Women of Faith, renowned for their unique combination of personality and truth, offer fresh new messages in four new topical study guides in the popular Women of Faith Study Guide Series. Each study guide, teeming with insights and quotes from the conference speakers provides twelve weeks of Bible study and a leader's guide for small groups. Margaret Feinberg, one of America’s most beloved Bible teachers, speaks at churches and conferences and hosts the popular podcast The Joycast . Her books, including Taste and See and Fight Back With Joy , along with their corresponding Bible studies, have sold more than one million copies and received critical acclaim and national media coverage from the Associated Press, USA Today , the Los Angeles Times , the Washington Post , and more. She was named by Christianity Today as one of fifty women most shaping culture and the church today. Margaret savors life with her husband, Leif, and their superpup, Zoom. Overcoming Fear By Margaret Feinberg Thomas Nelson Copyright © 2007 Margaret Feinberg All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4185-2638-2 Contents Foreword.........................................................vIntroduction The Sum of All Fears................................viiChapter 1 Outside My Comfort Zone................................9Chapter 2 Letting Go of the Past.................................17Chapter 3 Running Toward the Future..............................25Chapter 4 Facing the Fear of Rejection...........................33Chapter 5 Conquering the Fear of Intimacy........................41Chapter 6 Free to Be Yourself....................................49Chapter 7 Fear of Lack-God as Provider...........................57Chapter 8 Fear of Loss-God as Protector..........................65Chapter 9 Fear of Death-God as Redeemer..........................73Chapter 10 Embracing His Love....................................81Chapter 11 Sharing Your Faith....................................87Chapter 12 Trusting God with All the Details.....................95Leader's Guide...................................................101About the Author.................................................117 Chapter One Outside My Comfort Zone "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7 Almost everyone feels a little uneasy from time to time-especially when we are pushed outside our comfort zones. Such anxiety is often characterized by a fearful uncertainty or a sense of dread. You may feel anxiety about public speaking, taking tests, flying, confined spaces, or discovering a spider in your bed! Those moments of anxiety can actually become phobias when they take root in our lives in the form of intense and irrational fears. For example, a person with apiphobia has a fear of bees. Now lots of people experience a sense of apprehension around bees-and for good reason, since no one wants to get stung! Some people are even radically allergic to bees and for medical reasons need to avoid them at all cost. But even mention bees to a person with apiphobia, and you can trigger a physical response as strong as if they were being stung. It's a good example of healthy apprehension becoming a paralyzing phobia. From time to time one fear that keeps resurfacing in my own life is the fear of flying. Both my husband and I spend a lot of time traveling for work, and for whatever reason, every so often I will find myself gripped by a paralyzing fear. On a recent flight, as we began our descent, I felt a sudden sharp fear that something was wrong with the aircraft. Though I hadn't heard any strange noises or felt any turbulence, I felt my chest tighten and breath quicken. I could barely move. I began to pray, Dear God, please help . I looked over at the passenger next to me, and he was completely relaxed, even peaceful. I compared his demeanor to my own and realized the fear I was experiencing was irrational. Simply by looking at someone who wasn't gripped by fear, I realized that I didn't need to be fearful either. I took a deep breath. Through the calming presence of a stranger, God answered my prayer. Our loving Father does not want us to be controlled by anxiety, fear, or phobias. He wants us to be set free from all types of unhealthy fears no matter how large and looming or small and subtle. The truth is that everyone wrestles with some type of fear-no matter how perfect or put together they may seem on the outside. Whatever fears you face, you are not alone. With God's help, you can overcome your fears and live by faith. 1. As we begin this study, what are some fears you remember from childhood that you now consider silly or have grown out of? What was the source of those fears? How did you get past them? 2. As you've grown older, what new fears have manifested themselves in your life? How are these fears different from the ones you faced as a child? 3. Take a m