5 Keys to Master The Fear of Failure

 by Olga Hermans

Have you ever been in a situation that just seemed totally impossible to you? I have and I like to believe that you have to, because life happens to all of us. Sometimes, because we make the wrong choices for one reason or another, we can feel helpless and feel that we are not equipped for the situation, but God would NEVER allow something to happen to us and not give us a way out. In 2 Kings 7 God gave a way out to the lepers.

It is a story that speaks of a time when the people of God had been completely surrounded by enemy forces to the point that had completely cut off their supply lines. There was no food. Everybody was starving. Then there was a prophet who said more or less that God was going to turn things around.

That was difficult for everybody to believe because the situation was so devastating. The enemy was either going to starve them to death or they would invade and kill them all. So it looked as though it was a hopeless situation. But the prophet said that things were going to change and that God was going to turn everything around.

Outside the camp were four lepers. These lepers were in a more critical situation than the people inside the camp. They had three things against them:

1. There was nothing to eat so they could die of starvation.
2. The enemy was coming so they could die by the sword.
3. Leprosy could kill them; they had nothing going for them.

It looked like the only thing they could do was just sit there until they died. That is what a lot of Christians do. Rather than conquer their fear; they just sit there and let the devil take over and rob them of what rightfully belongs to them.

Finally one of the lepers says in 2Kings 7:3 … “Why should we sit here waiting to die?” Those lepers would not accept defeat even though they didn’t have anything going for them. At least the people in the camp had all their flesh intact. They were starving and the enemy was about to invade, but they were not nearly as bad off as those lepers.

Let’s see though who got the job done. It was the four helpless, hopeless, impossible-looking lepers, who decided they were not going to let fear control their lives anymore. They got up and started moving towards the enemy’s camp. When they did, God got right in the middle of what they were doing, amplified their footsteps, and made it sound like an entire army coming over the hill and it frightened the enemy to the point that they ran away and left all the food, all the gold, and all the silver.

Four lepers came over the hill and there was not a soul to fight! They marched into the enemy’s camp and took back everything that was stolen. God is looking for some courageous people like these four lepers today. God is looking for some people who will master their fears.

Courage comes every time you look fear right in the face and decide you are going forward. You will never find a person who has great faith and great fear at the same time. One works against the other. When faith comes, fear goes out; but if you are not in the Word of God, then fear comes and faith goes. You are attracting one or the other into your life every day based upon what you listen to and what you see.

If you fail to conquer the fears that you have allowed to come into your life, then you are never going to be free to be yourself and do what God put you on this earth to do.

Here are 5 keys that you can do to master the fear of failure:

1.   Perceive yourself the way God sees you.

This means that you need to see yourself that way; meditate on who God says you are. Start talking about yourself the way God sees you. God is looking at you through the blood of Jesus. He sees you as more than a conqueror.

The more you spend time in the Word of God and read with your own eyes how God sees you, the quicker you will become the person that God sees in you.

2.   Become passionate and enthusiastic about what God says you can do.

When you are enthusiastic, that means that you can see God in every situation. Others may not be able to see what you see, but you see victory and success coming your way. You can see God at work on your behalf and that creates enthusiasm.

This will deepen your faith. Nothing great is ever achieved without them. You must be enthusiastic about whatever you do.

3.   Constantly affirm to yourself who you are, what you are and what you can do in Christ Jesus.

This is very basic, indeed and maybe you have heard this a 10,000 times but you are not going to be free to be you nor will you be the success that you are destined to be until you act on them every day of your life.

You see, affirmations are strong statements regarding what you believe. Affirming who you are and what you can do changes what is on the outside to what you see on the inside.

4.  Read the Word of God daily.

Feed your spirit daily on God’s Word and faith-building material. The more you read, the more you listen, and the more you watch faith-building programs, the less you will have to deal with fear because faith will come and fear will go. Be very selective about what you read, what you watch, and what you listen to.

5.  Surround yourself with winners.

Associate with people who have conquered fear. Associate with winners. Stay away from people who constantly talk fear and stay away from people who constantly talk failure. Who you associate with has a lot of influence on your outcome.

Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces. Proverbs 13:20  Msg.

 

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Become A Trophy for God

by Olga Hermans

By now everybody knows Tim Tebow who made a mark in college football as a University of Florida Gator with his strong arm and with his determined play with the Denver Broncos. He is also known for his unwavering and bold Christian faith.

Tim is the son of parents that are missionaries to the Philippines and has become a very influential athlete in professional sports. I heard an interview with Tim, where he said how proud he is of his mother, who made a strong decision in her early pregnancy with him NOT to abort him. Her life was threatened with what the doctors thought was a tumor, which they later found out was just a tiny piece of placenta. Tim gives God all the glory for it.

Tim emphasized that it wasn’t really a choice for his mother. She never would have chosen to not give him a chance; she had the same determination about her pregnancy and that she would trust God as he said he has.

