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Hello, Fearless One.

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Believe it or not, I spent a lot of years living in fear.

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In fact, my mantra was, do it afraid.

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It felt like the only way I could be brave was with shaking knees, an upset stomach,

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and a palpitating heart.

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We now know that what we sometimes think is fear can simply be excitement about something new.

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But I am talking about the spirit of fear.

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Where you feel a sense of dread and impending doom around you, like a heavy cloak.

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You're fearful that something bad will happen or even that something good might happen.

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Imagine having a fear of being successful and all the issues that come with it.

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Fear makes it feel like the worst possible scenario is going to happen every time.

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When I began the journey of writing Live Fearless,

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A Christian Entrepreneur's Guide to Life and Business,

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I wanted to understand how fear was showing up in my life and why.

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What was hidden underneath all the trepidation and how could I rid my life of it?

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That's where I want to take us today.

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Hello, Fearless One.

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I am blessed to be part of a new book collection called Breaking the Cycle.

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It features stories from 19 women who are choosing to break old patterns

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in their lives and families.

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It went live on November 11th,

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and I want to encourage you to grab a copy from your Amazon store.

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There's a link in the show notes to get yours.

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Thanks so much for your support.What

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is fear really telling you?

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We are born with some natural fear responses,

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including reactions to loud noises and the sensation of falling.

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These are designed to protect us from harm and help us stay alive.

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Many of the other fears we experience are learned.

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So fear of failure, fear of success, fear of technology,

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fear of going broke, Fear of sickness.

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These are all fears that we can pick up through life.

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I wish we could just ignore our fears and they would go away,

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but you don't overcome what you don't confront.

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The good news is that since many of these fears are learned, we can unlearn them.

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We can live a life where they are no longer keeping us

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from pursuing what we've been created to do.

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In writing the book and through my subsequent research and experimentation,

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I have come to see that you don't get rid of fear simply by ignoring it

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or even praying it away.

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You can use all the affirmations and scriptures you know,

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but sometimes it requires a more targeted approach to break the power of fear.

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Let me say that there is nothing that God cannot use for your benefit,

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even the things you would rather avoid.

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How could fear be to your benefit, you ask?

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Fear can be like a big caution light alerting you

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that there is something underneath it that you need to confront.

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Usually we think it means don't go down that street or don't take

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a particular action.

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However, sometimes the real message is deeper and it will be worth it for you

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to discover what it is.

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Now, this isn't like a scary movie where you're going to creep forward in the dark

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after you've already heard all the people scream and disappear.

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In that scenario, please run the other way, eh?

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Towards the light, not into the darkness.

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But for those of us who are fearful, I want you to stop and ask,

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what is this fear alerting me to?

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If you're afraid to go on a date, is it because you think this man or woman is bad?

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Or is the truth really that you don't want to be hurt again?

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Maybe you've suffered a terrible heartbreak, lived through your parents' divorce,

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or experienced family abuse.

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These unresolved issues can show up in how we relate to others

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and whether we allow ourselves to get close to them.

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A previously bad mistake may also make you question your own judgment.

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Bring your concern to the feet of Jesus and tell him what you're afraid of.

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He already knows, but when we are honest with him,

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we begin the process of releasing that fear to him.

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You can't overcome what you won't confront.

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So what is underneath your fear?

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I told myself for a lot of years that I wasn't good with numbers.

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Truthfully, I'd passed my high school math exams, but I'd been terrified of my math teacher.

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It was my least favorite subject,

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and somehow that translated into adulthood as a belief that I wasn't good at math.

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This meant I ignored all the numbers in my business.

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I had a general idea of how much was in my bank accounts,

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but I didn't want to know much more than that.

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You aren't going to get very far in business without looking at your numbers,

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understanding what they mean,

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and making a plan to manage what you have and bring increase to it.

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You don't need to be a math genius,

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but you do need to be able to read your financial reports with understanding.

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Funny enough, I have quite a few accountants and revenue experts in my friend group,

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and I'm always fascinated by how they look at a report and can get excited

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about the numbers.

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Where I see something I would rather ignore, they see the story of my business.

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Financial reports and even your bank statement are simply the story of your money habits.

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But what was really behind my fear of math and numbers?

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It was a deep-seated concern that to be wealthy meant I was bad or undeserving.

