The Noise in Life Has a Name… It’s Fear

I recently read that humans average 35 – 48 thoughts per minute. That’s a minimum of 2,100 per hour and 50,400 a day! There is so much noise between us and God.

Your identity in Jesus is powerful – it’s the truth about who you were created to be! So it makes sense that the enemy would use this noise as an opportunity to convince you of a false identity – to distract you from your heavenly purpose.

Below is some of what the noise has looked like for me:

1. “No one really leaves a stable job to do something like this in the real world.”
2. “You’ve had a traveling job for the last 5 years, don’t you think it’s time to settle down?”
3. “Things are going so well right now – you’re just going to walk away? Quitter.”
4. “Selfish. That’s what this really is. Think about your family.
5. “It’s time to have kids, not travel the world! Think about how old you’ll be when your kids graduate high school – 46 at the youngest – 50 when they graduate college!
6. “No health insurance, no income, in a 3rd world country. What if something happens?
7. “What about your house? What about your car? What about your career?
8. “You’ve never hiked more than 10 miles a day in your life. You definitely aren’t in any shape to do this.
9. “Who are you to go to these places and “serve”? You’re not a pastor or a teacher or a farmer? What do you know?
10. “This is crazy and irresponsible.”

For me, this noise has a name: Fear.

Fear is real – It’s the enemy of the life we have all been called to live!

 Love will never invoke fear. Perfect love expels fear… 1 John 4:18 (VOICE)

I’ve read this verse a hundred times but until deciding to go on the World Race, I don’t think I had truly experienced the fullness of it.

When you experience that “perfect love”, the noise begins to get quieter and your true identity is amplified.

God’s perfect love quiets the noise – it silences fear!

Without the noise, those same thoughts look very different:

1. “You’ve been such a good steward of what I’ve given you – true stability is in me.” – Isaiah 26:4
2. “We’ve prepared for this, you are highly trained.” – John 15:16
3. “The fruit is real, enjoy the harvest, there’s even more to come!” – Matthew 9:37
4. “Generations will be impacted, this is a part of your family’s legacy.” – Proverbs 13:22
5. “Think of the lifetime of stories and perspective you will be able to share with your kids – you are going to be such a good father” – Isaiah 38:19
6. “We’ve been through this, this isn’t something I haven’t handled before – I’ve conquered and provided much more than this” – Ecclesiastes 3:15
7. “This is what freedom feels like!” – Galatians 5:13-14                             
8. “Determination is built inside of you, it’s how you were created” – Ephesians 2:10
9. “You learn fast. I’m not asking you to be an expert – knowledge is overrated. The impact comes from just saying yes.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9
10. “You are my beloved son.” – 1 John 3:1

Prayer: Jesus, I’m so thankful for your perfect love and your friendly presence. I refuse to give into the noise. I refuse to let fear rule my life. Fear does not get the last word, you do. Lead me closer. Increase my awareness of your voice through the noise. Your love is all I need.

References:

Isaiah 26:4 – So trust in the Eternal One forever, for He is like a great Rock—strong, stable, trustworthy, and lasting.

John 15:16 – You did not choose Me. I chose you, and I orchestrated all of this so that you would be sent out and bear great and perpetual fruit. As you do this, anything you ask the Father in My name will be done.

Matthew 9:37 – Jesus understood what an awesome task was before Him, so He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.”

Proverbs 13:22 – A good man leaves an inheritance for his grandchildren…

Isaiah 38:19 – But ah, the living! And I am among them today, giving praise and thanks to You for life, The old telling the young about the loyalty of Your love.

Ecclesiastes 3:15 – What has been and what is to be—already is. And God holds accountable all the pursuits of humanity.

Galatians 5:13-14 – Brothers and sisters, God has called you to freedom! Hear the call, and do not spoil this gift by using your liberty to engage in what your flesh desires; instead, use it to serve each other as Jesus taught through love. 14 For the whole law comes down to this one instruction: “Love your neighbor as yourself,”

Ephesians 2:10 – For we are the product of His hand, heaven’s poetry etched on lives, created in the Anointed, Jesus, to accomplish the good works God arranged long ago.

2 Corinthians 12:9 – and finally He said to me, “My grace is enough to cover and sustain you. My power is made perfect in weakness.” So ask me about my thorn, inquire about my weaknesses, and I will gladly go on and on—I would rather stake my claim in these and have the power of the Anointed One at home within me.

1 John 3:1 – 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.