How to Face Fear
Welcome to the Holy Spirit Untethered. My name's Amber Beals, and it is my job and my mission to allow the Holy Spirit to speak through me, to help demystify who He is, what his role is, and to deeply encourage you to seek a relationship with him. Alright. Let's get started. Hey, guys.
Amber Beels:Welcome back to the Holy Spirit Untethered Podcast. My name is Amber. And today, as I was preparing for this message, I'm, like, treating it like a sermon. It's not a sermon, but I hope that it impacts people similar to how sermons impact people. Like you take a little golden nugget and allow the Holy Spirit to speak through you.
Amber Beels:So I'm hoping that you guys are getting value from this podcast. But as I was prepping for this, I was like, okay, I've done 31 episodes already, which is kind of crazy that this is number 32, which is awesome. And I praise the Lord that I made it this far. We started in June of last year and it's been, you know, pretty consistent other than a few days here and there that I've missed for holidays and whatever, but it's been really good. And I've, I've been really enjoying having this podcast.
Amber Beels:I hope you guys are learning stuff and are getting something from it. I was again prepping for this episode and I kept thinking about the episode that I did with Quan, episode number 23. That one is called Faith Over Fear. And I recently was asked to talk at my church. It's, it was a ladies event.
Amber Beels:So it was ladies only, and I was given any choice of what to talk about for that event. And I decided to talk about fear. And it wasn't just my decision, you know, I prayed on it and I asked the Holy Spirit, okay, what do you want me to talk about? Like, what should be my topic? And what was really funny was Eloisa, who has actually been on this podcast as well, so shout out to her.
Amber Beels:But she is in charge of all the women's events and the women's ministry at Heart Church, and she's doing a phenomenal job. But she asked me to speak last year, like in September. And I was like, okay. Yeah. I'll speak.
Amber Beels:But she wanted me to speak on my birthday, which was the next woman's event because we meet every other month. And I was like, you know, I love you guys and I love the woman's event, but I'm gonna go play laser tag on my birthday. So probably won't be there. And so she was like, okay. So she's like, okay, how about next year?
Amber Beels:So 2025. Because she asked me this last year and I was like, okay. Yeah. Yeah. So they ended up skipping the event in November.
Amber Beels:So the one that landed on my birthday and it just got pushed to January. And it's the January and they're already pushing the women's event and everything. And then I realized, I was like, wait, am I speaking? Like, I had totally forgotten that she had asked me to speak and that it was my turn because I thought, okay, well, if we skipped the last one, then the person that was speaking at the last one, they were going to speak at this one. And then I found out after I talked to Louisa that, no, that person that was going to speak was her and she was like, nah, I want you to speak.
Amber Beels:Is that still okay? And it's like a few weeks out and I'm like, yeah, I'll I'll figure it out. It's fine. But it was just kinda funny because for me, it was a little bit last minute, but I wasn't too worried about it because it was the thing about the women's ministry events is that they are a little more casual. They're not as, like, you know, I have to be prepared as well as I am for a sermon.
Amber Beels:So I decided to say yes to this event, and I talked about fear. Like, I prayed about it and the Lord was like, I want you to address what you struggled with last year, which was yeah. Fear. I struggled a lot with it last year. So that is what I'm gonna talk about today.
Amber Beels:I know I addressed it with Quan before, but I've learned a lot since then. And so this is kind of a part two to that episode. So I hope you guys enjoy it. But before I dive into that subject, let's go ahead and pray. So if it's safe and you would like to join me, then let's go ahead and do that.
Amber Beels:So go ahead and close your eyes. Dear Heavenly Father, I just, I thank you for this day. I thank you for this opportunity to come on this podcast and speak to your saints, Lord. I just pray, Holy Spirit, that you would speak through me. I pray that you would just allow the words to come through that you want to come through, Holy Spirit, and bear our hearts to receive whatever it is that you want us to receive.
Amber Beels:This message, this golden nugget, this thing that you want us to meditate on, Lord. I just pray that it would reach the people that it needs to reach, Lord. We thank you for that. And I pray a blessing over every single person that is listening to this Lord. We thank you.
Amber Beels:Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. So fear. I don't know about you, but I have struggled with it, especially last year.
