Blog Layout

How to Move Forward in the Face of Fear

Gary Keesee • Oct 15, 2019

Facing Fear

She had been home alone plenty of times before. There was nothing unusual about that night.

Until all three dogs started barking and rushed to the front door.

There was an odd noise at the door. When she peered around the corner, she could see the doorknob jiggling.

She grabbed the home phone and called her older sister.

“I think somebody is breaking in,” she said. “Stay on the line!”

The banging stopped, but the dogs continued to bark. She went upstairs and looked out a window to the front of the house. There wasn’t a car outside, but she could see footprints in the snow that came around the house to the front door. There was a second set of footprints from the front door to the back of the house.

Her brother-in-law called the police, and her oldest brother, who lives close by, was at the house in a matter of minutes. He and the police officer searched the basement, where they thought someone might have come in, but found no evidence of a break-in. They went back outside to inspect the footprints.

 But they weren’t foot prints .

 They were PAW prints.

It’s Funny Now, But It Wasn’t Then

Apparently, our neighbor’s large brown Lab had wandered onto our front porch. (Yes, this was at our house with our youngest daughter.)

Our front door has sidelights (windows) framing it, and when the neighbor’s dog looked inside and saw the three dogs in our house staring back at him, he clearly got excited.

Evidently, in his excitement, he had also jumped up on the windows and the door (the odd banging.) And, because he was such a large dog, his paws hit the doorknob as he jumped (the jiggling.)

We can laugh about it now, but the combination of all of those little things added up to make it seem to our youngest daughter that someone was trying to break into our house when she was home alone that night.

But it was all just false evidence that appeared to be real in those moments.

That’s exactly what fear is­— F alse E vidence A ppearing R eal.

What the Enemy Loves to Do

Satan loves to set up— false evidence —smoke screens and setups and shadows that all appear to be much bigger and scarier than they really are.

Why? Because he despises us, and he’s not playing games. He wants to take us out.

He wants to stop the Kingdom of God from manifesting, and he wants to hinder the plans of God for your life.

So he pushes your buttons. He knows what to say to make you afraid. After all, you’ve been trained by our culture to fear. Fear permeates our culture. Movies, television, news reports—they’ve all helped train us to fear or to react to circumstances in fear.

That’s why 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

You Don’t Have to Fear

You don’t have to fear the enemy or evil.

Look at Psalm 23:4:

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

See that? God is with you.

So, as a believer, the real battle against fear occurs in your mind.

That’s the ONLY way Satan can gain entrance.

And that’s why you have to take your thoughts captive. You have to be the one to draw the line and stand your ground.

You have to have courage.

How to Have Courage

Here’s the thing: Courage isn’t the absence of fear. No, courage is actually defined as the mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.

Courage is moving forward in the face of fear.

If you know anything about my story , you know that years ago I had real issues with fear.

Growing up, I was painfully shy and insecure.

I survived life by withdrawing. In fact, my plan was to just get done with high school and live in the woods, away from people.

I hadn’t learned how to handle fear, so fear was handling me.

God had to fix me. He had a specific purpose for my life, and He wanted to help me get there. When I was 19 years old, God called me in a vision to preach— to people . So I had to change. After all, a preacher who is afraid of people would live a miserable, unproductive life. There was only one answer: I had to have courage. I had to move forward in the face of fear again and again and again. I had to keep moving forward to get where He wanted me to go.

Friend, you have to learn how to move forward in the face of fear.

Learn How to Handle Fear So Fear Doesn’t Handle You

The Bible is full of examples of courage. Joshua is one of my favorites.

Moses had mentored Joshua to be a successful leader. Then, Moses died. Suddenly, Joshua was responsible for a huge nation of people and a wilderness journey.

Joshua could’ve easily looked at his situation and freaked out. He could’ve said, “You’ve got to be kidding me. I can’t do this. I’m not qualified.”

But he didn’t. Instead, Joshua focused on the promises God had made him:

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” —Deuteronomy 31:6-8

I need you to see something really important in those verses: God mandated that Joshua be courageous.

That means courage isn’t a feeling; it’s a choice , a decision to move forward in the face of fear.

