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F ear can be powerful; but only when you allow it to be. If you feed it fear will stop you from reaching your full potential and being all you were created to be. Fortunately, we have an inner spirit that enables us to conquer our fears and live in victory. When we tap into that spirit we release a power capable of overcoming any obstacle, of obliterating fear and allowing us to step into a future filled with God's promises.

For many years I suffered from debilitating bouts of vertigo that gripped my body and left my world spinning out of control. Whenever I felt tired or rundown I knew that I would most likely be experiencing another horrible attack of vertigo. The condition had taken such a hold over me and driven such fear into me that it now influenced so many aspects of my life. The quality of my life had been eroded by this menacing condition.

I was always conscious of my every movement; I would only gingerly move my head from side to side, couldn't look up or down too quickly and would never lie on my back. I even had to take care in choosing which movies I would be able to watch. 3D films were now totally out of the question and even movies with lots of action or those being filmed with hand held cameras were a definite no-no. I had to be careful in cars, no sharp corners, and could no longer go on any rides in amusement parks. I was restricted in a lot of recreational activities as well as my sport and exercise regime. Alcohol was to be avoided at all costs. Any consumption of red wine seemed to bring on another vertigo attack. This condition was now controlling my life. I did all I could to avoid an attack of "the spins" and the violent nausea that accompanied it.

My doctor had advised me of a treatment that could possibly rectify the condition but the treatment sounded just as bad as the condition, if not worse. Instead I chose to live my life restricted by the vertigo and did everything I could to avoid another bout. The treatment recommended to me involved deliberately bringing on an attack and this was something I definitely didn't want to do. Unfortunately, I was not that brave and consequently I was living my life in fear.

Then one day I had finally had enough. I was desperate! I was ready to do whatever was needed to be done to rid myself of this condition. Feeling somewhat fragile after having suffered another few days of vertigo, I dragged myself off to see my doctor. She told me that when the dizziness comes I need to focus on an object in front of me. No matter what, I had to keep my eyes fixed on that object knowing that it is stationery. The incongruent messages that my brain was receiving would have to align itself with the fact that the object is stationery, not spinning, and eventually the spinning would stop. She moved my head from side to side, up and down, this way and that; but unfortunately no attack was precipitated. Bad news for me! This meant I would have to do it on my own. I left the doctors clinic feeling trepidation at the thought that I would need to "embrace" my next attack, not fear it, stay focused on a fixed object and just run the gauntlet.

Sure enough when I arrived home and lay on my bed, the familiar attack gripped my body and everything started spinning. I fixed my eyes on a cushion in my bedroom as my world spun violently out of control. Over and over I said, "You are still, you are stationery, you are not moving"; "You are still, you are stationery, you are not moving!" And gradually the world started to right itself. The spinning got slower and slower and I could once again make out the blurry images of the furniture and objects in my bedroom. Gradually, even the blurriness left and everything came back into focus. My world had righted itself!

I no longer feared the attacks the way I had in the past. Courage began to surge within me. I would take on these vertigo attacks and I would be victorious. That cushion had become my lifeline. Over the next few days I would bring on an attack, keep my eyes fixed on my cushion, say my mantra, "You are still, you are stationery, you are not moving" and wait for the truth to prevail and for the world to right itself. I refused to give into the fear and today I am free. The fear and the vertigo no longer have a hold on me; because after all what is fear? Fear is –

My bedroom spinning wildly out of control appeared a reality in my mind's eye; but this was false evidence. The higher truth was that the cushion was not moving. If the cushion was still, stationery and not moving; neither was any other object in my bedroom. Yet I had previously bought into the lie; I had been deceived by the appearance of a world spinning out of control around me. This was in fact totally false evidence….nothing was moving! The cushion had become my strength and my truth. If the truth was that the cushion wasn't moving neither was anything else in the room. Everything had to fall in line with that higher truth. The truth will always prevail.

In my everyday life, Jesus is my Rock and my Truth. He is the way, the truth and the life. No matter what may befall me Jesus is always the same, yesterday, today and forever. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I must keep my eyes off of my circumstances and keep them focussed on Jesus. The circumstances are nothing more than false evidence, just like the spinning of the room. My eyes and my focus must always be on Jesus and he will bring my circumstances into alignment with his higher truth. He is my cushion, my safe place to land.

If there is fear gripping your life, holding you back, stopping you from being all you were created to be, it's time to face it and move on. Your life is not really spinning out of control. Jesus is always there. Give the burden to him and you will be victorious. After all, the fear or burden is nothing but false evidence, it holds no reality; your reality is Jesus and the promises he has for your life. So take a hold of them, keep your eyes focused on the real truth and watch God's promises and reality unfold in your world.