I'm tiree of being afraid

[kittylover0991]

The worst part is (or maybe it is a good thing), I am afraid of something that has never even happened to me before.... Right now, even at this moment, I am home alone and I hear strange noises.. last night I was about to wake up my parents because I heard a small crash... instead, I evntually woke up my nocturnal brother (tehe) out of fear... and right now I'm worried that someone in this house that shouldn't be and it has been my hugest fear since I was little.. that someone or something was in the house ( I used to fear it was wolves lol and at one point that a dinosour was outside my window )... and this absolutley drives me crazy.

The other one is fear of tornadoes.. which I promise to come into chat whenever there is a tornado warning or watch (not sure which one) or if there had been one.. I promise to come in all shook up and fearful that one might be heading this way.... lol I wish I was kidding lol

But that isn't the issue right now lol I can explain that one better letter when the issue arises again... it always does lol The issue is that I am ALWAYS TERRIFIED!!!! IT happens every single morning and every single night... or anytime I am the only one awake with someone asleep adn everyone else gone... or anytime that I am home alone and it absolutley kills me... I have spent so many countless and sleepless nights that I have been afraid.. so many countless hours of wandering around the house with a huge knot in my stomach and lump in my throat becuase I heard a noise... turning on every single light in the house because I know that evil resides in darkness (lol, if it is dark, I am a lot more afraid that someone is there)...

Every night... I pray about this... every morning.... whenever I am afraid I pray... I wish I coudl say I pray more often about it... but it is only when I know that time is going to come or that I am at that point that I really pray about it.... I never think of the fear unless it around that point... I keep asking the Lord to help me to rest in him with this.. and I kepe asking that he woudl take away my fear becuae I know the bible says that God has not given us the spirit of fear...

And I know that we can trust the Lord, and that He will be our strength... possibly I am just writing this to pass time as I often do right now... but I am seriously sick of being afraid... I dont even know if anyone on here can help.. but please.... just anything.... '

Crystal

[Guest Biblicist]

Crystal,

2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

A friend gave me this verse a few years back. I used to be horribly afraid of the dark, and the unseen/unknown. It really helped me. It also helped me to face my fear, lying in the dark listening to the sounds and getting comfortable with it. I completely understand how you feel. I did not really get over my fear till I was in my 20's. I would be happy to pray that you can claim this verse and get past your fear in Faith. May the Lord give you a spirit of peace.

[Leonard]

How 'bout this Scripture from Proverbs (I think.....I'm too old to be good with addresses anymore!) "The righteous are as bold as a lion. "

[Guest pixy]

I struggled with this for a very long time also, and still do every once in awhile actually. Many years ago, a friend directed me to the book of Psalms for this issue, and I've highlighted a few passages that I come back to for reassurance:

Psalms 2:3-6

But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head. To the Lord I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.

Psalm 4:8

I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Psalm 34:4

I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.

Psalm 91

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys midday. A thousand my fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you make the Most High your dwelling--even the Lord, who is my refuge--then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways: they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. 'Because He loves me,' says the Lord, 'I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.'

You also may try playing some praise/worship music while you fall asleep and keep it playing all night (low volume, of course). That way, if you wake up in the middle of the night, the Lord's praises are the first thing you hear.

[LossForWords]

Psalm 91

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys midday. A thousand my fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you make the Most High your dwelling--even the Lord, who is my refuge--then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways: they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. 'Because He loves me,' says the Lord, 'I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.'

That one is mine as well. I remember Psalms 911 (like the emergency number)...in case of an emergency and I feel way too terrified to even get out of bed, I read Psalms 911. I also read a book a few years ago that was extremely amazing...called Freedom from Fear. When I get home I will look and see who wrote the book. I'm afraid of tornadoes as well (even though our house has been in the same place for like 50 years, and there has only been one tornado in the history of our historic county that has ever caused any sort of real damage...I am still convinced that a tornado will somewhere and somehow decide our house is the one to attack). I'm afraid of clowns and pretty much any adult dressed in a costume. I used to be afraid of absolutely everything, and was even prone to panic attacks. But...I left it on the altar one day. And even though a few things (like tornados and clowns) still get under my collar, I know that if anything does ever happen to me...it was #1 God's will and #2 I know where I'll end up. When I think about it rationally, it's not so scary anymore. I am seldom a rational person though and emotions almost always get the better of me...which is why I turn back to Christ and dial up my emergency verse.