Amber Beels:And one of the things that I shared at the women's event was I am not a super anxious person, which I know is a blessing. Because most people that I know struggle with anxiety. They have panic attacks. Like they really struggle with day to day things that just cause anxiety in their daily life. And I see it in a lot of people and I praise the Lord that I don't typically struggle with that.
Amber Beels:I struggle with a lot of things, don't get me wrong, but anxiety is not one of them. I'm I'm pretty calm. I'm pretty, you know, level headed in in that regard. And not to say that I don't get anxious for things, but I don't struggle with it on a daily basis. I would say that I struggle more with stress than anxiety.
Amber Beels:But last year, fear was the giant, if you will, the giant that I really struggled with. And if you've been following this podcast for a while, you would know that, you know, I went through the whole decision on whether or not I wanted to be a mom, deciding I wanted to be a mom, and there's a lot of fear around that. And then becoming pregnant and then losing that pregnancy and then becoming pregnant again, and then having fear around that of losing that pregnancy. And it was just, it was a lot. 2024 was a lot when it came to fear.
Amber Beels:And I know that everyone goes through those seasons of just, I don't know, just being crippled by fear. Like, it really plagued you. And that was true for me. Like, I would say that during my current pregnancy, when I got pregnant again, I was crippled by fear for that first, like, eight weeks. Like when you find out that you're pregnant and you get the little pregnancy test, you're not allowed to go see a doctor.
Amber Beels:Well, not that they won't let you, but they just, they will want to wait until you're at least eight weeks before you can have your first sonogram. That is the longest eight weeks of my life because I lost my first pregnancy in week like six. And so like I was, and I didn't get to see a sonogram until I was actively in a miscarriage when they had to see, like, they did an internal sonogram and they got to see the baby and that there was no heartbeat and they confirmed it and all the things. And like for that first eight weeks, it's fear inducing because you don't know what's going on. You just have some of these symptoms.
Amber Beels:And then when you don't have the symptoms, you're like freaking out. But then you're also feeling a little better because you're not like throwing up, but it's like it's this whirlwind of just the unknown and what ifs and just fear all around. And it was miserable. And I remember in the episode that I did with Quan, episode 23, Faith Over Fear, I mentioned to him the dream that I had, the dream of the snake, this black snake and how it kept biting me in between my fingers. And I knew that the snake wasn't poisonous.
Amber Beels:It was, it was really small. It was like the size of a pencil, but it kept biting me. And in my head I knew that this wasn't my snake. Like it didn't belong to me, but it did belong to somebody and I couldn't just kill it. And so I kept throwing it in a cage, but I kept throwing it in a cage with holes in it.
Amber Beels:And so the snake would just slither out of the hole and bite me again in between my fingers. And I was just struggling with the snake back and forth, back and forth, kept throwing it away and it kept just gunning for me. Up until finally I took it and I put it in a bag that was full of other snakes and zipped, and there were no holes. It was clear. I could see the other snakes, but I put it back in there and then it was gone.
Amber Beels:And when I first told Quan about that dream, he was like, Yeah, that's the doubt. And that doubt wasn't yours. It was the enemy placing that doubt in your, in your head. And now that I'm kind of on the other side of things, I can kind of really look at that dream and see, like, there's a reason why it wasn't mine. The snake wasn't mine and that it belonged to someone else.
Amber Beels:I do believe that that was the enemy trying to attack me because I was at my my lowest point. And sometimes he just kicks you when you're down, right? It was black because I think that represented fear and just the unknown, but I knew that it wasn't poisonous. Like it wasn't going to hurt me. So, and I think fear is like that a lot of the times.
Amber Beels:Like fear is an unpleasant emotion that is threatening, that it might cause you pain, but it's not actually causing you pain in that moment. And so it not causing me any crazy amount of pain, like, yeah, it wasn't pleasant to be bit in between my fingers, but it wasn't like and you all wasn't gonna die because of it. And then me just keep throwing it in a cage with holes and then it coming back, I can kind of dissect that now. And in the women's event that I spoke at, it was more practical than some of my other talks because I don't know. I just felt like the Holy Spirit was like, you need to equip my saints, which is the word the Lord has given me, equip my saints, but give them something practical.
