Faith Over Fear!

July 12, 2018

Hello friends! Today I’m excited to introduce you to my amazing writer and speaker friend Jennifer Goebbel. She is a mama of three girls and one boy, married for 19+ years, and has a God-given gift to teach (I love listening to her speak and marvel as she brings the Bible to life in new ways) . She is guest posting today on the blog, and I just know you’re going to love her as much as I do. Enjoy today’s post and check out more on her website and blog.

Have you ever heard a child crying from inside a public restroom? Well, truth be told, I or some other Mom or Dad might have been on the inside…whispering loudly, “Please stop crying, please?!” horrified that our child was so upset about using a self-flushing toilet.

So, I’m actually speaking from experience here…my sweet, kind hearted daughter has been afraid of self-flushing toilets ever since she was old enough to go potty in public restrooms. And since she is so very afraid, she cries as if you are trying to hurt her! Oh. My. Word. Lol.

Honestly, I felt like I had tried everything. I had tried covering the sensor with my hand, covering the sensor with a piece of toilet paper, physically hovering her over the toilet while I held her!…and I tried rationalizing, with a 4 year old – guess how that went?! Nothing worked. She would either hold it for hours on end…or she would cry very loudly and say “No, I can’t do it!” all because she was afraid it might suck her down with the water or even worse, splash her. [Can you feel my pain here?!]

Until the day I realized I was approaching it all wrong.

Literally standing there in the restroom stall that day…the Holy Spirit reminded me what the Bible has to say about fear: 2 Timothy 1:7a “For God did not give us a spirit of fear…”

And I stood there in that stall that day and had a conversation about fear with my sweet, crying, then 7 year old. “If God says in His Word that He doesn’t give us the spirit of fear…then do you know who that spirit is from?” She quietly answered “the enemy?”. “Yep, fear is from satan.”

She thought about that for a little while and then I asked her, “So, do you know what God does give to you?!” “No, what?” She was pouting a bit now…arms crossed and dancing a bit, because she REALLY had to go to the bathroom! Lol. Oh. My. Heavens.

So I finished the scripture for her… “Sweet girl, God gives you the spirit of power, of love and a sound mind! You have God’s power working on the inside of you. He makes you strong, He gives you peace…you can do this!!”

She did go on that self-flushing potty that day, but it took a lot of time. And I’ll be honest, it has been a journey for her. As of today, she is finally able to use them without being afraid, but not without hesitation. BUT, you guys, it brings her such JOY every time she conquers that fear!!! Once fear was exposed as NOT being from God, she was able to process her emotions differently. She was able to…little by little…start making decisions to trust God instead of letting fear control her.

And this is SO much more than a story about a little girl being afraid of self-flushers. It’s really for all of us. I don’t know about you, but fear tries it’s hardest to sneak into my life. It has been there when God asked me to do something new [fear of failure], it has showed up in my relationships [fear of not being good enough], and it even shows up sometimes when I try to talk with people about Christ…[fear of rejection]. BUT, once it’s called out for what it is…that it’s not something from God, but from the enemy…then, you can deal with it. Then you can rely on scripture and speak to fear! You can say, out loud if you want to, “I am filled with Jesus. And He gives me power, He gives me a sound mind, He gives me peace…I am filled with His love.” 2 Timothy 1:7

Faith over fear. Sometimes it’s a journey, sometimes it’s instant. But I want to encourage you, give your fear to Jesus, let Him replace it with peace…just like my daughter decided to do. Remember this story, of a scared, sweet little girl who was paralyzed with fear and anything but peace. And remember God’s very same promise is for you too!

Enjoy this post from Jennifer? Page down on her website and subscribe to get future posts sent directly to your inbox.