Fear is an emotion we all experience, and a sure hard one to brush off. The majority of us can even say that we make decisions based on fear. But what’s even scarier than fear itself is the fact that we are making decisions based on false beliefs, also known as fear.

A couple months before graduating college, I was faced with 2 job offers. One job offer was with a larger and more established company, while the other (which is my current job) was a smaller and more less established company.

I struggled between the two; the larger company’s offer was great, but it would require me to move from my current city, while the second one would allow me to stay in the current city I was living at.

Worry and fear starting building in my heart. What if I wouldn’t learn a lot from the smaller company? What if I got fired just after 1 year of working? What if working here would just be a waste of time?

I had 3 days to decide, and within the last 2 days I started leaning towards the larger company only because my fear told me too. However, deep inside my heart, I didn’t feel peaceful about working at the larger company and moving away.

In desperation I called my friend, and she prayed with me and spoke a truth that changed my perspective: Fear and worry doesn’t come from God, but from Satan.

It was then when I realized that all these fears were fake, unnecessary, and not from God. I prayed so many times to God but never did I spend a single second condemning and casting away my fears and doubts. After realizing this truth, I started to pray against my fears and doubts.

I knew that the fears I had were all distractions from Satan to stop me from making the right choice, the choice that God had planned for me. It was only after I cleared up my fears that I could then give room for my faith in God to take control of my decision.

After praying and seeking his direction, I felt peace to choose the smaller company’s job offer. And to this day, I can testify that all the fears I had back then were fake.

Yes, fake.

I am actually learning a lot from this company, and because it is a small company, I have the opportunity to do more. It’s been 1 year that I have worked there and until today by God’s grace, I am still working there.

Was choosing the smaller company a waste of time? Definitely not.

If anything, it has actually been the best decision I have made. I love what I do, and if I had taken the other job, I would have had to move which would have taken away the opportunity for me to take the bible classes that I do now at my local church,  and I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to serve God and have the loving Christ-like community that I do right now.

I now understand why Satan placed those fears of me choosing the smaller company’s job offer, and it was because he knew how God would use that decision to bless me and prepare me for what’s more to come.

God knows the best for you, so trust in him and not your fears.

We must learn to approach our fears with this truth:

Fear is fake, but God is real.

Fears are only stopping blocks from Satan to prevent us from seeing God’s bright pathway for us. Satan doesn’t want us to walk in God’s path, so he throws fears and worries in the midst of our paths, hoping to detour us from God’s will.

But we must stand firm in God’s truth and not let fear become a reality. Fear is only a reality when we make it a reality. Remember that fear is a non-existence belief, so why are you making decisions based on things that aren’t even real? Make decisions based on things that are 100% real, and that is God’s word.

God gives us so many promises in the bible, promises to give us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11), promises that he will never leave us astray. Deuteronomy 31:6 says, “…for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” God always has the best interest for us, so trust in him, and not the fears that Satan will throw at us.

I was also a victim for following my fears instead of my faith,  but as I slowly challenged myself to choose faith instead of fear, I have learned to trust in God more. Faith is the only pathway that will lead us to God’s perfect and pleasant will for us.

If you are experiencing fear, know that it doesn’t come from God and cast those thoughts away. God didn’t create us to fear, but to overcome. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, and love and self-discipline.”

God gives you the Holy Spirit to empower you with strength to make the right decision, even in the midst of the scariest storms. Fear and faith can’t go together, you must choose one. The Lord has promised good to you, do you believe it? So remember, fear is fake.