Amber Beels:Something on how you learned how to go through your fear because fear is running rampant in my church. And I don't know if you've noticed that wherever you are, whether you're in The US or another country, I don't know if you've noticed, but fear is rampant right now in our society, in our church, in our culture. It's everywhere. People are just afraid and offended and it's just awful. I think it's biblical.
Amber Beels:I think the scriptures say that this is what's going to happen in the church. The church is going to be divided and we're just going to be afraid and not know what's true and not know what's what's right, what's righteous. And so, and how to handle those things when we get attacked. And so what I had said with Quan in that episode was that I treated it like unforgiveness, which if you've ever been through the Freedom in Christ program, there's different modules in it. And one of them, it talks about unforgiveness and it gives you really, really great practical steps on how to do that.
Amber Beels:And so I was praying about my fear. Don't get me wrong. I kept trying to give it to the Lord and saying, Lord, just take it. I don't want it. I don't know how to get rid of this fear.
Amber Beels:And it didn't matter how much I prayed. It didn't matter how much I cried out to the Lord. I would feel a little better for like an hour. And then right back, I, the fear was crippling me again. And I was like, Lord, like, how do I, I don't, I don't know what to do.
Amber Beels:Like, I'm doing what I think is right. I'm doing what I think is scripture, like scripture based, but it's not working. And so I was like, okay, well maybe I need to do the steps for unforgiveness, but it just apply it to my fear. And in the steps for unforgiveness, according to freedom in Christ, it's you need to identify the person, identify what they've done, and you're allowed to feel that emotion that they made you feel one last time, and then give it to the Lord. And say, Lord, I choose to forgive this person after they made me feel this way.
Amber Beels:I'm gonna feel that feeling one last time, and now it's yours. And following those steps, I I'm paraphrasing the steps, but basically following those steps, that is one true way to really forgive somebody because I can't tell you how many times I've thought I've forgiven somebody and the Lord's like, yeah, no, you didn't really forgive them all the way. Or you forgive them for this, but not for this. It's like, ah, there's so many different things, but that's why the Holy Spirit's here, right? The Holy Spirit can help you do those things.
Amber Beels:He can help reveal that unforgiveness because you're doing life with the Holy Spirit. Right? So you need to depend on him for those things and the things you don't see, your blind spots. Right? So works really well for that.
Amber Beels:And so when I was talking to Quan, I told him, I was like, this is what I think I'm supposed to do is, like, treat it like unforgiveness and and then, like, you know, feel the fear one last time and then let it go. So I did that. I was like, alright, Lord, this is this is a fear. I'm gonna feel the fear one last time. I'm gonna give it to you.
Amber Beels:And you know what happened? Nothing. I felt good again for like an hour. And then, it came right back. I was like so fed up because I was like, Lord, I don't know what to do.
Amber Beels:I I really, I really, really don't. And I know it's an issue. I know it's a problem. And I just I just don't know what else to try. I'm crying out to you, but what do I, what do I specifically do?
Amber Beels:And so after a lot of prayer, reading a lot of books and also just speaking with a lot of people that I confide in, people that I trust, people that I love and I know that love me. And I had the Holy Spirit really break down a process for me. And it helped. Oh my gosh. It helped.
Amber Beels:It helped so much. And I would not have been able to come up with this process without the help of the Holy Spirit. He's the one that really broke it down for me. Because for me, the number one question that I asked the Holy Spirit is, okay, this is what your scripture says, but what does that look like in my life? Lord, practically, what does that look like?
Amber Beels:How do I, Amber Beals, do that in my life? Please show me because I'm a little thick in the head and I need a step by step instruction. I need it to be super clear on, like, what I'm supposed to do because obviously I'm not doing this right. It's not working. And so what I'm about to share with you is that that process that I kind of came up with.
Amber Beels:Not that I came up with, that the Holy Spirit and I together put together. And it really helps break down that that giant. It won't take away the fear completely, but it's going to make your fear a lot smaller. It's going to shrink it from a giant to this little thing that you can deal with. A thing that you can keep using these tools to keep knocking it down.
Amber Beels:And so the first thing is actually similar to the unforgiveness steps in Freedom in Christ, and that is to identify the fear. Now, I know that sounds easy, but a lot of the times, it's more than just one fear. There's a fear under that fear. So for me, there was a fear of losing my child. K?
