Silas
Beloved of All
Your honest confession is received with thankfulness, and it is encouraging to hear both your candor about the struggle and your steady confidence in the promises of God.
You named anxious thoughts, overthinking, and fear as hindrances, and you added that you have not doubted God's promises and that you are trusting perseverance to carry you through. That distinction matters. There is a fear that God desires in us, and there is a fear that works against us.
Scripture says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. That word does not mean a phobia or a tormenting dread. It means awe and reverence before who God is, His greatness and power and holiness, with a desire to do what He desires, to love what He loves and to hate what He hates. That reverent fear is the starting place, the foundation for all true understanding. Without it we are left without direction, but with it we begin to see clearly.
The fear you described, anxious overthinking that circles and will not let go, is different. That kind of fear is an enemy of faith. Where fear is allowed to take over, faith is pushed out, and where faith and confidence in God are strong, fear loses its hold. That is why remembering the Lord is the cure for fear. The psalmist could say though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil for You are with me. When we forget the Lord's presence, fear grows. When we remember Him, that He is with us and watching over us, fear is quieted.
Overthinking often comes from trying to carry thoughts that are too heavy for us. God says His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways, as high as the heavens are above the earth. He knows the end from the beginning, so when He acts He knows it is right. We act and hope it is right. When we elevate our own endless reasoning, we put our limited understanding in a place only God should hold. It is wise to bring those looping thoughts to Him quickly rather than holding them, turning them over again and again, and letting them shape our reactions. Fear can motivate wrong movements, and the enemy often uses it to try to move us in a wrong direction.
You mentioned not releasing these hindrances all at once, and that perseverance will see you through. Perseverance is indeed part of the Christian life, and God honors a steadfast heart that keeps trusting Him. At the same time, you do not have to carry anxious thoughts until you have slowly worn them down. You can bring them to the Lord as soon as they arise and ask Him to replace tormenting fear with reverent trust. That is not a failure of perseverance, it is perseverance in the right direction, choosing again and again to remember God and to rest in His higher wisdom rather than in your own.
Pray with you that God will fill you with that reverent awe of Himself, which is the beginning of wisdom, and that He will lift the weight of anxious thoughts. May He teach you to number your days and to trust His care moment by moment, to bring every fearful thought to Him and to find confidence not in having every answer, but in knowing that He is with you and His promises remain true. As you keep turning to Him, He is faithful to keep your foot from being taken and to give peace that steadies the heart.
You named anxious thoughts, overthinking, and fear as hindrances, and you added that you have not doubted God's promises and that you are trusting perseverance to carry you through. That distinction matters. There is a fear that God desires in us, and there is a fear that works against us.
Scripture says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. That word does not mean a phobia or a tormenting dread. It means awe and reverence before who God is, His greatness and power and holiness, with a desire to do what He desires, to love what He loves and to hate what He hates. That reverent fear is the starting place, the foundation for all true understanding. Without it we are left without direction, but with it we begin to see clearly.
The fear you described, anxious overthinking that circles and will not let go, is different. That kind of fear is an enemy of faith. Where fear is allowed to take over, faith is pushed out, and where faith and confidence in God are strong, fear loses its hold. That is why remembering the Lord is the cure for fear. The psalmist could say though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil for You are with me. When we forget the Lord's presence, fear grows. When we remember Him, that He is with us and watching over us, fear is quieted.
Overthinking often comes from trying to carry thoughts that are too heavy for us. God says His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways, as high as the heavens are above the earth. He knows the end from the beginning, so when He acts He knows it is right. We act and hope it is right. When we elevate our own endless reasoning, we put our limited understanding in a place only God should hold. It is wise to bring those looping thoughts to Him quickly rather than holding them, turning them over again and again, and letting them shape our reactions. Fear can motivate wrong movements, and the enemy often uses it to try to move us in a wrong direction.
You mentioned not releasing these hindrances all at once, and that perseverance will see you through. Perseverance is indeed part of the Christian life, and God honors a steadfast heart that keeps trusting Him. At the same time, you do not have to carry anxious thoughts until you have slowly worn them down. You can bring them to the Lord as soon as they arise and ask Him to replace tormenting fear with reverent trust. That is not a failure of perseverance, it is perseverance in the right direction, choosing again and again to remember God and to rest in His higher wisdom rather than in your own.
Pray with you that God will fill you with that reverent awe of Himself, which is the beginning of wisdom, and that He will lift the weight of anxious thoughts. May He teach you to number your days and to trust His care moment by moment, to bring every fearful thought to Him and to find confidence not in having every answer, but in knowing that He is with you and His promises remain true. As you keep turning to Him, He is faithful to keep your foot from being taken and to give peace that steadies the heart.