Tim accepted Christ when he was 7 years old. He grew up and became extremely competitive. He played baseball, basketball, and football, but most of all football. There was a desire in him to be a hero for Jesus and that led him to the University of Florida, where football became his platform.

I think Tim is such a great example to all of us in the way he looks at things. People look up to football players. As a football player, you have been given a platform, which is far more important than any touchdown or trophy or anything you could win with football. It is taking that platform and being able to influence people. Tim’s dad taught Tim that with this position he could go into any school and share any message he wants around the country, around the world.

Many people know him for all the trophies he won, and others know him for the verse that he uses in everything that he does and that is John 3:16

He did one little thing; Tim had this scripture painted just below his eyes and because him doing that, the secular media displayed this throughout the earth, which made people look it up online; what a testimony. There were 19 million people who googled this scripture. Tim did something unusual and brought something unusual about!

There was one Sunday that the NFL wouldn’t allow him to paint the scripture under his eyes, but he said that John 3:16 was his most favorite Bible verse. Tim threw exactly 316 yards and an average of 31.6 yards. The odd of this happening is just unbelievable; it would never happen if you would plan to do it. The world calls him a huge phenomenon.

They call him a miracle by the numbers. Tim had nearly 9500 tweets a second; that is more than after the death of Bin Laden or the death of Steve Jobs and even more than during the royal wedding, but Tim never took the credit; he always gives the credit to Jesus. What a great success story!

So, what can we learn from Tim’s example? I truly believe that everybody has potential for greatness, but just having potential is not enough unless you are willing to take a risk, step out, and let God go to work in your life. We have potential because God places gifts and talents in us, but they must be developed.

Many people today are wasting their potential because they are not developing what God has placed in them. Instead of developing what they have, they worry about what they don’t have, and their potential just goes down the tubes.

The reason for this might be that you think that others may not see you as having much worth, but the truth is that God sees you as priceless! You are valuable to God! And you are valuable here on this earth to someone out there who knows how to look deeply and envision the contributions you could make. Everyone has a gift and it’s a matter of matching your gift to the right people who can appreciate you for who you are and what you have to offer to the world.

Tim Tebow had to make a choice to discipline the gift that was on the inside of him. I believe you are reading this article because God wants to do more with your life than you have ever imagined. You too have a tremendous capacity and potential that needs to be developed. You have to know that we are never fulfilled until we become all we can be.

Each of us has a destiny, and unless we are pressing toward fulfilling it, we will be frustrated in life. Moving up to the next level requires a decision to press in, to let go of what lies behind and refuse to be mediocre. Those are attributes that we can see clearly in the life of Tim Tebow. He surely is not a mediocre person.

The fingerprints of God are all over you. God knew you before you were born. He has planned out all your days for good. Don’t let potential lie dormant. Tap into that buried treasure. Share your gifts with the world. You have more in you than you realize.

There is talent you haven’t yet discovered. You may have had some great victories in your past, but that is nothing compared to what God has in your future. You know you are not average, you are not ordinary.

Even right now I am declaring that the treasure buried in you will come out. I am calling forth the dreams, the gifts, the talents, the businesses, the ideas, the inventions, the books, the songs, the movies. I am calling forth your untapped potential.

I pray that you will be stepping into a new season. You will have to have confidence to do things you wouldn’t do before. You will feel a supernatural strength. Supernatural doors will open for you. Supernatural opportunities are coming your way. Don’t shrink back. Don’t be intimidated.

God is saying to you what He said to Joshua: “Be strong and of good courage, for the Lord your God is with you.” You may have been told a thousand times what you can’t do. But I am here to tell you what you can do.

You are valuable and you are God’s craftsmanship. When you get a revelation of your worth in God, it will transform your life. Most people lack a sense of worth or value in their life due to things that have happened to them in the past.

Many people have had to deal with feelings of inferiority because of the putdowns in their lives. But when they start to understand their value in God, you will start to value other people. You are a champion. You have been prepared for such a time as this.

Be a Tim Tebow in the area that you are good in. The world wants to know the God of Tim Tebow, just as they wanted to know the God of Daniel. Show them what God has shown you; be a light in the darkness of other people. Our God can show off and one of the things He shows off on is a platform of impossibility. Impossibilities don’t scare God – He works with impossibilities!

Somebody wants to hear what God has done for you; somebody needs to hear of what God can do. Your life is a personal trophy of the work of God.

Start seeing yourself as worthy to give your talents and creativity — whatever it is, God has the perfect plan for you and just like Tim Tebow, if you stay persistent in your dreams and prayers, then His favor will make a way for you to prosper. You are valuable!
Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. (Luke 12:7)

I like to end this post with a quote from Tim Tebow:

 “Well, when people meet me, I hope that they say this-this is a guy who, number one, loves the Lord, but he also loves people and he wants to make a difference in people’s lives. And he wants to help everyone he comes in contact with and he is genuine, he is real, and he cares about people. And it’s not about the scoring touchdowns, or being famous, or anything like that. But its about relationships, its about making a difference in people’s lives, and at the end of the day it’s about glorifying God.”