[Carrie77]

Dear Kittylover.

I was so excited when I read your message, because I was exactly the same. (I still have a tendancy to be like that if the truth be told). I wasn't excited for you because I know how awful this is, but because there was someone like me. I used to think I was strange and wierd and no-one would understand.

A verse that has really helped me is Psalm 91v11.

"He will give His angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways"

I love picturing them all standing around my house keeping guard at night, & should anyone come near it, they were there. I was the same as you, I was terrified of what had never happened. My fear was a family member being killed on the roads, and that had never ever happened to me. The only way I could cope was to literally live one minute at a time. Every single time a fearful thought came to me I had to say "Lord, please take this. Help me to trust in you". There is a verse that says "Fear not, little flock". I love this verse because it shows how helpless we are in God's sight & how He knows it. He realises we are hopless in our own right and wants to help.

Someone already quoted Psalm 4:8

"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety."

Notice the way it says we will sleep. It's easy to lie down, not so easy to actually sleep. God wants us to do both. I will be honest with you, just the other week I was in the house on my own & feeling a bit edgy. I literally said to God "Lord, I'm going to go to sleep, or at least try. I'm going to leave the rest of the house to You. It's your responsibility now." He was amazing. I slept so peacefully the whole week I was alone.

The best advice I can give you is simply to live minute by minute. Second by second if need be. Every single time a thought comes, quote a favourite Bible verse and take it to God. Don't let it get in on you. It may take a while but I promise you that God will help you overcome this. We know this because of what He says in 2 Timothy 1v7. God doesn't want us to be afraid. That is just Satan trying to paralyse us.

I'll be praying for you.

Love Carrie xxoo

[Prodigalson123]

Hi Kitty

Fear of the unknown and the dark and of harm are common, but remember, as Christians we believe that God is sovereign and He decrees all that will happen, and allows things. But.....I don't believe that God leaves us alone and He is watching. Don't worry, the Lord is there, watching and keeping you safe. He places a hedge of protection around those who are His, and He won't allow anything to happen that you can't handle. This might simply be a way for you to draw nearer to Him, and he won't leave you. I pray for you and hope you know that I count you as a sister in Christ that I pray for you

[Christ's Free Servant]

Crystal,

Fear is of the enemy, not of God. The way to combat fear (which is basically just Satan's lies to us) is with the truth of God's Word. Fear means we don't trust God. We don't trust in his promises. We don't trust in his Word. We don't believe that he is who he says he is. We don't believe he made us who he said he made us to be. Satan lies to us all the time and tries to get us to believe that we don't have an Almighty God for whom nothing is impossible. So, when you are feeling afraid, fill your mind with the Word of God, quote it out loud so that Satan can hear it and claim God's promises. The bible says that if we resist Satan he will flee from us. Sometimes we have to resist him more than once, especially if he is used to us giving up easily. But keep resisting him. Put on the armor of God, especially the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Stop listening to Satan's lies and believe in God's Sovereignty.

[mrp1948]

Am praying for your healing from these fears. Face them confront them they are smaller than you think. God Bless

[darkest_red]

I am scared of some seriously ridiculous things. Beards, for instance. And yeah, feel free to laugh. I also heard noises where I used to live. I heard plastic bags rustling right next to me, I heard what sounded like a coin being scraped along my computer table (it had a rough surface so it was a very obvious sound), I heard what sounded like paper being walked over (one of my posters was on the floor at the time). I also saw lights on my ceiling that couldn't be explained and a silhoutte by my window (there was nothing that could have made that shape shadow). I also heard someone moving about downstairs when I knew that no one was downstairs. My boyfriend was staying in our living room one night and he heard someone moving a couple of feet away from him. I got freaked out by it all on regular occassions. I just kept praying, knowing that I was safe and protected in God's arms. Keep going over scripture about protection and comfort and remember it when you get scared. God is with you. "You have nothing to fear but fear itself"