How love helps us overcome fear. Wait ....isn't that emotion over mind .....backwards?

2. Why do we need to work at overcoming our fears?

2 Have you experienced such fears? Many of us have. If we do not learn to control our fears, we will likely make bad decisions that could even have a negative impact on our relationship with Jehovah. That is what Satan wants. He also tries to use our fears to make us disobey Jehovah’s laws, including the command to preach the good news. (Rev. 12:17) Satan is wicked, relentless, and powerful. But you can protect yourself from him. How?

3. What will help us to overcome our fears?

3 When we are convinced that Jehovah loves us—that he is on our side—we can defeat Satan’s efforts. (Ps. 118:6) For example, the writer of Psalm 118 faced some very distressing situations. He had many enemies, including some in high places (verses 9, 10). At times, he was under great pressure (verse 13). And he had received strong discipline from Jehovah (verse 18). Still, that psalmist was moved to sing: “I will not be afraid.” What made him feel so safe and secure? He knew that although Jehovah had disciplined him, his heavenly Father loved him very much. The psalmist was convinced that no matter what situation he faced, his loving God would always be ready to help him.—Ps. 118:29.

4. What fears can we overcome if we trust that God loves us?

4 We need to be convinced that Jehovah loves us personally. Our having that conviction will help us to overcome three common fears, namely, (1) fear of not being able to provide for our family, (2) fear of man, and (3) fear of death. The individuals mentioned in the opening paragraph were able to overcome their fears because they were convinced of God’s love.

FEAR OF NOT BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE FOR OUR FAMILY
A brother, with his son nearby, casting a fishing net from a pier.

A brother, with his son nearby, works as a fisherman to provide materially for the family (See paragraph 5)

5. What circumstances might cause great concern to a family head? (See cover picture.)

5 A Christian family head takes seriously the responsibility to care materially for his family. (1 Tim. 5:8) If you are a family head, perhaps during the recent pandemic there was a real possibility that you would lose your job. You may have worried that you would struggle to put food on the table and pay the rent or the mortgage on your home. You may also have been afraid that if you lost your job, you would not be able to find another one. Or like Nestor and María, mentioned earlier, you may have hesitated to make an adjustment in your secular work that would affect your lifestyle. Satan has had a lot of success in exploiting such fears.

Nothing wrong with fear in the spotlight... remembering though that emotional states of being are all in the same basket, that they are chemically driven and mind altering like any other heightened state of being.

The ecstatic joy of religion, being high on drugs or suffering nitrogen narcossis when scuba diving are all touching the same receptor in the brain for the elation.

Christ being the purer surely, unless you are Muslim and in that case we all know your obviously a pot head..... not to mention those savage indigenous folk scattered around the globe. Thank god for missionaries.

6. What does Satan try to make us believe?

6 Satan tries to make us believe that Jehovah does not care about us personally and that we are on our own when it comes to providing for our family. As a result, we might conclude that we need to do whatever it takes to hold on to our present employment, even if it means ignoring Scriptural principles.

6. What does Satan try to make us believe?

6 Satan tries to make us believe that Jehovah does not care about us personally and that we are on our own when it comes to providing for our family. As a result, we might conclude that we need to do whatever it takes to hold on to our present employment, even if it means ignoring Scriptural principles.

7. Of what does Jesus assure us?

7 Jesus, who knows the Father better than anyone else does, assures us that our God “knows what [we] need even before [we] ask him.” (Matt. 6:8) And Jesus knows that Jehovah is ready to provide for our needs. As Christians, we are members of God’s household. We can be sure that as family Head, Jehovah will respect the principle he had recorded at 1 Timothy 5:8.

Jehovah will see to it that we have what we need. He may use our brothers to help us (See paragraph 8) *

8. (a) What will help us to overcome the fear that we will not be able to provide for our family? (Matthew 6:31-33) (b) How might we imitate the couple in the picture who are sharing a meal with a sister?

8 When we are convinced that Jehovah loves us and that he loves our family, we have no trouble believing that we will have the things we need. (Read Matthew 6:31-33.) Jehovah wants to provide for us, and what a loving, generous Provider he is! When he created the earth, he did more than just give us the basic things we would need to survive. He lovingly filled the earth with things that would give us immense pleasure. (Gen. 2:9) Even if at times we have just enough to get by, we do well to focus on the fact that we are getting by. Jehovah has not failed to provide for us. (Matt. 6:11) We need to keep in mind that any material sacrifice we make now is nothing in comparison to what our loving God will give us, both now and in the future. That is what Nestor and María came to realize.—Isa. 65:21, 22.