Sometimes fear feels like Mount Everest! It’s like a towering, immovable mountain that overwhelms us and even paralyzes us when we think of overcoming it. It seems bigger than our faith at times. The mountain can appear so looming and large that we are convinced we will never get over it.

Fear is a powerful emotion that can make us feel weak, insecure, and out of control. It can take us off guard and convince us that God doesn’t love us or won’t help us. But God’s love is bigger than every mountain, and His power will make you prevail.

That was the message Paul wanted his young friend Timothy to hear loud and clear. No matter what you face, God’s Spirit offers strength to deal with the fears that rise up before you, “for God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7 NLT).

The God who loves you gives you power, love, and self-control. That’s why you can face your mountain, fortified with the courage to shrink it down to size. God’s power gives muscle to your courage.

God’s power in you—not your own—gives you the ability to stare down your mountain and “be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ” (2:1 NLT). God’s love motivates your courage. It is His unfailing, unconditional love for you that makes you brave. His “perfect love casts out [all] fear” (1 John 4:18 NKJV).

And God’s Spirit will help you maintain courage. The Holy Spirit gives you the sound mind and self-control you need to take “captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). That includes fear.

Fear may make you tremble, but God’s love makes you triumph! If you are facing a mountain today, don’t face it alone. Receive the power, love, and self-control that God offers you. And as you face your fear in His presence, you will be able to say, like the Psalmist, “The mountains melt[ed] like wax at the presence of the LORD” (Psalm 97:5 NKJV).