Fear and Anxiety.

[Property Of God]

Hello Saints,

I have been dealing with some pretty crippling fears and anxiety for a while, I actually have a phobia that I'm so embarrassed to talk about (not fear of the dark, I wish) I know the devil wants me to be embarrassed of talking about it so I wouldn't get the help I need. It is fear of driving, I have a driver's license, I passed the test on the first try, but I get panic attacks just thinking about driving, I don't get anxiety when someone else drives, I always think I'm stupid and I will mess up, or get lost even with a GPS, and part of it because I have a 20 months old son, and I fear putting him in any danger. I have never had an accident or hit anything so I don't know why I feel this way, part of it because I lived in a city and never had to learn to drive, my mother also had that same phobia, she always scared me of driving, and my husband tried to teach me but he would yell so much that I eventually hired a teacher but I think it created a phobia for me.

I know I'm sinning because I am living with this fear, and not being fearless like the Lord WANTS me to live, I'm leaning on my own understanding (or lack of it) I know I should put my trust in HIM and let go of all my insecurities, but I'm not really letting myself do that.

No one gets this fear other than those who have it, everyone I tell usually is confused and laughs at it. I'm not sure what to do, I'm starting to pray about it every day cause even though it is no big deal to many, I know it's a big deal to God.

Anyone has any similar experience with fears or phobias and have any wisdom to share with me?

In Him,
Nermeen.

 

[Brad Huber]

I love your signature line!!!! :smiley: Fears are something that nearly all of us have to some degree, and in some ways, a little fear is good as it boosts our adrenalin for better fight or flight. My wife fears worms, my sister in law fears lizards, even the tiny ones. I dont like spiders that can jump. When I was a child, I was watching a spider (I used to watch natures creatures quite often as a child), and it jumped right at my face. Some I can let crawl on me without any fear, like grandaddy longlegs, but jumping ones I stay away from. Fears are rarely rational, and typically not overcome easily. I am sure you have heard of facing your fears, its truly the only way to deal with them. I would drive alone for this, so that your passengers dont make you nervous, and find a big empty place, like a big parking lot of some place thats closed and the parking lot empty. Then drive around there until you feel more comfortable. Once comfortable in the parking lot, have someone join you, to face the fear of being criticized by them, and since you are then comfortable in that area, you will do better, and they will be less likely to criticize you. Then begin driving (again alone) in an area with only light traffic, and do that until your fear level goes down with being around some traffic. Then invite another to join you again in the light traffic after you are more comfortable, and get used to them with you in that environment. Then use the same tactic (alone first) for an area with busier traffic, and make sure you dont let others join you until you feel comfortable in that environment. The busy traffic environment might take weeks or more to become comfortable with, and then ask another to join you. You will be making small steps toward your goal, but they will be REAL progress. Dont worry about how long each process takes, its not about speed, its about doing whats needed to reach your goal. And for those who give you a hard time and critical, ignore their words, they are not speaking with the love Christ has, and they are the ones faulty, not you.

 

[Fragrant Grace]

The LORD is thy keeper
Psalm 121:5

Greetings Nermeen @Property Of God

I understand how you feel sister.
I have had a similar fear of fast driving and also a fear being a passenger in a fast car

Brother Brad Huber has given you some practical advice which sounds good, so I won't add to that

This is how the Lord and His word helped me to move on from this fear:

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.
Isaiah 26:3I focused on this promise every time I felt anxiety rising about or during a journey

The beauty of the word of the Lord is that unlike our feelings, His word will never fail us.

Thou wilt keep Him in perfect peace......not Thou might

And true to His word peace and strengthening comes if we stay focused on Him

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD
Psalm 27:14

And the entrance of peace brings such joy. O how I rejoiced when the anxiety dissipated and I sang songs of praise

The joy of the Lord is your strength
Nehemiah 8:10

Sister Nermeen, the Lord wants you to have His beautiful peace....the devil will try to steal that from you, but just keep looking to Jesus when the anxieties start to rise

May His blessings and peace be upon you

 

[Brighthouse]

Sister Property. First hi sis. The friend to faith is belief,and the friend to fear is doubt. The purpose of fear in the first place is to keep the believer unbalanced in his or her life. That is its purpose sis. To hear( ( rom 10:17) about others who have fear is only going to increase your own. Have we all had it in some area of our life?? You bet sis! But how we overcome through this is even more important.