Amber Beels:The Lord told me to look deeper. It's not just a fear of losing my child. It's a fear that I'm not enough. It's a fear that my body wasn't enough, that my body was gonna fail, that my body couldn't sustain life, that I wasn't worthy to carry life, that there was something wrong with me. It was all those fears underneath the main fear of losing my child, But there were so many fears underneath that.
Amber Beels:And so that takes some time to figure out and really identify what those fears really are that are attacking you and those lies that are feeding that fear. And you got to write those down. So that's step number one, identify the fear and then identify the sub fears because I can guarantee you there are fears underneath that big underlying fears. So once you do that, you need to find a scripture that addresses that fear slash lie that you believe. So it could be specific to that fear and the more specific the scripture, the better.
Amber Beels:But if you can't find one that is super specific to that fear, then you can find one just on fear itself. Being afraid of man, being afraid, casting your fears to the Lord, like finding scriptures about that. And Google's really good about that. And you can use the index at the end of your Bible for that. I typically just use Google.
Amber Beels:I just say verses about fear, verses about feeling unworthy, verses about, you know, insert blank. Like whatever it is, just Google it. I promise you there's probably a verse about it that the Lord addresses it. The Lord addresses fear a lot in scripture, actually. You'd be surprised.
Amber Beels:So try to find one that really pertains to your fear. Then the next step is creating a statement, a declaration, or an affirmation, whatever you wanna call it, that has been present tense and positive, something that you can say out loud. And I've mentioned this before about the importance of the power of the spoken word, how important it is that what we say, you know, there's power of life and death in your tongue than what you say. So important what you say, what you say to others, what you say to yourself. So important.
Amber Beels:And so creating these statements that are positive and that are based in truth. And one of the things that I mentioned at, in my talk was in emotional intelligence, which, you know, there's different kinds of intelligences. There's like IQ, street intelligence, and then there's emotional intelligence. And according to emotional intelligence, a lot of the times, our how we process information is based on our experiences. So what I experienced from age zero to seven really dictates how I process information when somebody tells me something.
Amber Beels:And that's because I grew up a certain way and maybe I was in a house that was abusive. Then if somebody tells me something that is not meant to attack me, it's just meant to address something, I could take it in that way that I'm being attacked just because of my past experiences. If I had a really good childhood, and then if somebody says something to me, I'm going to take it in a good way because I was brought up in a household that people love me. And so I give people the benefit of the doubt, or that's how I just process information. We basically have these filters.
Amber Beels:And so everybody has them. I don't care who you are. You have filters and how you process information. If somebody tells me something, they tell another person the same thing, they're going to process that information differently than I will. I guarantee it just because we have our own filters.
Amber Beels:And a lot of the times those filters don't reflect truth. And the same thing goes for emotions. Emotions don't always reflect truth. I'm going to say that again. Emotions don't always reflect truth.
Amber Beels:Now I'm not saying that emotions aren't important. The Lord gave us emotions. The Holy Spirit is emotional. So I believe emotions are important. I don't think that they should dictate how we process information and how we live our lives.
Amber Beels:They should not be in charge of how we react to things. They should be a measurement tool of where we are, and that's it. I feel like emotion emotions are just like, okay, this is how I'm feeling. This is where I'm at. Is that true?
Amber Beels:You should always be analyzing your emotions and being like, okay, is this actually an accurate reflection of what's happening in my situation right now? Yes or no? And so the filter that you should be running your emotions through is scripture. Scripture, God's word, is the filter that we should run everything through, because His filter, the Holy Spirit's filter, is truth. That is real truth.
Amber Beels:That's not Amber's truth. It's not Eric's truth. It's the Lord's truth, which is real, which is actually true. And so when you process your emotions through that, your emotions should be subject to God's word. So that's what you're doing when you're writing this affirmation is you're declaring God's word, God's truth in your life, and you're writing it in an I Am statement.
