FACING LIONS

Two explorers were on a jungle safari when suddenly a ferocious lion jumped in front of them. "Keep calm" the first explorer whispered. "Remember what we read in that book on wild animals? If you stand perfectly still and look the lion in the eye, he will turn and run." "Sure," replied his companion. "You've read the book, and I've read the book. But has the lion read the book?"
When we experience excessive stress, whether from internal worry or external circumstance a bodily reaction is triggered, called the "fight or flight" response. Originally discovered by the great Harvard physiologist Walter Cannon, this response is hard-wired into our brains and represents a genetic wisdom designed to protect us from bodily harm. This response actually corresponds to an area of our brain called the hypothalamus, which when stimulated initiates a sequence of nerve cell firing and chemical release that prepares our body for running or fighting. 
Our world is filled with many lions. Many times when we come face to face with those lions, as humans we start to feel a sense of fear. Our "flight or fight" response starts to kick in and the first thing we want to do is head for the hills. Fear can paralyze us and prevent us from moving forward to where God wants to takes us in our spiritual and natural life. God's word tell us in 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." The Greek word for spirit used here is Pneuma. This word means:the disposition or influence which fills and governs the soul,the vital principal by which the body is animated, the rational spirit, the power by which the human being feels, thinks, and decides.
In other words the way we respond, confront, make decisions to situations in our lives should not be done in fear, because fear is not of God. But what happened then to flight or fight?  Flight or fight has to do with immediate physical danger. There are times in our lives when our disposition, our feelings tell us to flee when we should be fighting. It is interesting that medically speaking Pneuma is an appendix (word part) for air and lungs.
Your lungs bring fresh oxygen into your body and remove the carbon dioxide and other waste gases that your body's doesn't need. Too much carbon dioxide can poison the blood cells. Although some forms of fear are necessary for survival, fear in regards to our future or in the midst of trials can poison our spiritual growth. 2 Timothy tells us that God has given us a spirit of power, love and a sound mind. In other words God has given us the ability to rid ourselves things that can poison our faith such as fear. For those of us who have received Christ Jesus as our personal Savior, His Spirit comes and takes up residency in us and, literally, the soundness of His mind overtakes us. We don’t have to go it alone, and we should not go it alone. It’s in our weakness that God gives us strength, but we must realize that we’re not qualified by what we have or do, but by the spirit of God inside of us.
What are you fearing at this moment. What lion are you facing? Financial fear, fear of your future, fear of starting a new job, illness, a new home, marriage etc.. God has given you a spirit of love. 1 John 4:18 (New International Version), ¹⁸ "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." God has given you a spirit of power. The word power in Greek in Dunamis which mean (miraculous) power, might, strength, physical power, force, ability, efficacy, energy, plur: powerful deeds, deeds showing (physical) power, marvelous works. What ever you are facing right now,  a new job or career, illness, financial struggles, problems in your marriage, what ever it may be. God will give you the ability, efficiency, strength, energy to excel and to face it victoriously,  because greater is He that is in you that he that is in the world. Even if you are facing the uncertainty of your future,  you can face it with out fear because God is already there. God has also given you a sound mind.  This phrase is taken from the Greek word sophroneo, which is a compound word combining sodzo and phroneo. The Greek word sodzo means to be saved or delivered. It suggests something that is delivered, rescued, revived, salvaged, and protected and now safe and secure. This suggests that the word sodzo could actually depict a person who was on the verge of death but then was revived and resuscitated because new life was breathed into him.

The second part of the phrase “sound mind” comes from the Greek word phroneo, which carries the idea of a person’s intelligence or total frame of thinking — including his rationale, logic, and emotions. The word phroneo refers to every part of the human mind, including all the processes that are engaged in making the mind function and come to conclusions.
When the words sodzo and phroneo are compounded into one word, they form the word sophroneo, which pictures a mind that has been delivered, rescued, revived, salvaged, and protected and is now safe and secure. 1 Corinthians 2:16 tells us that we have the mind of Christ.

There is an old hym that says, Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, All fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives. God is in control of your future, God is in control of your finances, God is in control of you marriage, God is in control of area aspect of your life. Because of that you, we can face the future boldly, with confidence, and without fear.