The “F” word. I know. I am not a fan of the “F” word. It’s vulgar and sounds un- lady like. I’m not referring to that word friends. I mean the “F” word fear. It seems to try and grip our soul on so many different occasions and levels.
Fear has been a demon in my own life that loves to rare it’s head on different occasions. Some days fear seems to win but on other days I do. It changes names and faces but once exposed, it always comes back to me just being afraid and when I’m fearful I lack trust.
What is it that you are afraid of?
Are you courageous enough to run to it and face it? If so, it doesn’t control you. Maybe, you run from it in order to hide. What exactly do we think we are hiding from when we run? Are your fears unfounded, ridiculous imaginations of your mind? A result of bad low budget scary movies or The Walking Dead ( don’t judge me.. The Walking Dead has a great plot. )
Maybe, your fears are deeper. The subtle fear that lingers in your thoughts that you will be abandoned. Your fear may be a fear of fat so you struggle with eating disorders. A fear that your husband will leave you so you’re fear makes you controlling. Your fear that your kids will rebel against you so you turn into a helicopter mom. The fear that you will lose your job. Your fear of people causes you to hide and isolate. Maybe it is a fear of lack. It doesn’t matter what the fear is, the point is that it controls you and keeps you bound.
Reaction to Fear
Your reaction to fear isn’t right or wrong by your response it is only an indicator of how you are wired. Your fight or flight mechanism kicks in as a survival tool. What if the real issue is that you wait for the other shoe to drop in life. You live life from below rather than from above. The way life has unfolded for you has not created a tapestry of trust. It has painted a picture of uncertainty and a lot of doubt.
What if you uncovered the truth about that fear and the underlying issue was trust and the lack of it. Trust is a building block of security in our lives. Trust empowers us to let go and depend on someone or something. When trust is broken a breaking down occurs and fear and uncertainty can creep in little by little.
The experiences and the painting of your life haven’t created a reason for you to trust. What you have seen and went through in life contributed to the fear that you battle. People that should have created a sense of security in your life weren’t able to give you the foundation that you needed to feel safe and secure. You felt dropped. Left to figure it out on your own.
What If You Could Learn To Trust
What if you could learn to trust more by relearning and reliving. What if you were to rewrite the story of your life. What if little by little you started to eliminate fear from your life by learning to trust more and not giving fear another place to take up space? Can you imagine the place of peace?
Can you see yourself walking in confidence because you are secure in his love? No longer bound by fear and enslaved to suggestions of despair and defeat. No longer threatened by what is out there because you are secure with who is out there. It is the love of God that secures us and establishes our faith in him.
An Example
One of the young women in my life has the opportunity for fear and insecurity to permeate her decisions because of her childhood. A rough childhood, sexually abused, her dad was in and out of jail for dealing drugs and her mom is emotionally vacant.
Basically, she was left to figure life out on her own and to care for her two younger siblings. She gave her life to The Lord and the love and trust in him started evicting fear, as she continues to grow in her relationship with God her foundation is being repaired and restored. The painting of her life is being repainted. Fear tried to take over until her faith did.
She is learning to trust and not fear. She will no longer be bound by the insecurity of a life that was inconsistent. There were experiences that created doubt and a lot of reasons to not trust anyone. She is a growing expression of God’s love and security. The more secure she is in the love of God the less she will fear. The more she gives herself to him and the word the more she will know her true identity. She will be unmovable because of the security of this love. Fear will no longer be able to dictate her responses in life.
The Root of Fear
All of our fears can be connected to our struggles to trust and rest in what God has promised us through his word. It can be a challenging thing. Will my circumstances or thoughts override what God speaks to me through his word?
Jeremiah 33:3
Call to me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.
God wants to answer us and show us things. He will if we choose to come to him, if we choose to trust him. If we depend and rely on him even when fear presents scenarios that make our knees shake. Even when fear attempts to grip our hearts. He is bigger. Did you really chew on that? He is bigger. Bigger than your past. Bigger than your Goliaths.
Let’s walk the path of faith together, trusting him as we go. Acknowledging with every step of faith that fear is losing its grip. We have the power to rewrite the story with the narrator being the author and the finisher of our faith. Keep walking friends and fear will be dust in the wind.