Fear

Seems to be a lot of fear in the atmosphere.
The news channels thrive on it.
It fills our newspapers.
It is founded on conjecture of what might happen.
Fear.

For a person in addiction, fear is a major part of life.
But the kind of fear they carry around is directed toward themselves.
Fear of failure....
Fear of rejection....
Fear of abandonment....
Because they don't have a way to battle these fears, they turn to their drug of choice.
It's all they know how to do to survive.

There are also these things we call False Belief's.
They govern our actions and dictate our responses. We grew up with them....were raised with them and now they guide us daily.
These false belief's are the fuel for the fear that an addict feels everyday.
False Belief # 1 tells us "I must meet certain standards to feel good about myself". Every person has a standard that they want to live up to. It may be something that our parents taught us or something we picked up along the way that we use to measure our self worth by. But because addiction has kicked in, we never quite measure up to those standards. IN fact, we have failed so much that we have given up trying to meet any standard. We use our past record to measure our future with. What does our past say about us? That we have failed at most everything we have tried. What does that say about our future? That we will fail, so why try.
Fear of failure kicks in and it has become such a powerful force in our life that we quit trying. 
The fear rises up and we turn to our drug of choice to escape the pain and the condemnation that we heap on ourselves.
What's the answer?

John 14:1
Let not your hearts be troubled, you believe in God, believe in Me.
The word trouble, in Strong's Concordance, is translated "Boiling Water". Heat is applied which agitates the water. Jesus is saying, don't let the outside pressures and unknown future dictate your response by becoming fearful. Don't pick up and carry burdens and emotions that only lead us away from Christ. What is the answer? It is so simple. Believe in God. Believe in Christ.
Not a mental nod to "Yep! I believe in God and Jesus".  But a deep down, lay hold of, don't let go belief that God is who He claims to be and Jesus will do what He has promised He would do. I am never to look inside myself for answers to my fears or problems. I look to Him. I turn my attention to Christ. Something that works for me if I find myself becoming fearful is to read the Psalms out loud. Sounds crazy I know, but it works. Why does it work? Here again ...simple. Romans 10:17 - Faith comes by hearing, and hearing the word of God. I don't listen to that deceiving voice that whispers to my mind. I began to read out loud and speak the truth of God's word. I will not allow fear space in my head to do it's work. Keep in mind that we are human, o.k.? Fear is a part of life, but I don't have to let it rule over me. In the John 14 verse, what Jesus is saying is that when fear seeks to overtake you, fight back. You've got the greatest weapon in the world there in your Bible. Use it! When Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted by the devil himself, what did He use? Scripture. Every time the devil came at Him, Jesus would turn he away with the truth that is found in God's word. I think it's time we all see the value and turn the word of God into a real weapon.
Truth will take down fear every time.

God on you...
mb