Most people just love the Book of Revelation,but most miss out on the true central theme of this book! Here look for yourself sis. From the get go!! Rev 2:7,verse 11,verse 17,verse 26,Rev 3:5,verse 12,verse 21 if that was not enough of a reminder to overcome,Rev 21:7 finishes the job! LOL But how?? That is the real crust on the pie! Matt 6:25-34 The idea is this sis, since i am a very simple man,the purpose of reading the scripture is so we change our own mindset about ourself!( col 3:2) Jesus through his Word looks for us to depend upon his Word over our fears,to speak his Word rather then speak from our doubt.

I served 2 Tours in Vietnam sis and no one has to tell me what the horror of fear is,it truly does have a face to it ! As did Goliath to David,now if David were to reflect on who he was facing,he would not have faced him,but look what David was thinking upon sis!!( 1 sam 17:33-36!! please do read further if you wish to! For from the assurance we receive from our Jesus!! ( rom 8:31 then verse 37-39 we become established in that very hope of victory sis!!)

Look what David said to his fear in verse 46!! he did not even have a sword sis!! But that!!! Is the difference between you, and the enemy we all face! Who are we going to believe? It does not happen over night sis for sure! But the fact is, is can happen for all of us if we but speak the Word over our own doubt! For in doubt we the believer do without,but from God's Word, we are established in HIS victory!! Notice sis in rom 8:37 we are not moving toward victory!! We are moving from!!! Victory!!amen!

May this bless you to consider,and to remember as I do everyday of my life this scripture!!( Psalm 27:13) I would have despaired had I not BELIEVED!!! I would see the goodness of God in the land of the living!! Everyday sis,we can expect God's goodness, not because of what we have done,but because of HIS!!!! ( 1 cor 1:30) very own nature!!God is good because God is so very good!! amen! Blessing to you sis! These words preform the act of our Jesus who lives within us!!TO comfort!! ( 2 cor 1:3-7!!) amen!

 

[eddieb]

I am not one to be afraid of much but sometimes I have had a fear of something. Every time I overcame it I did it by one of two ways. One I forced myself to do something until I got over it. The other way is I just prayed about it basicly just telling God all about it and adventually He took it. What you said about thinking your stupid or that you are gonna mess up, it took me three times to pass the written test and I studied. And trust me on this even IF you mess up and get in a wreck if Gods time hasnt come you will be fine. I have been in wrecks where the car flipped and rolled like an olympic diver, and I saw the top half of the pine trees out the windows durning all the flipping and rolling and all I had was a cut knuckle and knee and a bad case of whiplash. When we stopped rolling I climbed out the window and them the door fell off. Not before. God can keep you safe.
Even if you mess up in a minor way its ok. Everyone ussually isnt perfect. I didnt say all this to scare you but to help give you perspective God is in control. When i wrecked last i looked at the speed it was 110mph and climbing. And we were running from the cops.

And to brad ... people think grandaddy long legs aint poisonous, but they are very poisonous. I had an great aunt die from a bite. They have tiny teeth or whatever you call them. Well my aunt was old and inbetween her fingers she had a vein popping out and the skin was thin. It bit her there and she died.

 

[AbbysAunt]

Hi Property Of God,

I am 44 years old and just got back behind the wheel of a car to drive last summer. For me it wasn't fear it was more like being
nervous when I drove. I have had my license for a long while now but never used it because I was happy being the passenger
and letting the driving to someone else, but then I felt like I needed to get back in the driver's seat, so I got my mom to help me
out by going with me every day last summer and helping me drive. It was a lot easier with her than my dad because my dad like
your husband yelled a lot and made me even more nervous, but with my mom she was patient and gave me instruction on how
to improve my driving and feel less nervous behind the wheel. God blessed me with being able to drive again and to actually have
fun while doing it and I know He can and will do the same for you my friend and sister.

I would like to give you a tip that works for me before driving. When I get in the car before even starting it I say a prayer and ask
God to take the wheel and help me drive. It helps calm my nervous and gives me confidence knowing that God is there steering
this car with me. It's funny but when I drive I'm constantly talking to God whether out loud or silently and the more I do that the
more the nervousness goes away.