No matter how impossible the situation may look, God said He is with you.

It doesn’t matter how weak you feel or how afraid you are. God said He will NEVER leave you nor forsake you.

You can be courageous not because of who you are but because God is with you.

That was me after God called me to preach—being courageous ONLY because He was with me. Because when He told me to go to college, I really had to move forward in the face of fear.

After college, God told me to go into life insurance sales. That’s a fantastic job for someone who is afraid to talk to people, right? I died at least a thousand deaths every week during those years I sold insurance. I’d lie in bed at night shaking in fear. It was the fight of my life.

But that was when things really began to change—when God began to reveal all of the larger-than-life shadows for what they really were— lies from the enemy…

  F alse E vidence A ppearing R eal.

_________________________________________________________________

God has called you to be strong and courageous, to confront the lies, the insecurities, the inferiorities, and the intimidation of the enemy.

You can learn how to move forward in the face of fear.

You can learn how to handle fear so fear doesn’t handle you.

Our brand-new Faith Over Fear 6-CD series can help.

These two mentorship materials will help you STOP FEAR in your relationships, in your finances, and in your life.

 

5 Steps to Release the Kingdom in Your Life

By Gary Keesee • 10 Apr, 2024
Reading Time 2 mins 13 secs – In John 6, we read the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. Do you know it? It’s where we see Jesus teaching the disciples how to release the Kingdom of God into the earth realm. Basically, a large crowd was following Jesus, listening to Him teach, and watching Him perform miracles. It got to a point where the people needed to eat, and Jesus asked the disciples what they planned to feed the people. Of course, Jesus knew the disciples would freak out. They couldn’t feed 5,000 people. In fact, they started talking about how it would take more than half a year’s wages to buy just a bite for that many people. Jesus was teaching the disciples, and He was teaching us— the Kingdom of God has all the answers you need . How can you release the Kingdom of God into your life? Here are the five steps Jesus took. 1. Look at what you have. Jesus asked the disciples what they had to feed the people. What do you have in your life that you can give God to work with? Jesus multiplied bread into bread and fish into fish. What do you need multiplied in your life? Find some of it. That’s your seed. Also, remember that money can be named. You don’t sow money to believe for more paper or digital money. Money represents your life and can be named to be the thing you need multiplied. 2. Make sure you’re in faith. “To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1, GNT). You have to know how to judge whether or not you’re in faith. How? Do you have the right picture? When you close your eyes, what do you see? Do you see yourself with the thing you’re believing for? Can you defend your position? Why do you believe it? Prove it! Because you can be sure that between the “Amen” and the “There it is!” the enemy is going to contend for it, so you better be able to defend it. Do you have joy, expectancy, and peace? Are you in agreement with your spouse? 3. Confess over what you have, and release it in faith. Be specific. Say exactly what you’re believing for and release the seed to God. 4. Get the plan from God. Be ready for new direction, new ideas, and new concepts by revelation from the Holy Spirit. Carry a notepad and a pen. Write everything down. 5. Act quickly! When God gives you the plan, MOVE! It’s wise to have counselors and get wisdom, but you need to act swiftly on any direction you receive from the Holy Spirit.

