"A head full of fears leaves no room for dreams."
"Fear is only as deep as the mind allows."
“Each time we face our fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing.”
What do you fear? What are you afraid of? Everybody has fears. Big fears, small fears, and sometimes completely irrational fears. No two people have the exact same fears. Fear is strange like that. It attacks us in different ways at different times for different reasons. But do we let that fear win over? I think its silly when people say to go face your fears and then everything is fine and you will be such a better person! Because you know what? I am afraid of childbirth, death, getting fat, and heart surgeries. I certainly don't think I should kill myself, get pregnant, become a binge eater, or slice myself open just to see if I can face my fear.
Some people do things every day that I would be scared out of my mind to do. For example, somebody could be running into a burning building right now and think its fun and you could be scared to death just thinking about it and nervously sitting and praying... but that's just a random example. Some people fight every day in a foreign land for the freedom of others. Some people perform hours and hours of operations on a daily basis to save other people's lives. We call all of these people heroes. And yet, I am no heroine for getting fat or pregnant or dying or having a heart surgery.
So what makes it different? Why are some things recognized by most people as being scary and some things are only scary to me? Maybe because those heroes are conquering a fear to save another person, but by conquering my fears, I am only saving myself. Maybe... But whatever it is, I'm still afraid.
When I think of fear and the Bible, I think of these verses:
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."
-2 Timothy 1:7
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?"
-Psalm 27:1
So why is fear such a problem for me as a Christian? How can I possibly be afraid when I know that God is in control. I hold the hand that holds the world and yet I am scared of a heart surgery? Maybe because I am human. Maybe because the thought of waking up with a six inch scar, a broken sternum, an overwhelming amount of pain, and no clue where I am is in fact a very scary thing. But as scary as that is, I can think of something scarier. Waking up without God, not knowing Him, not having Him as my savior, and not knowing that I am forever His and forever safe. Because no matter what this life can do to me, God says I am taken care of. God says I am His precious child who He won't let go. God says it is all going to be okay. No matter what.
I will trust in You.
In God (I will praise His word),
In God I have put my trust;
I will not fear.
What can flesh do to me?"
In God I have put my trust;
I will not fear.
What can flesh do to me?"
-Psalm 56:3-4
So even though this life is scary and even though I am afraid sometimes, I know that God holds my future. And that is how I wake up, every day with a broken heart, aching joints, and a huge smile... because I am forever His.
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