“Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord…But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea…the mariners were afraid” (Jonah 1:1-5).

Have you noticed how fear attacks you most where God calls you to serve? Fear can come in like a flood or tsunami to cause us to run from the call of God on our lives. Usually our first response to God’s call is to react in fear. Why are we so fearful? Why don’t we want to be freed from our comfort zones? We resist coming out of our ease in traditions and familiarity because of the fear of the unknown. We are often afraid of what we have no control over or cannot see in the future.

This was my reaction to the call to shine my little light in the gross darkness at Forman Christian College in Lahore, Pakistan. Fear tried to torment my mind with a flood of evil and bad reports, but I mustered up enough faith to shift my focus onto the author of my faith, Jesus Christ. A mustard seed of faith gave me strength to face many fears head-on and accomplish what I was sent there to do.

You too can overcome and conquer fear by relying on the presence of the Lord to keep you from taking ownership of that fear. You can fearlessly fulfill the call of God to do what may seem impossible. We can step out of the boat and walk on water; we can perform miracles with what is in our hands; we can be a catalyst for change in Fresno; and we can do the impossible. We must walk by faith in God and conquer the fears that hold us back from becoming what we were created to be. We are more than conquerors! We are victorious through Christ who gave us power over the enemy. We can conquer fear and become the best for the kingdom of God. No longer will we run from fear, but we will make fear run from us.