Fear Is Not My Proper Motivation

Situations I fear are rarely as bad as the fear itself. Allowing fear to run unchecked in my life leads to desperation and impulsive reactions as well as eats away at my faith. If I am trusting God, then there is no reason to be afraid of so many of the things that cause me fear. I don't have to be afraid of financial insecurity for example. Not because I am rich or even have a secure and steady source of income that covers all my expenses, both normal and unexpected, but rather because I put the time and effort in to working for what I can and trusting God for the rest. I don't always know how my needs will be met, but I can trust that they will because God loves and provides. But I must do my part. I can't sit in my prayer closet and pray for food and do nothing else or I will surely starve to death. Instead I pray for food and then go to work, go to the store for supplies, prepare the food, and then I have something to eat. Every prayer requires an action on my part in order to bring about the result. Sometimes that action is to be patient and wait while trusting God. Other times it is to do something immediately which brings about a change to the situation. The key is for me to trust God, listen for His guidance when I am afraid, and respond as He would have me respond rather than with my normal instinctual reaction. I don't do this even close to perfectly, but I do it enough to know that when I do act under His guidance instead of reacting in fear, the result is always better.