Overcoming The Spirit of Fear: 3 Practical Tips For Peace in Jesus

Today I’m going to show you 3 practical tips for overcoming the spirit of fear in your daily life and decision making.

In fact, I have used these 3 tips in my walk with Christ to keep fear out of my life and keep me in a constant state of peace (even in high-pressure situations like preaching).

The best part?

They’re all centered around the Prince of Peace himself (Jesus!)

Let’s get into it.

Table of Contents

Where does the spirit of fear come from?
Practical Tip #1: Peace in Your Daily Life
Practical Tip #2: Removing Thought Patterns of Fear
Practical Tip #3: Overcoming Fear in Decision Making

What causes the spirit of fear to come?

Whenever our minds are not centered on Christ, fear will often try to make its way into our life uninvited.

Sometimes it can happen randomly:

You’re driving in your car and all of a sudden you’re overcome with a sense of fear. You don’t know where it’s coming from or how it got there, yet here it is. 

But Most of the time, Fear comes from a lie that you may have believed about yourself, God, or a certain scenario. (More on this in practical tip #2)

Regardless of the situation, you want to address the fear as soon as possible so that it doesn’t continue to bring you down.

Here are 3 of my favorite ways to overcome fear as a Christian:

1. Living In Peace Throughout Your Day

This is one of my go-to methods for casting out fear because it’s simple and easy to apply.

Whenever I sense thoughts of fear trying to come into my thought life, the first thing I do is reject it.

As I reject the fear, I take a moment to center my attention on Jesus. Just like in my secret place, I give Him my attention and gaze upon his beauty. This is the most important part.

Isaiah 26:3 says You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

When you keep your mind on Jesus, His perfect love and peace will follow and bring you into a place of rest.

Looking to Jesus, I thank him by acknowledging and proclaiming scripture over myself as a reminder.

“Jesus, Thank you so much that you have not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.”(2 Timothy 1:7)

Sometimes, even after the fear goes away, I notice that it continues to come back as I think about a specific area of my life. 

That’s when I have to address it with tip #2

2. Removing Thought Patterns of Fear In Your Life

Have you ever felt like no matter what you try, the fear keeps coming back?

Whenever you notice a constant pattern of fear coming from a specific thought or situation, it’s usually because there’s a lie you’re believing unconsciously.

Often times, we can unknowingly come to an agreement with a lie in the realm of our spirit that will produce that fear in our lives.

Every time that subject comes up, you feel the fear come over you and you might not even know why.

For example: 

Let’s say you have a fear about your future finances. Whenever you see the letter for the rent come in, you begin to feel it.

Where is this fear coming from?

It could be that you’ve made an agreement with the lie that your future finances are dependent on your hard work alone and that no one will help you, but yourself.

John 8:32 says “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

When you know the truth, you’ll reject the lie with confidence every time it tries to come up. As a result, The fear will have nothing to attach itself to.

So how can we know the truth that will set us free?

Here’s how:

First, you want to find out where your fears are coming from and what activates them.

For one day, take note of every voice or feeling of fear that comes up in your life. Write them down in your notes every time something comes up.

For example:

You realize you need to go withdraw money from the ATM and a feeling of fear comes over you. Write it down.

You think about having kids and you begin to fear. Write it down.

And so on…

What you’re doing is collecting a list, so that you can address it with truth later and remove it from your life.

Then…

Once you have a list of thoughts or situations where you felt fear, find some time to go over this list with the Lord.

Going line by line, asking the lord these questions:

Jesus, What lie have I believed about myself or about you that I have this fear?

or…

What is it that I’m not understanding that is causing this fear?

He might answer with: You believe this or that I am this…

Next, Ask the Lord: If that’s the lie, what’s the truth?

God might speak something into your life, show you a vision, or point you to scripture.

Side Note: If you have trouble hearing God speak, I suggest you check out our ultimate Guide on Hearing God’s voice here

Afterward, you want to repent of believing the lie. It might look something like this:

I repent of believing the lie that it is up to me to provide and I receive the truth from scripture that you are my provider and that you own the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10). I receive the truth that your eyes are on me and that you will bless me.

Often times you will feel the fear lift off and your heart reacting differently about that situation.

Bonus Tip: Scripture 

One of the biggest things you can do for breaking the spirit of fear in your life is meditating on scripture. 

As you meditate on the truth, it will start to renew your mind. When the lies of the enemy come your way, they will have no power over you because you will be standing on the truth.

Here are a couple of scriptures that I use personally to meditate on and proclaim over myself:

3. Overcoming The Spirit of Fear in Decision Making

It can be hard to know the way forward when you allow fear to influence the way you think before you make a decision.

Whenever I’m faced with multiple options, I always like to process it with the lord and allow His peace to direct my steps in making a clear decision.

Let me explain.

Let’s say you’re faced with 2 options regarding a future decision:

Option A, which brings with it one set of positive and negative outcomes, and Option B, which brings with it another set.

As you consider the options, the enemy may try to introduce fear into your thinking – that if you do Option A, it could be a mistake for this or that reason, and that Option B could also be a mistake for this or that reason. 

When this happens, here’s what I do:

As I spend time with Jesus, I start thinking over the beauty of Option A and present it before Him. I remind myself of His promise to me that He will never leave me and never forsake me. 

“Lord, how should I be looking at this?” I ask and I rest. Many times, He will begin to lead your thinking about the situation. You have to have childlike faith that He does answer, and often, very quickly. 

I realize that if I do Option A, He will be with me. There is a real presence of peace in my inner man. 

I then spend time processing Option B with Him in the same way and see, if I do that, He will likewise be with me.

And so I take the strings of those thoughts and through an act of standing on the Word – that He will always be with me – clean those thoughts from every residue of fear.

At that point, fear no longer has an influence in my thought life.

Sometimes the Lord whispers: Matt, I love living life with my children and empowering their path. You choose one.

Other times, I come to sense His vision and peace more for one than for the other. With fear removed, I can sense His perspective and leading so much clearer.

In Conclusion…

Jesus never had a thought which was based in fear. He went into every situation, every conversation, and every thought process about the future with peace in His heart.

So can you!

As you continue to keep your mind on Him and walk in the truth of what He says about you, He will keep you in perfect peace in all that you do.

Now I want to hear from you:

Which one of these tips will you try first?

What has helped you overcome fear in your life?

Let me know in the comments below!