By Weldon Tisdale, Chaplain

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

When we allow fear into our lives, our thinking gets clouded. Instead of seeing situations from God’s point of view, our fears and worries about what others think (or will think), our finances, our health, our loved ones, our jobs, our school, our homes, etc. cloud our assessments and rob us of the joy of walking in God’s victory.

The opposite of living in fear is living in fearlessness, or boldness and confidence. I got to thinking about some individuals in the Bible who lived fearlessly: Joshua, Caleb, Deborah, Esther, David, Paul, Daniel, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Each of them boldly faced their situations because they were confident in God and in His will…and submitted to whatever that was. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had confidence God could save them from the flames, yet they were surrendered to perish if God chose to allow the flames to consume them (Daniel 3).

On the other hand, the Bible has many examples of individuals who lived fearfully, such as the man who hid his talent in the ground (Matthew 25:14-28). This man was so afraid of making a mistake and displeasing his master that he wasted even the one talent he had been given. Fear immobilized him.

We can’t overestimate the importance of thinking clearly, both physically and spiritually. This month let us remember to check ourselves to see if we are surrendered to God’s will and confident in His love, care, and leading, or if we’re allowing fear to cloud our thinking…and ultimately our actions.

When we have alleviated our fears, we can then begin the process of thinking with a sound mind – “Thinking Clearly”.