Amber Beels:And when you it doesn't necessarily have to be in an I Am statement, but it has to be positive and it has to be something that you believe. So for example, one of my statements was, Lord, your word says that you have not given me a spirit of fear, but of love and power and of a sound mind. And because of that, I rebuke fear and doubt and unbelief in Jesus name. That was one of my statements for fear, just fear in general. And so basically, again, doesn't have to be an I am statement, but I'm declaring that that statement to the Lord that your word says that you have not given me a spirit of fear, but a spirit of love and power and of a sound mind.
Amber Beels:So therefore, I rebuke fear and doubt and unbelief. And you're saying it like you mean it. And when you first say it, you're not gonna believe it. And you might even cry because I was like a very, very big crybaby when I first did my declarations because I didn't believe it in my heart. And it surprised me actually how hard it was for me to say those statements out loud because I'm like, they're just words, but that's that's not true.
Amber Beels:There's so much power in what you say and what you say over yourself. And my subconscious was not believing that. It was believing a lie. And so I had to tell myself, this is what the word of the Lord says. This is what the Holy Spirit is telling me.
Amber Beels:And I believe that a hundred percent of the Bible is a % right, a % of the time. And if I truly believe that, then I can declare these things in my life and stand on it. This is the rock that I stand on. This is the truth that I stand on. This is the filter that I need to start filtering all of my emotions, including fear, through.
Amber Beels:Because fear is an unpleasant emotion. That's the definition of fear. And so I wanna encourage you to write your own statement. And the thing is, once you do that, you have to say the statement three times. And the reason why I felt like three is a really good number is because, one, you're saying it to yourself.
Amber Beels:You're speaking this over you, your mind and your heart and your soul and your spirit. Two, you're declaring it to the Lord. You are saying to the Lord, this is what your word says, and I'm bringing your promise that's in the word and I'm bringing it here on earth. I'm taking your promise from heaven and I'm bringing it on earth, Lord. This is me declaring it out loud and I'm reminding you.
Amber Beels:Not that the Lord needs reminding, but He likes it when we speak His word to Him. He likes that. So do it. And the third time is for the enemy. You are declaring this against the enemy.
Amber Beels:Even if the enemy had nothing to do with your fear, maybe you just are an anxious person and you just have these fears all the time and the enemy had nothing to do with it. That's okay. You're going to still tell him so that he knows if he ever wants to touch this area in your life, he can't. It's off limits. You are setting up that hedge of protection around your life, around your home, around your family, whatever it may be, and you are declaring it out loud.
Amber Beels:So three times to yourself, to the Lord, and to the enemy every day. Do this every day, especially if it's a fear that you deal with that is a huge giant in your life right now. Maybe you are one of those people that suffer with anxiety every day. Identify what those fears are. And maybe you'll have a big laundry list, like a CVS receipt full of fears.
Amber Beels:That's a lot of fears. That's okay. Don't say all the declarations for all those fears all at once. I would take like four or five of them and just do it in chunks at a time. Just keep declaring it over your life as long as you need to for forty days, thirty days, six months, however long it takes.
Amber Beels:And you'll know when it's working. You'll know because that fear will be not a giant anymore, but this little, this little thing in your life, it's not going to dictate what you were doing. It's not going to dictate your emotions all the time. And eventually you won't have to do it every day. When that fear is so small and manageable that you can put it in its little bag with the other fears and cast it away, then if it gets out again, that's okay.
Amber Beels:Declare the truth over your life again to the Lord, to yourself, and to the enemy, and it'll take care of it. And it won't be such a big giant or stronghold in your life anymore. You're gonna feel so much better. You'll know because you'll feel so much better. And one of the reasons why the whole unforgiveness thing didn't work and the Holy Spirit revealed this to me was because with unforgiveness, you forgive someone of the thing and it's normally in the past and it's done.
Amber Beels:You don't have to think about it again. But with fear, it's different. With fear, you may be living in that situation for a while. Like for me, it was eight weeks. It wasn't like, okay, I feel the fear.
Amber Beels:I'm still in week seven or six or whatever. And I'm still like, I still have a deadline for that. Some fears don't even have a deadline. Maybe you have a fear of like, I'm not going to get married. Like what if Lord?
Amber Beels:What if I don't find that partner? Or what if I'm stuck at my job forever? What if I can't find another job? Like there's these fears that sometimes we just need to live with. They're they're situations that we can't get out of right away.
