Fear.

Four little letters have the potential to generate an awful lot of problems.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

There’s actually a proven approach to beating fear, that at first may seem a little counter-intuitive or crazy.

You have to face it head-on.

“Why would you say that, Andrea?”

Facing your fears helps you to develop resilience.

Once you face one fear and realize it is not strong enough to hold you back, you begin to realize you can face the next fear and the next fear and the next fear. You build up confidence that these fears are unable to hold you back.

Facing your fears creates an an environment for victory.

You become better than your surroundings and transform yourself above the fear and it leads you into a level of success and freedom that may have previously seemed impossible to you or to those around you. Overcoming fear starts with you, and it begins in your mind. Face your fears and learn to rise to face whatever is in front of you.

There’s the Bible story of a young shepherd named David who ended up in battle with his countrymen fighting an army who had a 9-foot tall giant named Goliath standing on the front-line challenging David and his fellow soldiers to come fight him.

David had such confidence that God would deliver him that, in the face of all fear, charged directly at Goliath – and killed the giant.

It might be one of the greatest underdog stories of all time, but the reason God put it in the Bible (you can read more about David in 1 Samuel 17) is to let us know that if it worked for David, it would work for us.

Simply put, face your “fearful giants” head-on and you won’t be disappointed!

When I was diagnosed with cancer, I asked God, “Why me? Why now?”

I heard Him whisper back, “Why not you? Why not now? You can overcome this Andrea, you are courageous, you are able to look fear in the face and do what you need to do. I have seen you do it before.”

Cancer was never my enemy. Fear was!

After being told I had a year to live, fear of dying came knocking at my door.

I knew I needed to overcome fear first in order to overcome the actual disease.

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, it was looking fear in the face and doing it anyway. Or as Kris Vallotton says, “Courage is fear that has said its prayers.”

I knew I needed to overcome fear first in order to overcome the actual disease.

It actually feels good to face fear and tell it “no, not this time.” You feel accomplished, you feel stronger than you thought, and it drives you to overcome the next fear by saying, “I see you, fear, but I also see my God and I will not be afraid.”

Be like David. Face it head-on.

Your victory awaits…