Want Growth and Success? Here Are 10 Steps to Help Take You There

By Gary Keesee • 13 Mar, 2024
Reading Time 2 mins 34 secs – How can you make sure you’re equipped for the growth coming your way this year? Here are my 10 steps to posture yourself for opportunity and success. 1. Ask yourself how you’re handling your current responsibilities. Don’t run from your responsibilities. No matter where you are or what you’re doing, you should be a success. People will still see the evidence of God even if you think you’re in the wrong spot. 2. Detox your life of the things that keep you from having time to think. We live in a fast-paced world. There are plenty of things that can keep you distracted. But it’s in the moments that you stop to think that you’ll find ways to solve problems, and that’s where the opportunities are. So figure out what is consuming your time. Start saying no to some things. Find time to think. 3. Don’t hang around people who are always losing. I know people hit rough spots, but if the people in your life are chronically losing, it’s time to expand your circle. Hang around people who are better than you are, who don’t see things as impossible, and who have vision. It may be uncomfortable for you, but their influence will cause you to think differently. 4. Write down EVERY idea that you have, no matter how strange it seems. Most people filter opportunities and ideas through what they perceive their ability to be. This means most people discard ideas by the dozens because they don’t think they can do them. But God isn’t limited to what you know how to do. The ideas He gives you might seem so weird to you that you can’t process them fully. Write them down so you have time to think about them. 5. Research. Research. Repeat. You don’t need to know how to do something; you need to know how to learn how to do it. Research until you find what you’re looking for. 6. Count the cost before you jump. A lot of Christians hear God and jump out too soon, resulting in catastrophe. There are seasons for everything. God will prepare you for where He wants you to go. Be patient. 7. Always be in agreement with your spouse. Never, ever march out into battle without your spouse being in total agreement and your faith aligned. 8. Ask God for direction. Ask Him to help you, to show you where to go, and what to do. And always remember that prophecy from other people shouldn’t lead you; it should only confirm what God has already said to you. 9. Commit to never quit. Quitting is not an option. Once you’ve moved, don’t move again until God speaks to you. Stay with it. Walk it out. Don’t quit. So many people have so much potential, but they get uncomfortable and they quit. If you want to win, you should always be stretching. 10. Get ready to embrace bigger things. Your ability to see the big picture will keep growing as you change and grow on the inside. You’ll pick up on even more opportunities. For more principles, check out this FREE video on success.

The Consequences of Strife: Why You Should Never Allow It in Your Life

By Drenda Keesee • 14 Feb, 2024
Reading Time 2 mins 59 secs – A stuffed toy laid in the road at the scene of the accident. As we passed, the Lord spoke to me, “ Okay, this is your last warning. Are you going to continue this? You know you are opening the door to the enemy.” Gary and I had had a disagreement just before we had left the house for our family road trip. And there we were six hours in and we’d barely said a word to one another. Six hours. You think driving from Ohio to Tennessee is a long stretch of highway? Try doing it while giving someone the silent treatment. One word: torture. Then we passed the accident. Gary and I both felt the same conviction when we passed it, especially because it clearly involved children. But... pride. We knew what we were doing wasn’t good. (What kind of example is it to your children to ignore each other?) But neither of us wanted to lay down our pride. I kept hearing the voice of the Lord, and I’d think, No, I’m not going to fix this thing, because then I’ll have to talk to him. It was almost a competition to see who could hold our grudge for the longest. But strife is dangerous stuff. What is strife? Drama, conflict, friction, disagreement, bickering, arguing, bad blood, disputes… whichever words you use to describe it, it’s dangerous. Whether it’s between you and your spouse, you and your child, you and a friend, you and a family member, or you and a coworker, you don’t want to let strife remain in your life. The Bible says that where there is strife, there is confusion and there is every evil work (James 3:16). Our small argument between Gary and I had gone unchecked and had escalated, and neither one of us were listening to the voice of the Lord. And there were consequences for our strife and outright disobedience. About an hour after we passed the accident, a car pulled out in front of our vehicle, and we were in what could have been a very serious car accident. I started yelling the name of Jesus, and God supernaturally protected our entire family. Initially, it looked as though there were going to be serious issues. They told us our son’s spleen might rupture. I was pregnant, and the doctors worried that I might lose the baby. Through all of these things, we stood on the Word of God, and we all came out unharmed, including the young preacher’s son who had pulled out in front of us (he was in disobedience at that moment too). Even in the midst of this difficult situation, through our prayers, standing on God’s Word, and our children’s words to the medical personnel, we had opportunities to minister and impact the little county hospital we had to visit. The enemy tried to take us out, but he lost. We were responsible for opening the door to the enemy. But the name of Jesus is more powerful than our mistakes and circumstances, and that is what kept us protected. You MUST stay on guard and not allow strife in your life, with anyone. How? Here are just three quick tips: Bite your tongue. You don’t have to say everything you think. Don’t lash out or give the silent treatment. Work on communicating with others in a healthy way. Repent quickly and forgive quickly. Take responsibility; admit when you’re wrong. Say you’re sorry and ask for forgiveness. Don’t hold onto hurts. Forgive as you’ve been forgiven by Jesus.
Share by: