Undaunted by Christine Caineনমুনা

We all fear something until we learn to overcome it. Muggers lurking in dark alleyways. Losing our wallet. Losing our job and being left penniless. Dying or being injured in an automobile or airplane crash. Being bitten by a wild animal. Getting stung by a poisonous insect. Enduring the ridicule of hecklers when we speak publicly. Facing rejection or disinterest upon meeting new people. Losing a child. Being abandoned by a loved one. Some of us fear failing. Others fear success. “What if I stick my neck out and fail?” we say. “What if the business gets too big too fast and I can’t keep up, or my customers see how little I really know and what an amateur I am?” How can we live undaunted if we are paralyzed by fear? We can’t. To live undaunted is to show courage and resolution. It’s to live unafraid, undismayed, unflinching, unshrinking, unabashed— fearless. It’s being bold, brave, gritty, audacious, daring, and confident, even when we face opportunities not to be. But it’s a fight, I know. When we keep our eyes on Jesus, he releases us from the constraints that bind us in fear. We are no longer restricted and trapped. We are free. Our world and our lives enlarge, and the possibilities for the miraculous increase. We achieve the impossible by focusing on the God with whom all things are possible. We reach and rescue the people who have fallen through society’s cracks. We rescue slaves who otherwise would be captive still. We help the defeated who otherwise would languish. We find the lost. We bring healing to the damaged and diseased. We open the eyes of the blind. By staying mentally and emotionally focused on him, by holding on to the sound mind he has given us, by renewing it according to the Word daily, we mentally and emotionally go places we never imagined, without sinking or being swallowed by our fears (Romans 12:2). I can’t count the times I’ve reached for the Word and prayed Philippians to keep renewing my mind according to the truth, to hold on to peace again and again. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). I can’t count the times I’ve reached for verses like the following to steady my heart and remind myself of the truth: “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1) To walk in faith and not give fear control, I have to lean into and believe God and his Word. Continually. That’s how God did a work in me and delivered me from all my fears. Adapted from Undaunted: Daring To Do All That God Calls You To Do by Christine Caine. Copyright © 2019 by Christine Caine. Reprinted with permission of Zondervan Publishing. All rights reserved.