Angst durch Furcht Gottes ersetzen

Schlechte Ängste kann man durch eine gesunde Furcht ersetzen. Irrationale Ängste durch die Furcht Gottes. In einem interessanten Artikel beschreibt Dana Cashwell, wie sie ihre Angst vor Schlangen Schritt für Schritt mit der Hilfe von Menschen mit der Furcht Gottes ersetzt hat.

Zunächst einmal, was ist die Furcht Gottes nach biblischer Definition. Sie besteht aus fünf Elementen, die sie nachts beim Aufwachen auswendig können sollten.

1. Das Böse hassen

2. Das Gute lieben

3. dem Frieden nachjagen

4. die richtigen Worte gebrauchen

5. Hochmut und Stolz unterlassen

Diese fünf Dinge haben etwas mit einem gesunden Respekt und Gehorsam gegenüber Gott zu tun. Sie entwickeln sich in einer Beziehung zu Gott. In einer Beziehung, in der wir Gott und seine Wünsche anfangen zu verehren.

Dana Cashwell hat für ihre Schlangenphobie menschliche Hilfe in Anspruch genommen. Die entscheidende Erkenntnis, die sie weitergebracht hat war, dass sie als wiedergeborenes Kind Gottes die Fähigkeit! und das Recht hat zu wählen. Dass sie sich für das Gesetz des Lebens nach Römer 8 entscheiden kann.

Sie musste sich in einem Lernprozess zwischen der irrationalen Angst und der folgenden Tatsache entscheiden:

Denn Gott hat uns nicht gegeben den Geist der Furcht, sondern der Kraft und der Liebe und der Besonnenheit. 2. Timotheus 1,7

Heute mag sie Schlangen zwar noch immer nicht, aber sie kann ihnen begegnen, ohne in irrationale Ängste zu verfallen.

Günther, www.inunsererstrasse.de

Lesen Sie mehr: Gelbe Quietsche-Badeenten als Vorbild

Bild: Günther Dozler, pixelio.de

Hier der vollständige Artikel, leider auf Englisch von Dana Cashwell – mit Genehmigung der Autorin

I Am Ophidiophobic.
I am terrified of snakes. It used to be to the point where I couldn’t look at cartoon representation of one without my skin crawling. The first time I tried to get help, this ‘doctor’ who was supposed to be helping me, locked me in a room with a six inch garter snake. No bigger around than a Ticonderoga #2 pencil. Have you ever seen a grown woman claw her way through a wall because she couldn’t break down the door? The ‘doctor’ did that day and if you had been there you would have too. Needless to say but that guy didn’t help me much; actually made it worse if that’s possible.

I told you that so you could maybe understand this. One spring my husband says he THOUGHT he saw a snake in our backyard. My three children and I didn’t go into the backyard until the end of fall that year. To top that, during the time we never went into the backyard, I would send my oldest daughter, (who was then just three years old) to check for snakes on the front walk before we would leave the house to get in the car. The fear controlled our lives even to the possible detriment of my child.

Fear makes you care about one thing and one thing only: fear. Nothing else matters; not your family, friends, church, job, or more importantly God. What’s scarier to me is it doesn’t matter what you fear, it will eventually control your life.

I’m still ophidiophobic, but not to that degree anymore. I’ve done two things that have helped immensely. 1: I got GOOD help. 2: I have a new, HEALTHY fear. Wait a minute! Fear can’t be healthy can it? For the most part no, fear is not healthy; however, there is one fear which should be encouraged and instilled in everyone including our children.

The Fear of God.

Are You A Duck?

If it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck and walks like a duck it’s probably a duck. Right? You’d be wrong unless it had the beating heart of a duck. You can look like a duck and still be a decoy, you can sound like a duck and still be the duck caller for the hunters and you can walk like a duck and still be a goose. It’s the heart that matters.

The same is true of Christians. You can look like a Christian with the right clothes, friends, church and still not be. You can talk like a Christian; be a preacher, Sunday school teacher, choir member and still be a mouthpiece for the devil. You can walk with nothing but good deeds in your life and still not get to heaven. It’s the heart that matters.

Deuteronomy 10:12 and 13 say that as a believer all God is asking from you is this: Fear God in righteousness. Walk in all His ways and love Him, serve God with all your heart and with all your soul, keep His commandments and do it for your own good. In Isaiah 11:3 the Bible says that Christ delights in the fear of God but what is it? What is the fear of God?

For the believer, the fear of God is intolerance to sin. It’s a deep reverence, an awe and wonder. It’s an understanding of righteousness and grace. The Bible says that, the fear of God is to hate evil, the beginning of knowledge and that it adds length to life. The fear of God is the heart of all we do; it is the heart of who we are in Christ. Because it is the heart of all we are and do in Christ, it calls us to obedience. The righteous fear of God and therefore our love for Christ (because I don’t believe you can have one without the other) becomes the motive and purpose for all we think, say, and do. This way, we will do all the “right” and “good” things in order to please Him.

For the unbeliever, the “Fear of God” is a whole different animal. Romans 1:16 tells us that the proof of God is to be seen in everything He created. The very leaves on a tree testify to us about Him. Every culture everywhere has a creation story. Why is that? Because God exists. Therefore the unbeliever has no excuse. They have the evidence in front of their eyes and still choose not to believe. The Bible says in verses 17-38 that ignoring the evidence of Christ will send you into a downward spiral of both physical and spiritual degradation then eventually physical death. That my friends, is only the beginning.

The unbeliever’s spiritual death will be infinitely worse. Make NO mistake; HELL IS REAL. Look at it this way. Imagine the most pain, guilt, regret, disappointment, remorse, grief, sadness, indignation, misery, anguish, disgrace, dishonor, hopeless, uselessness, unworthiness, embarrassment, worthlessness, inferiority and loneliness you have ever felt both physically and mentally in your life, then multiply that exponentially 1 billion times.

Next, imagine feeling all of that completely conscience, in complete darkness with not even a pinpoint of light. While surrounded by and constantly consumed by a fire you cannot see because it gives off no light but you can feel because it burns. Understanding that there are others like you suffering just like you are because you can hear them weeping and screaming while imagining what they look like. Knowing now that you could have avoided this fate but chose not to, you cry out and beg God to let you go and tell your family and friends but it’s too late and that knowledge will torment you the most because you know some of them will be here too. That’s just the first day. In Hell nothing changes. Hell is constant. Hell is eternal, forever and continual.

So the question remains; are you a duck or a decoy?

God’s Credit Score

It doesn’t matter if your fear is a diagnosed phobia or just a dislike of articles (nudge, nudge, wink, wink); any fear other than the Fear of God is completely irrational and will interfere with your life both physically and spiritually.

The Bible says in 2 Timothy 1:7 that God did not give us a spirit of fear but one of power, love, and self-discipline. Luke 12:4-7 tell us there is only One we should fear and He is the One who can make even your eternal spirit cease to exist. God promises us over and over that we have no need to be afraid because He has given us power over it. The power to choose. I choose to believe the promises of God. Why? Well, let’s do a credit check on God.

Look at the promise of a rainbow; everyday all over the world somewhere there is a rainbow. What is the rainbow a promise of? That there will never be another global flood like the one Noah and his family endured. I’m sure you’re aware that there has never been another global flood like the one Noah and his family endured.

Have you ever stood under a rainbow? All you have to do is look up to see proof positive that we are under the promises of God. I don’t know about you but I would rather be under the promises of God then somewhere over them. So look at your own life and do a credit check on God; I guarantee you He has a perfect score.