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I'd seen money used as a differentiator between Black people and other races,

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and for some reason, Black people weren't supposed to have it

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in similarly large quantities.

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Having money somehow meant that I was trying to be better than my people.

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I felt that having money would make other people think I was better than them,

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and in doing so, they wouldn't like me.

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I was keeping myself broke basically because I wanted love.

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I'd been made to feel like it was either money or them and I certainly didn't want to be alone.

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I was a child when this belief was embedded and it stayed with me even

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as I was achieving success after success.

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It meant that I was constantly resetting my bank balance back to zero.

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Now I've got to tell you, I didn't discover this in one prayer session.

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It has been months and months of intense unpacking.

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I needed to go below the layers I'd previously uncovered to reach a deeper level

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of clarity about what was driving my financial decisions.

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I am so glad that the Lord is patient and that his desire is for us to have freedom

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in every area.

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2 Timothy 1 verse 7 says, For God hath not given us the spirit of fear,

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but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

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A sound mind, a mind that can unravel even complex inner issues and make space

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for the newness that God wants to bring to us.

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Notice that this scripture doesn't say we will never experience fear.

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It reminds us that fear is not what God has given us to govern our lives.

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He has given us power, love, and a sound mind.

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What fear keeps showing up in your life?

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Or is it a recent decision you are forced to take,

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which has opened a new can of worms, so to speak?

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Life has a way of leading us down roads that bring greater enlightenment and freedom.

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God wants us to experience freedom in every area of our lives.

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We don't need to go looking for things to be afraid of.

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Every day we must choose not to live a life shrouded in fear.

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We can turn on the television or scroll on our phones and within five seconds

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of swiping, there comes the drama and pain.

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But we have a choice about what we allow to govern our thoughts.

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Psalm 56 is a beautiful passage said to have been written by David

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when he had been captured by the Philistines.

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In verses 3 and 4 he says, What time I am afraid I will trust in thee.

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In God I will praise his word.

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In God I have put my trust.

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I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.

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I encourage you to read the entire chapter.

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David does not shy away from saying how fearful he is.

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He describes how he feels hounded by his enemies,

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how they are watching his every move,

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and how they are constantly trying to bring him down.

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But he makes a decision.

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When he is afraid, he will trust in God.

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And then in verse 8, he gives us this beautiful picture of how God sees our pain.

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Thou tellest my wanderings.

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Isn't that a beautiful picture?

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God taking your tears and holding them close.

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God sees your tears.

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He knows your current situation is overwhelming you and that you feel hopeless.

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But I want you to know that you have only to put your trust in your Heavenly Father.

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You can say, Daddy, I am terrified.

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This stuff doesn't usually work out for me,

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and I know it's because of what I've seen and believed.

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But today, I choose to believe that you are my warrior, my advocate, and my friend,

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and you will see me through to victory.

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Now, how God might choose to bring you

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that victory may not look like what you expect,

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but you must allow him to do the work his way.

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Let me tell you, your fears don't frighten God.

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Like a parent who comes into the room and turns on the light when their child starts

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to scream, so will he turn on the light

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and show you what is lurking beneath your fear.

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With you holding tightly to his hand,

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he will walk you through the shadow of death and show you that the light

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of his word, which brings forgiveness and reminds you that you belong to him,

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can make that dark fear disappear.

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Fear has no authority over your identity.

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All throughout scripture, God told his people, do not be afraid.

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Joshua, a great warrior, was instructed not to be afraid.

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He had been close to Moses and had seen all the miracles God had done

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for the children of Israel.

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Now he was tasked with leading them into the promised land.

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Imagine the responsibility.

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And yet God gave him a clear instruction in Joshua 1.9.

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Have I not commanded thee?

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Be strong and of a good courage.

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Be not afraid.

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Neither be thou dismayed.

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For the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest.

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God wasn't telling Joshua that there would be no challenges.

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He was reminding him that he would not face them alone.

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Fear isn't something reserved for a certain type of person.

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It comes after whosoever it chooses.

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But the ones who resist it are the ones who are clear about who they are and who is for them.

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We don't need to tackle fear on our own.

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When we see it, we can call on the name of the Lord.

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When it wants to paralyze us, we can pause and ask, what are you hiding?

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Why have you come to try and stop me?

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What do I need to know about who I am and what is stopping my growth?

