Fear

One of the greatest enemies of faith is fear. Paul told Timothy that fear robs us of our power, our love, and our sound judgment. Think of what little a Christian has left if those three are forfeit. It would be impossible to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. It would be impossible to love your neighbor as Christ loves you.
Fear causes us to disconnect with the power God has placed within us in the person of our Helper, our Teacher, our Guide, and our Comforter--the Holy Spirit. We hesitate to yield to His leading, frustrate His sanctifying work in our lives, and render our gifts ineffectual in His service. We are afraid to trust Him with ourselves. And then though the very life of God abides within us, we become powerless--unable to minister to those to whom God has sent us.
Fear also makes us incapable of loving others as Christ loves us--faithfully, unconditionally, honestly, susceptibly. We become afraid of being hurt, afraid of being taken advantage of, and even afraid to embrace His love and forgiveness of us. We cannot love the unlovely, forgive the incorrigible, or allow ourselves to rest in His unchanging love. We become slaves to the opinions of others and to our opinions of ourselves. We fall short of the maturity God wishes to develop in us, the proven character that reveals itself through tested love. Mature love casts out all fear.
Fear affects our ability to make sound judgment as well. Our decisions are influenced by what others might think of our choices, not what God thinks. We fail to see the hand of God in our afflictions; consequently, we fail to evaluate our circumstances in light of God's truth. Being unable to trust God with all things, we wallow in the futility of our own human efforts, fret with worry, and victims of a subtle paranoia. Nothing clouds sound judgment like being fearful.
How then do I defeat fear? You must rest in, really believe in, God's promises. He is with you always. He has taken care of all your tomorrows yesterday. You can cast all your cares on Him. He is the God of lovingkindness and mercy--even as we go through the consequences of our wrong choices. The Spirit is greater than the power that is in the world. His grace is sufficient no what the depth of our weaknesses. We can survive a broken heart; in fact, a broken heart will empower us with a deeper sense of His love for us, and our need to love our neighbor.
Fear is the enemy of faith because faith is the destroyer of fear.