Keep on praying to God and He will take this fear from you. There is nothing to fear when our God is near
and I know you through Him can overcome this. Don't listen to negative words that are said. You mentioned
your mom and how she is scared of your driving, don't let this hold you back. Sure take your time and take
it in steps. Like my mom says " one day at a time and one step at a time" practice on back roads that are less
traveled and once you get comfortable there then go ahead and drive a bit further. In God's timing you can
and will conquer your fears because you are victorious in our Lord.

If you ever need to talk you can feel free to message me here at Talk Jesus anytime. I'll be praying for you.

AA

You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you!

 

[Shutterbug]

Good evening Nermeen. I know your feeling very well and I agree with you that it quickly takes the fun out of driving. If you are anxious, driving isn't a comfortable experience. For that matter, nothing is when you're anxious about it. During the testing of Canada's only supersonic aircraft, the Avro Arrow, it's Chief Test Pilot was fearless and had no problem exceeding the Sound Barrier. Driving home after work on the 401 highway which had a posted speed limit of 60 mph, he would drive 40 mph because he was terrified of the other drivers. True story.

Before heading out the door, ask the Good Lord for peace of mind, a pleasant trip, and enjoy the drive. Remind your husband that backseat drivers (unless you do some thing dangerous) can respectfully comment after the trip. Always give yourself space ahead. The anxiety will ease with time and experience. It may never entirely go away, but it will can be controlled. Wishing you all the best. Cheers, John

 

[Brad Huber]

And to brad ... people think grandaddy long legs aint poisonous, but they are very poisonous. I had an great aunt die from a bite. They have tiny teeth or whatever you call them. Well my aunt was old and in between her fingers she had a vein popping out and the skin was thin. It bit her there and she died.

Yes, I heard they are one of the most poisonous spiders in existence. But I also heard that their teeth cannot typically penetrate the skin. What happened with your great aunt is probably not likely in most cases, but never the less, I always treat them with respect, and they treat me the same.

 

[Julie.S]

I don't like driving either to be honest. I do have anxiety also but that's not what makes me not like it. I tend to forget things sometimes and I can not always help it along with my ADD this can cause problems. So driving for me is hectic.

 

[Britt]

Hello Saints,

I have been dealing with some pretty crippling fears and anxiety for a while, I actually have a phobia that I'm so embarrassed to talk about (not fear of the dark, I wish) I know the devil wants me to be embarrassed of talking about it so I wouldn't get the help I need. It is fear of driving, I have a driver's license, I passed the test on the first try, but I get panic attacks just thinking about driving, I don't get anxiety when someone else drives, I always think I'm stupid and I will mess up, or get lost even with a GPS, and part of it because I have a 20 months old son, and I fear putting him in any danger. I have never had an accident or hit anything so I don't know why I feel this way, part of it because I lived in a city and never had to learn to drive, my mother also had that same phobia, she always scared me of driving, and my husband tried to teach me but he would yell so much that I eventually hired a teacher but I think it created a phobia for me.

I know I'm sinning because I am living with this fear, and not being fearless like the Lord WANTS me to live, I'm leaning on my own understanding (or lack of it) I know I should put my trust in HIM and let go of all my insecurities, but I'm not really letting myself do that.

No one gets this fear other than those who have it, everyone I tell usually is confused and laughs at it. I'm not sure what to do, I'm starting to pray about it every day cause even though it is no big deal to many, I know it's a big deal to God.

Anyone has any similar experience with fears or phobias and have any wisdom to share with me?

In Him,
Nermeen.

Nermeen,

Don't ever forget that the concerns of God's children are concerns of His. He cares about EVERYTHING in our lives including your fear of driving. It sounds like you know what you need to do, as you mentioned: to trust God and not yourself. Continue to pray that God will teach you to overcome this fear. God wants to bring you through this even if other people don't understand your fear and even if you don't fully understand it yourself. If you do start to drive (like around the parking lot or anywhere) be prepared with Scripture and God's promises to tell yourself when you are faced with that fear Even now that you are trying to overcome your fear, the enemy will try to use your fear against you still and we have to prepared when that happens. God's truth, prayer, and His word are our weapons against everything. I'm praying that you will learn to lean on and trust in God more even with this fear! He is so good and so faithful I and I know that He can bring through this.

 

[Brighthouse]

Something to consider when people talk about fear,I have noticed much is fear of the next day,the next week, why even the next month! It is like walking down a road which has a large turn in it,and one just knows and believes something bad will happen when they make that turn,and it has been found that sure enough you were right all along!!

