What are you afraid of? Being alone; flying the friendly skies; getting old; getting sick; death; having no friends; not accomplishing your goals; giving up on your dreams; life's inconsistencies or life itself? Our greatest enemy is fear! Strange as it may seem, we even fear, fear! I've had and still continue to have fears that I am trying to conquer. So writing this post will be easy because I am going to keep it real and personal. I am sure that many of you will be able to identify with my fears as you may have some of the same ones that I do. It is my prayer that I will touch upon something that will cause you to think.
2 Timothy 1:7 tells us, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirt of power, of love and of self-discipline." This tells me that the Lord gave us the power to overcome fear. Our spirits should not be timid, but so disciplined until we operate in love with all that we do. The Lord is with us in all our trials, we should not be afraid to face them. To fear is to place an unnecessary burden on ourselves when all we need to do is trust in the Lord. "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe." Proverbs 29:25.
I understand how hard it is to overcome fear. I truly understand how hard it is to 'let go and let God'. For years I've struggled with the thought of being alone as I grow older. I struggle with the reality that when my youngest daughter finally leaves home, it'll just be me in that big condo...alone. I struggle with the loneliness that engulfs me everyday when I come home from work and sit and eat alone and watch television alone and retreat to my bedroom alone. I struggle with paying bills and cry from seeing a paycheck I works so hard for and take so much ugliness from the world to earn, be absorbed by bills and I then wonder how I am going to make it though the next two weeks until I get paid again. I struggle with the thought of failing health. I struggle with the fact that I have no friends in the city I live in, and sometimes my phone doesn't ring for days except for solicitors. I struggle a lot with trying to find things to do to keep my mind occupied so that I won't be consumed by feat. I struggle with the thoughts of something horrible happening to my children, grandchildren, or other close family members. I struggle with the thought of not fulfilling my goals, or realizing my dreams. My struggles are ALL fears...so are yours! Fears that at some point have utterly consumed me and taken my focus away from where it should be...above. David knew and encourages us where to put our trust. "When I am afraid I will trust you. In God, whose word I praise. In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?" Psalm 56:3-4
Isaiah had to learn to trust in the Lord. "Surely God is my salvation, I will trust, and will not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my song, he has become my salvation." Isaiah 12:2. John tells us that Jesus has left us with a peace to help us overcome our doubts and fears; "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27
I am not so naive as to believe that it is easy to accomplish ridding myself of fear, and for most of us, it will never be realized because our human nature gets in the way. We have a natural propensity to fear the unknown and the uncontrollable. We are simply unable to give our problems over to the Lord because we fear the outcome. We forget that He knows us and our needs better than we do ourselves and will provide them; everything that He does for us will be good; actually, more than we deserve! "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall." Psalm 55:22 We are God's children and knowing that should ease any fears because He is the ultimate father and ultimate provider. Paul wants us to remember that: "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you slave again in fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, Abba Father." Romans 8:15 We can ask the Lord for anything (within His will) to help us look up and get through our fears. He is our father, cry out to Him!
I think of my fears and most of them revolve around material possessions, earthly things, temporal things...things! Fear is deadly, it is unhealthy, it is unproductive, and it takes our minds off the Great Provider. To alleviate the fear in our lives we HAVE to remember that, as children of God, we have nothing to fear. He will provide. Many times the things that we fear never even happen; and the things that we fear that do happen, happen for our own good. We MUST take our minds off the temporal and "Keep [our] lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" Hebrews 13:5-6 Remember there is only ONE fear that we should have. "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the whole matter; Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." Ecclesiastes 11:10
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