Living Fearlessly

Fear, Just about everyone is afraid of something, there's whole books dedicated to phobias and what people fear.
Fear holds even the very best of us back, you will never get anywhere or do anything if you fear what hasn't happened yet, if you fear all the bad things happening nothing good will come either.
I found out a funny little fact that I find interesting to me, a study said that more people had a fear of public speaking than death.
Interesting thing fear is, the idea is that people take something that hasn't happened yet and allowed it to control them.
How odd that something that has yet to happen could control a person's actions.
There are some like myself who really have no fear of things and get past that what if mentality,
Now off the top of my head I honestly can't think of one thing I fear, maybe because I know God is looking out for me and even if something were to happen then there must have been a reason and I won't have to worry about bills any more.{That last part is a joke but you get the jest of it.}
I watched tv once and a show was on where they showed peoples fears of things and this woman had a fear of balloons of all things.
Now as I stated, some have no fear and that can be a good or bad thing as long as you don't take either too far.
What is the difference between the two types of people?
I often wonder to myself why fear is like a tornado and it effects one person while leaving another in tact.
I have been in car accidents before and I was fine, I got back on the road and drove again, making sure I was a bit more careful next time.
However I have seen people who get into a car accident and are so mentally wounded that they can't set foot in a car, Bus or any other transport without freaking out or breaking down.
I've been bitten by dogs and yet I love dogs, others get bitten and they can't even see a picture of a dog without fretting, as if the dog will leap out of the picture to bite them.
Fear doesn't do anything but hold us back serving as a what if reminder and keeping a person in a physiological prison.
Throughout History Man has known fear does nothing for people except damage people and we can either rule our fears or we can let it dictate what we can or can't do.
There are whole groups of people who fear Germs so they don't go out and clean excessively not realizing that they are doing more damage than good.
I don't use hand sanitizer because people who use it all the time wind up with weaker immune systems because the germs get used to it and their systems can't handle things when something does come along.
I do use soap in case you were worried. :)
There have been many great quotes about fear>
Sven Goran wrote “The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.”
“FEAR is an acronym in the English language for "False Evidence Appearing Real""-Neale Donald Walsch
“You block your dream when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith.”-Mary Manin Morrissey
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.”- Ambrose Redmoon
and of course one of the most famous by Franklin D. Roosevelt “There is nothing to fear but fear itself.”
The list goes on forever including Bible quotes and there is a whole wide range of things out there to be afraid of and there are always things that will happen whether you choose to be afraid or not but I choose to let it not manipulate me.

On the other side there are people who show no fear but do so foolishly thinking that if they push it God will save them from impending doom if He still has things for them to do.
I'm not ragging on thrill seekers by any means, they have equipment or know the equipment is safe before doing things or at the least know what their doing. {Sometimes}
There must be a balance between living and using common sense with caution.
For instance there are people who practice snake handling in churches, these are deadly venomous snakes that can kill you and they think this proves their faith.
why would they think this you ask??
It's because of a scripture Mark 16:18 that says "they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
This has mislead many people to believe the wrong thing resulting in many deaths over the years when this scripture has been taken out of context.
The full scripture says>>
He{Meaning Jesus} said to them,Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
Seeing the full scripture shows that EVEN if we are to be poisoned or bitten by snakes we will not be affected, we aren't to tempt fate by pushing anything to prove our faith.

Having said everything I have I must say this next, some people have a fear of talking to others about God or Jesus or the Bible.
This is what the Bible has to say about fear>>
Psalm 23:4 says "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me."
Ps. 27:1-3 says "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident."
Psalm 56:11 says "In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me."
2 Timothy shows that Fear does NOT come from God and states "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

God doesn't want us to fear anything because if He is for us who can be against us?
It's at this point people usually ask this question.

Q.If He doesn't want us to fear Him why is it called the fear of the lord or fear the lord your God?
A.This is a misunderstanding and merely something that takes a little bit of study to understand.
The real meaning for the fear of the Lord means to respect God enough to Obey His Commandments, I'll explain Further.

For someone who doesn't Believe, the fear of God is the fear of the judgment of God {we must all face in the end}, which means eternal separation from God-Luke 12:5 & Hebrews 10:31.
For the believer however, the fear of God is something much different. The believer's fear is reverence of God. Hebrews 12:28-29 says “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ’God is a consuming fire.’” This reverence and awe is exactly what the fear of God means for Christians. This is the motivating factor for us to surrender to God.
Proverbs 1:7 declares, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” Until we understand who God is and develop a reverential fear of Him, we cannot have true wisdom. True wisdom comes only from understanding who God is and that He is holy, just, and righteous. Deuteronomy 10:12, 20-21 states “And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.” The fear of God is the basis for our walking in His ways, serving Him, and, yes, loving Him.
Some redefine the fear of God for believers to “respecting” Him. While respect is definitely included in the concept of fearing God, there is more to it than that. A biblical fear of God, for the believer, includes understanding how much God hates sin and fearing His judgment on sin—even in the life of a believer. Hebrews 12:5-11 describes God’s discipline of the believer. While it is done in love as in Hebrews 12:6, it is still a fearful thing. As children, the fear of discipline from our parents no doubt prevented some of our actions being mistakes. The same should be true in our relationship with God. We should fear His discipline, and therefore seek to live our lives in such a way that pleases Him.
Believers shouldn't be scared of God because We have no reason to be scared of Him.
We have His promise that nothing can separate us from His love -Romans 8:38-39. We have His promise that He will never leave us or forsake us as in Hebrews 13:5. Fearing God means having such a reverence for Him that it has a great impact on the way we live our lives. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His ways so that it saves us pain later, and worshipping Him in awe.

Fear is never a good thing and won't control us unless we let it.
I hope this Helps you understand a little bit better, Let me leave you with two last Quotes.

"Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold." -Helen Keller

"A life lived in fear is a life half lived." -Spanish proverb