Your progress in life requires you to evolve from one stage of development to the next. This evolution takes place at a mental and spiritual level. The process will not happen automatically. You must allow yourself to evolve.
At every stage of your development, there are challenges you must overcome. Conquering these challenges will prepare you for the next phase of your self-realization. As you evolve, a key challenge you must conquer is fear.
Today, I want to talk to you about “Face Your Fears.”
Twelve years ago, I preached a revival in Bolgatanga, a city in northern Ghana. When the program was over, I went to see the famous crocodile pond in Paga, about two hour drive from Bolgatanga. I was excited about the adventure. I wanted to sit on the large reptile, lift the tail, and take a photo, just like every tourist did. But I felt scared, so I left. On my way home, I knew I had to address this fear.
Six months later, another program took me to Tamale, also in northern Ghana. This time, I decided to face my fear. I had to face my crocodile. And face it, I did. Just so you know: Not only did I sit on the crocodile, I lifted the tail and took a nice picture with a beautiful smile to go with it.
Once you become aware that you have a fear of something or someone, there are three things you should not do. At the same time, there is one thing you must do.
First, do not feel ashamed about your fears. Feeling guilty about your fears will make matters worse. Fear and guilt dampen the human spirit. Having either of them is bad enough. Do not compound the problem by combining the two feelings. Regardless of your personal struggles, always remember to love yourself unconditionally.
Second, neither suppress nor ignore your fears. We all want to appear strong. No one likes to be seen as weak. The pressure to appear strong is particularly intense if you are someone people look up to, a leader of a group, for example. There is nothing wrong with projecting strength. Remember, however, that by ignoring the fear, you are merely delaying the inevitable. Eventually, you will have to confront the problem. You can ignore the fear, but the fear will not ignore you.
Third, do not broadcast your fears. Remember, fear is contagious. Be kind to the universe. Cover your mouth until your infection has passed. If you must release something into the universe, let it be faith and positive vibes, not your fears. It took the word of only ten fearful men to infect the whole congregation of Israel with fear of the giants (Numbers 13:25-33).
Fourth, face your fears. Facing your fears does not mean you should recklessly put yourself in harm’s way to prove a point. No, it means when you become aware you are dealing with fear, you must acknowledge the problem.
After acknowledging the problem, the next step is to accept that you need to work on yourself to release all feelings of insecurity. The problem of fear does not lie with the thing you fear. The proplem lies with you. The feeling of fear is a symptom of a deep seated issue in your life that needs to be addressed, by you.
You can try prayer, meditation, and relaxation techniques. But the antidote to fear is to arm yourself with your spiritual identity as God’s image and likeness. Only a solid awareness of your divine identity will make you immune to fear. It’ll take practice, but it’s worth the time and effort.
Remember, God’s unconditional love is a shield around you. Overcome fear today by seeing yourself as God sees you.
In light & love
Ogoe
Higher-Self Realities 