I didn’t always know the difference between the different words for fear. Fear, anxiety, worry, and panic. Over the years I have had to dealt with each one.

FEAR : a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger.

Fear is the feeling that comes upon you when you are about to be exposed to harm. Its sudden and you know it is coming. In a moment of fear is when you should ACT to remove yourself from harm. This is a move that keeps you from danger of injury to yourself, from another that ends in harm, risk, or peril. This kind of danger can be physical, mental, emotion and spiritual.  This FEAR is valid and we should listen to it. Act upon it. ACT!

ANXIETY: distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger.

Anxiety is distress of the mind. It happens when no real danger is evident but you may be in a similar situation that reminds you of a previous fearful situation. Anxiety is what most people think is fear. It comes with feelings that we don’t want to feel. Anxiety keep us from speaking the truth. It keeps us from doing what we would do if we did not fear the outcome. This kind of fear comes when we stand up to speak in front of a group. When we are launching the start of a business. When confronting wrong doing. Anxiety is the place where “fear of rejection” comes into play and we don’t do what we would normally do if it wasn’t present.

WORRY: to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts.

Worry is the use of the mind to recall tormenting thoughts and imagination. It is like when you are thinking about dangerous situations. Worry is the place we mulling over all the “fears” that we have but there is no immediate danger. There is no similar situation going on. This “fear” is purely happening in the mind. It comes out with mulling over all the “WHAT IF’s” of life. What if I tell her how I really feel? Will she hear me? Will she get angry with me? What if I don’t go along with them? Will they think bad of me? Will they think, I think, I am too good for all that? Worry stops us from moving ahead and fills us with “regrets and if I had only’s” This is just MENTAL TORTURE!!

PANIC: a sudden overwhelming fear, with or without cause, that produces hysterical or irrational behavior causing one to flee or to lose self-control.

Panic is when you suddenly stop listening to what you know. You begin to fight in your mind about what you know and end up lose your way. You lose your self-control and behave without rationality. This is when you REACT to what is going on around you without thought. Someone says something to you and you REACT. You do it without clarifying what is being said and without identifying what is the real issue. You just think you know. You become full of assumptions. You REACT in defense with no true cause in an irrational manner and behavior – you loss your self-control.

In thinking of these 4 words I have also been chewing on the words ACT and REACT. When we ACT we are making a deliberate movement toward a goal or some end, by gathering the necessary information, to make a affect. We desire to affect something and to produce an outcome.

REACT is completely different. It is responding to what we hear, see, think, or feel with or without understanding. When we react we are being effected by something outside of us.

 It seems to me that much of the “fear” of being who we are,  speaking the truth, doing what God has called us to do is really anxiety and worry.

Philippians 4:6
Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition ( definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.

Fear is used to escape from DANGER by Action (Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.) It keeps us from danger when we Act on His words.

Worry and Anxiety are to remind us to PRAY (1 Peter 5:7 cast your care upon the Lord because He cares for you.) Trust in Him!!

Zechariah 14:13
On that day men will be stricken by the Lord with great panic. Each man will seize the hand of another, and they will attack each other.

Panic is not to be among us. It is a mode of REACTION. An automatic physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual defense mode.When we do not think (ie.-reacting) instead of  dealing with the issue We often in our reaction, attack each other.

No time is the perfect time to PANIC!!!

ITs the time to Pray and Act!

Thanks for Listening,

Starla