Fear and Faith or like polar opposites. Fear is “False Evidence Appearing Real” and Faith is “God’s Promise Appearing Soon” By Gary Shotton #000462

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Fear Of Failure

By Gary Shotton

Hello my name is Gary Shotton, and I’m here as a part of Inspiring Better Business. Today we’re going to talk about fear of failure. And anybody that’s a business owner or really even in life would have to admit that there’s times where fear can enter in and be ever looming on you and be ever present and there’s a way to get through that without feeling failure and  being experiencing failure, but it’s very critical which you do at that critical time.

So, first I think I’d like to define fear and define how it also is very close to faith and just the opposite like a magnet has a plus and a minus fields in a magnet faith and fear are kind of opposite to each other. The word fear could be defined as false evidence appearing real. I’ll think about it. When we’re usually in fear It’s not because we see something, it’s we’re thinking something’s going to happen. And I’m not talking about fear of the dark and I’m not talking about fear of robbery or something like that. I’m talking about fear of failure in financial affairs, fear that you’re going to go bankrupt fear that the business is not going to make it. And I’m focusing in on that because I have experience in that I have a lot of experience of fighting off fear thinking that is not going to work and it’s usually something that hasn’t happened yet or is something that hasn’t happened yet. Well, I was moved to my new town here, some 30 years ago, ready to learn faith and how faith works, and you know, I was expecting a good job because I left a good job, I had good experience but there was no job. That’s an opportunity to experience fear my wife and I were confident, and we spoke, positive words and we knew that God was directing us to make this change and it all worked out. It happened to be without the details something right in my hands, I started using it and started this business. Another case, I’m in this business out about 10 or 12 years, and there was times when payroll was hard to make cash was very tight. There was no, I didn’t appear there was any way that I would be able to pay my bills on Friday. And I will tell you fear, almost took over. It almost took my mind and my actions but I learned there the Word of God that I could do things that would cause God to take action. One of them was just shouting into the top of my lungs. In a quiet place that no one would hear me but I would praise God with my, My Being from my innermost being, I would shout out to Him and praise Him and thank Him for the good things he had I happen to be have a big warehouse. And in this warehouse with no one there. I could yell from the top of my lungs and they would echo and I would hear it back to me, I would speak out God’s competence and that fear would leave me and it will God somehow with my effort and my diligence, it would work out.

Let me tell you some real situations in the New Testament in Paul’s life in the book of Acts, chapter 16 Starting with 23, we hear the situation where Paul had been captured, they didn’t like him being so vocal he had been a proponent against Christianity and now he was a strong preacher and they didn’t like that. And so he was had been put in jail and it says they had many stripes and others the way had equipped him. Paul and Silas and then they’re in were put into prison, it was such a grievous offense that the guard put them in the deepest part of the prison and put shackles on their feet, this would be a time that Paul could have said  I’ve been serving you got, I’ve been diligently, he didn’t do that he didn’t whine to God, he didn’t speak negative, he stayed in faith. And what did he do it says there that policy at midnight policy analysts prayed and sang praises under God, are you kidding me in the darkest hour, rather than call somebody and ask them to pray for you. You’re almost reporting how bad it is all this is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me know, Paul, he, in his own right, just prayed and sang praises How old are you God,   I think that’s part of the key when you can, in the middle of the situation in the middle of the trial in the test you can avoid the temptation to turn from God and beg him, but repeat and review the promises God has given you, there’s how you fight off those fears and what happened well. In Paul’s case  at the middle of the night his chains were open the doors were open, and he could walk out freely. He didn’t even walk out the janitor saw the doors open and the janitor was sure that they had left so he is about to kill himself. And Paul and Silas and no don’t kill yourself we’re still here. And that night, the jailer and his family all got saved these tests are not here just for us these tests are for other people to see how you deal with the test.

Another example, in my life was what was 2009 when I had to own my new business with lots of debt, I had lots of payables that I had to pay and the  economy dropped out of the bottom and I had virtually. It appeared to be no jobs coming in I had to make adjustments I had to do the right thing, I had to make business decisions, but fear could have come on me. I called my group together I said we’re going to make it through this, with God’s help we’re going to make it through and we’re going to make it through and we’re going to be better off . I’m almost glad that it happened I don’t want it to happen but it’s got to teach us how to trust God and we made it through,  that’s how God would want us another story. Jesus was a teacher with his disciples and he said, let’s get in that boat he had been preaching and teaching this is in Luke chapter eight verse 23 And you can look it up and Jesus was saying let’s go to the other side he basically made a propagating proclamation, we’re going to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, and the he goes in, gets in the boat and somehow goes to sleep  and the winds down came the storm of wind that well that’s what happens when things happen in our lives, things happen in business that we know we’re not as Christians we’re just not promised a life of no problems. We are there to face those problems with God’s Word and fair will come on you are can come on here but you can’t let it control you, where we say, fear is false evidence appearing real. I would say faith is God’s promises yet to appear. The last where you want to lock into some of God’s promises at a long life, he’s promised me I’m going to have long life, because he’s promised me that and when I feel sick. I’m not going to just be can become fearful  I have a heart attack,  I’m going to do my medical things I want to take care of my body but I’m not going to fall into fear.

In America, COVID hit us and we’ve made it through. Now I have some other challenges, but I can’t fall into fear. In this example of the wind and so they wake up Jesus, they shake him and waking him up and said, Don’t you think we were going to perish, we’re going to drown, that’s what they were saying to him and he says, you have little faith. Well you know this was him teaching how faith works and he spoke to the storm, he spoke to the wind, that’s what we’ve got to learn to do. We don’t just pray a little bit speak to the problem. Mark 11: 23,24, 25 talks about it, that you can speak to that mountain and cast it into the sea. And it says that you say speak three times and their way if you read those verses you speak to them out and then those things that you have spoken you speak them again. And that’s how things happen in God’s plan so that’s a big part of it. And you know, here they were he rebuked the wind and the raging of waters and it was calm and the apostles were astounded that he had that power. Well you know if Jesus came as our example, we have that power also we just got to follow that same procedure, we’re not out here yelling to the mountains in less wind and storm unless it is coming my way. I’ve heard of people that had tornadoes coming their way. I live in tornado country and if they’ve had a tornado, headed their way and they stood in front of it and spoke to a tornado we can speak to the problem there’s where the answer is, this is a short story on fear of failure and I believe God’s promises yet to appear is what I want to count on and not be confident and that fall in false evidence that are currently appearing real. Now that’s fake we want to believe God and be trusting in Him. Thanks for being a part of Inspiring Better Business.