Amber Beels:And that's why the unforgiveness steps don't work because you can't just feel the fear one last time. It doesn't work because you're surrounded by it all the time. But you can declare truth over your life and sift that fear through the filter of God's word and declare his truth and his word over your fear and in your life. And that shrinks the fear. And that really helped me.
Amber Beels:And I hope that this really helps somebody else. You know, I did that talk for my church, for the women of my church, and I was, I'm not gonna lie, I was a little, I felt unprepared because I have been super busy with youth camp. They had their winter camp. It was that weekend that I had to drive them to winter camp, came back, did my talk. And then the next day I had to go and pick them up from winter camp again.
Amber Beels:So I had been prepping for that. And then I had like no time to put this talk together. I had the topic, but I was like, Lauren, what am I going to do? And so the Lord again, wanted me to make it practical and have steps. And I had like a worksheet that I gave people in, like, steps.
Amber Beels:And I gave them first examples that they could they could take away. And I'm not gonna lie. I felt it felt rough to me, this talk, because normally, like, for a sermon, I have a couple of months to prep. I practice it. You know, I feel really good about it.
Amber Beels:This, I had just put it together that morning, and then I stood up in front of, like, 40 women and gave my doc that night. And it was just so uncomfortable for me. But I knew this was the will of the Lord. I knew that the Holy Spirit wanted me to do this and wanted me to cover this topic. And that just was a reminder to me that the Holy Spirit is going to use whatever.
Amber Beels:It doesn't matter if it's perfect. It doesn't matter if it's rough. She is going to use it. And I've had several women come up to me since then, it's been over a week now, that said that it was so useful to them. Some of them, they said that they were crying because, like, they finally found something to help them get through what they were going through, that they finally had a tool to be able to help them get through it.
Amber Beels:There's one woman, she didn't even know it was fear that she was dealing with. She finally identified it as fear. And so now she knew how to address it and that was enough to make it worth it for me. If just one person, if this helps just one saint, then it's worth it. It doesn't matter if everyone else thought it was crap.
Amber Beels:Not that I think everyone else did, but you know, the enemy likes to throw in those, those lies of like, Oh, well, see, you didn't, you didn't put everything in it, so nobody's gonna get anything out of it. Why did you even go up there? Like, why do you feel like you're qualified to speak to these women? Blah, blah, blah. Like, you know, all those things.
Amber Beels:It doesn't matter how far along in your walk you are with the Lord. Like you are still gonna be attacked. You're still gonna get those questions, those lies. Like the enemy is still gonna talk to you, especially if you're in God's will and, and, you know, going through what the Lord wants you to do. Of course, he's gonna attack you.
Amber Beels:Of course, he is. And so you should expect that and you shouldn't be surprised by it and you shouldn't be deterred by it either. So that was very encouraging to me. And I hope that this is encouraging to you. I hope that this is a tool that you can take away.
Amber Beels:And it's my prayer that you use this because it really helped me. I was really in a tough spot where I didn't know how to address my fear. I was trying everything and it wasn't working. And the Holy Spirit really showed me like, use my word. My word is there for you to use.
Amber Beels:It's supposed to be a light onto your path. Use it. And so, so I did and it worked. So praise the Lord, right? Anyway, I hope that this message helps you guys, that it blesses you.
Amber Beels:Please, you know, let me know if this stuff is helping you out. If, if there was some fear that you are struggling with and you tried this process and you've given it, like, a good thirty days or whatever, and you start feeling better, let me know. I I would love love to hear those stories and those testimonials. And if you could do me a favor too, this podcast is growing, which I'm super excited about. We've reached over 10 countries and, like, it just humbles me to know that so many people are listening.
Amber Beels:And I would really appreciate if you would write a review. Like, leave a rating, the five stars on whatever platform you listen to, whether it's Apple or Spotify or any other one, but also write something. Like, let me know how this podcast has helped you, and this really helps grow the podcast even more. Because my goal with this podcast is to glorify the Lord, equip the saints, and just be in obedience to the Holy Spirit. So being able to see some of those testimonies or just the value that people are getting really encourages me, and it also helps the algorithm so that people can click and tune in because they see such positive reviews.
Amber Beels:So I'd really appreciate that. Alright, guys. Thanks so much, and I'll see you next week.
