Fear.
It’s a vicious taskmaster. Making never-ending, relentless demands on our minds: Don’t do that. Do this. Something awful is ahead. Don’t trust him. Don’t believe her. God is going to punish you for messing up. Watch out. Fear forms in the mouth of the father of lies. He uses his deadly fear fangs to drain abundant life out of us. We become debilitated. Paralyzed. Rendered helpless. Fear is lethal. It’s why I often remind myself: Better dead than dread! Why? Because Jesus overcame fear on the cross! God Himself commands us to, “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”(Isa. 41:10). What a promise! God will handle the devil! Our job is to push fear out of our lives, and to focus our minds - daily - on his promise: “I am with you.” No matter what you face, God will give you the strength you need to overcome the situation. He says so. Remind yourself every day that God’s got this! There’s nothing to fear. God is already leading you. He is in your tomorrow. Already there. Waiting for you. Therefore, there’s nothing to dread. Absolutely nothing! And why it’s really better to be dead than dread.