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Introduction:

A wise mentor once shared with me that “faith and fear are the same things. They are both based on an expectation that something might happen- one is based on something positive, and the other is based on something negative.” I am convicted that our belief about God’s love for us, and our position as His children determine our ability to have peace when we face circumstances that make us fearful and anxious. 1 John 4:16 says “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”

I wonder how many of us struggle with fear and anxiety because we believe that God's love for us is conditional and that somehow His protection waxes and wanes based on our good behavior. When we stand before God, we don't have to cower before Him in unhealthy fear, but we fear and stand in awe of the One who is just, who is good, and who we can trust because He loves us perfectly and completely. Do we have a healthy fear of God that leads us to trust Him with everything? We can acknowledge what is making us afraid and anxious, then knowing that God is good, bring those things before Him because we have rights and authority as His children.

We have the right to ask God for help, and the authority in the name of Jesus to come against the things that stand in the way of what God wants for us. God desires to care for your well-being and give you a future and hope! You have a spiritual enemy that will attempt to move you into fear and anxiety by causing chaos so that you won’t believe God wants to give you a future and hope. We can bring everything into the authority of Jesus, including our thoughts, desires, hopes, and fears. We have rights by the authority we carry in Jesus! Yet some things block us from believing that we carry authority as His children because many of us have a core belief that when something goes wrong in our lives it is because we are being punished. To be perfected in the perfect love that casts out fear, we need to know beyond a shadow of any doubt that God perfectly loves us and sees us as His children!

In this session, we will #1 Examine your belief about the rights and authority you have as a follower of Christ #2 Be vulnerable about the areas of yourself where you struggle with fear. #3 Identify any trauma you have experienced related to fear and anxiety #4 Identify any stories or beliefs you created when you had traumatic experiences that caused fear and anxiety. We tend to create a story or belief system surrounding our emotions, trauma, or past events in our lives. It is an expectation that something will negative will happen because of a traumatic or disappointing event. #5 Finally, declare the truth about who God says you are in your position as His child.