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Fear Does Not Get to Lead – The Formed Future · Still, Here

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: This is still here, a quiet moment to remember what is true.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Listen to these words from the book of 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 7.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: For God didn't give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Fear is not always the enemy.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes fear is the body doing what it was made to do.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: It notices a possible threat and sounds an alarm.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: A change is happening.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: We may be at risk.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Something needs our attention.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: That is why simply telling ourselves not to be afraid does not always help.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it makes fear louder.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: If the alarm is sounding and all we do is fight the alarm,
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: we may never understand what our fear is trying to protect.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: Fear may be reacting to money pressure,
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: uncertainty at work,
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: things happening in the family,
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: a health concern,
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: social instability,
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: the pace of technological change,
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: the sense that the world we learn how to live in is changing beneath our feet.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: The body can feel the threat before the mind has sorted out exactly what it means.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: So, there is value in listening.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: But listening to fear is not the same as giving fear authority.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: Paul tells Timothy that God has not given us a spirit of fear,
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: but of power, love, and self-control.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Many of us learned that last phrase as a sound mind.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Paul does not say a faithful person never feels afraid.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: He tells us fear is not the spirit God has given to lead our life.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Fear can bring information.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: It can tell us where we feel vulnerable.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: It can point towards something that deserves our attention.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: It may even warn us about a genuine danger.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: But fear is a poor ruler.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: It tends to turn every possibility into a certainty.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: It narrows our vision.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: It makes self-protection feel like the only wise choice.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: It pushes us to react before we are calm enough to decide what is actually true.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: The Spirit gives something different.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: Power that does not have to become harsh.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Love that does not have to become naive.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: A sound mind that can remain present long enough to choose.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: This will increasingly matter in a world filled with alarms.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Some alarms will be real.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Some will be amplified because frightened people are easy to capture and easier to steer.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Some fears will be old wounds responding to new situations.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: A maturing soul does not pretend danger is not there.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: A maturing soul learns who gets to lead.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: So, when fear rises today, You do not have to argue with it immediately.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: Ask it a question.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: What are you trying to protect?
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: What danger do I believe is near?
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: What part of this is connected to something real?
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: What part may have grown larger because I am tired,
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: pressured or surrounded by other people's fear?
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: Then bring the answer into the presence of the spirit.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Ask what power would look like here.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: Ask what love would look like here.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: Ask what a sound mind would do next.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: Fear does not have to be hated.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: You do not have to submit to it.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: It does not become the authority.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: It does not get the final word.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: It does not get to form the future of your soul.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: God has given you more than alarm.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Take a moment for this prayer of presence.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Spirit of God, meet me where fear rises.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: Help me listen without surrendering.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Let me understand what the alarm is trying to protect without allowing fear to become my guide.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: Form in me power that is not harsh,
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: love that is not naive, and a sound mind that can choose wisely under pressure.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Let fear become a signal I can bring to you, not a ruler I have to obey.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: As the day continues around you, carry this prayer with you.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: When fear sounds the alarm, lead me with love and a sound mind.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: When fear sounds the alarm,
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: Lead me with love and a sound mind.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: When fear sounds the alarm,
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: lead me with love and a sound mind.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: When fear sounds the alarm,
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: lead me with love and a sound mind.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, stay steady, stay open, Stay present.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: You are still here.