I had an experience with fear that almost robbed me of a trip to Israel. My husband was thinking of taking our two oldest boys and me to Israel with a tour our church was sponsoring. I was enthusiastic about the trip until I received a call from my prayer partner. My prayer partner called me before we made our final decision on whether to take this trip or not.
My prayer partner told me about a lovely vision she had of our whole family riding in a chariot in heaven. She said she saw us all dressed in white with crowns on our heads. She thought she was telling me something that would edify. However, all I could see was our whole family going down over the ocean in a Boeing 747. I hung up the phone, paralyzed with fear.
The next day I told my husband I decided not to go on the trip to Israel, but he could go and take the two oldest boys while I stayed behind with the youngest boy. He had no idea why I suddenly had a change of mind. Later that week I was traveling in my car, and my thoughts about all I had to do that day were interrupted by this thought: “Where does fear come from?” Immediately I remembered 2 Timothy 1:7, and I knew God never gives a spirit of fear to anyone. Then I heard in my spirit this thought: “Satan is trying to rob you of a great blessing.” I knew these thoughts came from the Lord, and upon returning from a full day of errands, I told my husband I wanted to go to Israel.
That trip to Israel was my first, and since that time I have been seven times. My husband and I lead tours every two years to Israel. The blessing Satan was trying to rob me from was seeing my husband and two sons baptized in the Jordan River. What a joy to see my family affirm their faith this way, and this had been my desire for all of them for years.
We cannot allow a spirit of fear to ever dictate to us what we will do in the future because if we do, we will always be robbed of a blessing. Today you might want to make a resolve with me to send Jesus to answer the door for you if fear comes knocking at the door of your heart.
Lord, forgive me for the times I have allowed fear to rob me of blessings.
READ: Jeremiah 39:1-41:18; 2 Timothy 1:1-18; Psalm 90:1-91:16; Proverbs 26:1-2
Linda Sommer is the author of Around the Word in 365 Days, from which this article is excerpted.