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Have you ever been terrified about submitting an application, whether for a new job,

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a scholarship, or a request for a salary increase?

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You've talked yourself out of it because you heard that 100 other people applied

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for the same job, or you believe there are others more qualified for the scholarship

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than you.

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You see news stories about layoffs,

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so you say this might not be the best time to ask for a raise.

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While they all look and feel like valid concerns, what is sitting underneath the paralysis?

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Is it a belief that you're not good enough?

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Is it a scarcity mindset that there isn't enough for you and others?

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You may be used to seeing your parents sacrifice,

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or perhaps you've always had to choose to put others first.

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So without even trying, you take yourself out of the running.

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Now you don't know if that job was yours to get,

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and that company has missed the opportunity to get to know what

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an amazing candidate you would have been.

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Respond to that strong desire to apply for the job by hitting the submit button.

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Make an appointment to speak with your boss about a raise.

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Come armed with the validation of the value you've been delivering to the company

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and how you plan to continue doing so.

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Take that step.

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Fear often loses its grip when you stop allowing it to make your decisions for you.

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Now earlier and in every episode, I talk about knowing who you are.

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And this isn't about your job role or how people identify you.

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I am talking about who God says you are.

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You can talk to the Lord about this.

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Lord, who am I to you?

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How do you see me?

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What do you call me?

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We often think of God as an extension of how humans see us.

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And so, when we have a false sense of who we are,

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based on what our parents or friends might have identified us as,

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we interact with God expecting that He sees us with the same flaws and failings.

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Let me tell you right now, God sees you through the lens of the finished work

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of His Son Jesus on the cross.

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He calls you righteous.

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He declared you blessed at creation.

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You haven't even done anything yet.

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And he said, she is blessed.

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He said, he is blessed.

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Look at what happened in the beginning.

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Genesis 1, 27 verse and 28 says, so God created man in his own image.

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In the image of God created he him.

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Male and female created he them.

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And God blessed them.

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And God said unto them, be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it.

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And have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air

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and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

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Before Adam and Eve had done anything to earn it, God blessed them.

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Blessing was part of their original identity and design.

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And the word tells us that Jesus was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

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Revelations 13 verse 8, And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him.

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Whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb,

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slain from the foundation of the world.

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Before we messed up, God's plan of redemption was already established.

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And through the finished work of Jesus, we are able to stand in a new identity.

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Look at what Paul tells us.

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2 Corinthians 5 verse 21.

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For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin,

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that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

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You are not defined by your past mistakes, your failures,

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or the things people have said about you.

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In Christ, you are made righteous.

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You are loved.

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You are accepted.

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You are blessed.

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What would change if you saw yourself the way God sees you?

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What actions would you take if you believe that God has good things in store for you?

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Psalm 84, 11.

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grace and glory.

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No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

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I want to challenge you that walking uprightly isn't simply

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about getting everything right, and never making mistakes.

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It is about walking in alignment with God,

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trusting him and living from your identity as a righteous child of God.

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David messed up.

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He made some terrible decisions,

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but he knew who his father was and he continually returned to him.

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And that relationship was central to his access to God's provision, protection and mercy.

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Your righteousness is of God.

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Isaiah 54, 17 tells us, No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper,

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and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.

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This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me,

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saith the Lord.

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Your righteousness is of God.

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Not something you have to earn by getting everything right.

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Not something you have to prove to other people.

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It is rooted in what God has done for you through Jesus Christ.

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Today, if you're not even sure what is driving your fears,

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if you have a long list of fears and don't know where to start,

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I invite you to start with your identity in God.

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Get to know how He sees you.

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Learn to live in that identity and from that identity.

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When you do, you will begin to recognize the beliefs, habits,

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and fears that do not align with how God sees you.

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One by one, your daddy God will help you unpack the things that don't fit

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with the identity of a child of the Most High who knows they are loved, protected,

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and provided for.

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Little by little, you will be transformed from the inside out.

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And that's the real work of living fearless.

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It's not about never feeling afraid.

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It's about knowing who you are, knowing whose you are,

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and refusing to let fear dictate the decisions you make or the life you live.

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I want you to know that you are loved.

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You are absolutely his favorite.

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Live Fearless.

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Thank you for listening to Fearless One with Nerissa Golden.

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For more resources or to get in touch, head to nerissagolden.com.