LIVING IN THE LOVE ZONE – LIVING FEARLESS

It’s a new year, super excited and thankful to God that we made it into the new year. Wow, another opportunity to start all over again and make new choices. I am drawing a line this year and one of my goals is to live fearlessly. You might be wondering can one really live fearlessly well? I want to give it a go this year and extend the opportunity to everyone else who has been plagued by fear. Fear comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes, affects all peoples’ men and women, young and old, rich and poor.

The fears include the following, although it is not limited to the list below:
Fear of the unknown
Fear of failing
Fear of people
Fear of putting on weight
Fear of death
Fear of living poor
Fear of relationships
Fear of the unexpected
Fear of disappointments
Fear of being alone
And the list goes on and on…

Living fearless means believing that I belong to God, accepting His love and receiving His love so that it can penetrate my life and affect the decisions I make.
Living fearless me means knowing that I am not alone and that God has my back.
Living fearless means taking courageous and bold steps in little things and big things.
Living fearless is a bit like a child growing up in a home whereas the child grows up they have received the love of their parents and they know without a shadow of doubt that they are loved and are assured of mum and dad’s love which propels them to make bold decisions and take risks knowing that mum and dad have their back and there is no need to be fearful, no need to be afraid of trying things out, failure is part of success and a failed venture does not make the child a failure.

The reason we do not live our best lives at times is that we are fearful, not fearless.
Love drives us to live fearlessly, the dictionary definition of love is a great interest and pleasure in something, so if we already know we are greatly loved by Abba Father, we can rest in that love, step out in faith with the confident assurance that we will be fine.
Fear, on the other hand, means an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm. A fearful life is a life that does not consciously or unconsciously believes that they are loved.

Living fearless is:
Believing the best in a situation rather than hoping for the worst.
Thinking half full rather than half empty
Having a positive outlook on life and not a negative outlook.

My Story
I was brought up in Lagos, Nigeria and my environment was a fearful one, constantly been reminded of the need to be careful with people, places, basically everything had a fear undertone. My mum would tell me about how children drowned when they went swimming at Bar beach, although my dad countered this and ensured we went swimming, she also reminded us not to go out on public transport because children were kidnapped so we missed out on parties or got chauffeured to parties which when you are young is uncool on different levels, she also warned me about male friendships as guys got you pregnant, she repeatedly mentioned the importance of always having clean underwear because if I ever fainted whilst out and I didn’t have clean underwear it would be embarrassing and she also taught me to be careful about who I trust as people can let you down. Phew, I hope this gives you an idea of the number of fears I have had to contend with, living fearfully was my default mode.

Living Fearless
Recognising that God wants me to live a fearless life has been a life-changing experience and continues to be an ongoing challenge. The scriptures I meditate on that have strengthened my resolve and encouraged me to continue to pursue a fearless life with the help of the Holy Spirit include the following:
So, don’t be afraid. I am here, with you; don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, help you. I am here with My right hand to make right and to hold you up – Isaiah 41:10 The Voice

Consider the kind of extravagant love the Father has lavished on us—He calls us children of God! It’s true; we are His beloved children. And in the same way the world didn’t recognize Him, the world does not recognize us either – 1 John 3:1A The Voice
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? – Psalms 27:1 NIV
After all, it is I, the Eternal One your God, who has hold of your right hand, Who whispers in your ear, “Don’t be afraid. I will help you. -Isaiah 41:13 The Voice.
When I needed the Lord, I looked for Him; I called out to Him, and He heard me and responded. He came and rescued me from everything that made me so afraid – Psalm 34:4 The Voice
The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love, he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing – Zephaniah 3:17 NIV

These are precious promises from God to us to live fearlessly.