repeatedly.
We can let fear stop us from ever starting something or from continuing in the middle of something.
When I was younger, I had some anxiety, and I let the fear of failure guide me a bit. I would have the opportunity to do things, but because of my anxiety or fear of failure, I wouldn't try. Sometimes I did push through, and it ended up okay, but I wouldn't remember those times for the next time. I just let fear stop me.
2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline."
If I had been stronger in my walk with the Lord at a younger age, I think I could have stood on the words in this scripture and done whatever it was I felt I could do. But I let Satan fill my thoughts with fearful lies.
Looking at my past and holding on to hope that God brought me through so much is what brings me through now. God really helped me to overcome fear. He showed me through the trials in life that He has been with me all along, and I don't need to fear.
When I feel anxious and uncertain, I take a deep breath and ask for God's peace because I want to see and understand through clarity and not through fear in what needs to be done.
Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."