This is very difficult to overcome for a number of reasons! Most of the time we grew up this way,also most of the people we speak to on a daily basic are this way as well! A person in the bible that many can relate to in this way is our friend Job! When something bad happens to us, we begin to fear.( Job 3:25-26) fear is a spirit( 2 Tim 1:7) He moves with a circumstance,and looks to rack the brain with his evil poison,and brings a friend with him every time!!! DOUBT!

First doubt within self, that one can never, or will ever be able to overcome this Goliath( remind you of someone?? David!! 1 Sam 17:23-25) See how others look to encourage David to have fear?? True with most of us as well! What we can fail to remember is all the times that God himself got us out of a very tough situation! We do this not because we wish to,but rather dwell so much on our present situation believing that this time is different then the rest.We place real faith in doubt,which launches fear! I was sure guilty for many years after becoming a believer of believing this lie as well!!

Begging and pleading with the Lord to take this horrible weight off my back!! Holy Spirit inside me said HEY!!!!

I already have!!! Why do you not believe me??( Psalm 27:13!!!) Peace comes through believing Jesus rather then others,or our feeling and emotion! " I would have despaired unless I HAD BELIEVED!!!! that I would SEE the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living"!! That means daily!! EVERYDAY!!! How do we think for one second we could have even become free of this weight unless we first believed first!

When Jesus came into your life,he sure did not force himself upon you,he presented himself to you in the love you had always been looking for and YOU BELIEVED!!! Many think that by babying another that this will help them,never did me! ( John 8:31-36!!!) verse 31 for those Jews who did what???Amen!! BELIEVED!! The truth of God's word does us no good at all unless we believe it!

And if we believe we then speak and act upon his truth.That is reality brothers and sisters! I had to learn this the hard way,and i sure do not wish for you to!! Believing is our only work( John 6:28-29) Believing keeps our peace!( Phil 4:7-8) believing causes us to look at ourselves the way Jesus looks at you everyday of our lives!( verse 8) And finally believing abounds us each of the real meaning of hope!!!!

Hope for our self, so that through our Jesus, we can bring that very same hope to others!!( Rom 15:13!!!!) Believe this, and the weight of a person on your back will not only be lifted off,but stay lifted off!( Matt 11:28-30!!!) The reality for me was either believe,or stay the way I was.I choose to believe!! The best thoughts are the ones divinely power for the destruction of fortresses,and the largest fortress for any believer to ever overcome is fear!( 2 Cor 10:4-7!!!) May this bless all of you, as i have been blessed by this most wonderful truth!!

 

[JohnP]

@Brighthouse - This certainly blessed me, Brighthouse. This was a word that I needed to hear today, and I thank you for providing it. As a matter of fact, there were two separate threads on fear here today, so I know that God is talking to me! Good stuff.

 

[humblepie]

Hello Saints,

I have been dealing with some pretty crippling fears and anxiety for a while, I actually have a phobia that I'm so embarrassed to talk about (not fear of the dark, I wish) I know the devil wants me to be embarrassed of talking about it so I wouldn't get the help I need. It is fear of driving, I have a driver's license, I passed the test on the first try, but I get panic attacks just thinking about driving, I don't get anxiety when someone else drives, I always think I'm stupid and I will mess up, or get lost even with a GPS, and part of it because I have a 20 months old son, and I fear putting him in any danger. I have never had an accident or hit anything so I don't know why I feel this way, part of it because I lived in a city and never had to learn to drive, my mother also had that same phobia, she always scared me of driving, and my husband tried to teach me but he would yell so much that I eventually hired a teacher but I think it created a phobia for me.

I know I'm sinning because I am living with this fear, and not being fearless like the Lord WANTS me to live, I'm leaning on my own understanding (or lack of it) I know I should put my trust in HIM and let go of all my insecurities, but I'm not really letting myself do that.

No one gets this fear other than those who have it, everyone I tell usually is confused and laughs at it. I'm not sure what to do, I'm starting to pray about it every day cause even though it is no big deal to many, I know it's a big deal to God.

Anyone has any similar experience with fears or phobias and have any wisdom to share with me?

In Him,
Nermeen.

You haven't learned enough about driving, so get more instruction and you'll be fine.