When Fear Comes Knocking
Fear is arrogant. It barges into your life and never apologizes for anything. It paints your soul with uncertainty and makes you dread something you can’t even define. It’s deliberate and smug. It imagines you simply can’t get rid of it. Perhaps it helps to face fear head on. Determine its cause. Define it. One writer said, “Fear knocked on the door. Faith answered, but no one was there.” Who is at your door?
The attempt here is not to make light of those things that create fear and anxiety. It’s not to imagine that there are not justified or real fears in the world. It’s only to recognize that many fears simply strive to turn your life upside down, and most fears never come to fruition. The hard part is being willing to step aside from those things that give you shaky knees and a racing heart and decide for yourself what comes next. You can give in to fear, lock the door, never open it again, and hope that your own personal monastery gives you a sense of peace and comfort. That particular idea though, gives all your power away.
If you imagine you don’t have power over the outside world, you’re forgetting who you are. You’re forgetting that you’re a child of God. You’re a human being with a guiding Spirit, an inspiring Mentor, a Source of power like no other. When you take your basket of fears and hand them over, give them up, challenge their existence, then you are not alone. You have more powerful stories to tell, more exciting experiences up ahead, because God did not give you a spirit of timidity. God assures you that even when you feel weak, He is strong. Even when you hug the past, He goes ahead of you. He knows the future and its full of light and possibility.
If you’re having trouble turning your fears over to God, then think back over the past several weeks or months and review how fear has treated you. Did it cause you anxiety? Did it make you feel small and incapable of making a difference? Did it lie to you and take away any trust you had in the good that also exists in the world? If it did any of those things, then this is your day. This is your day to give it up. Slam the door in the face of fear and tell it to move on, because that’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to move on in hope. You’re going to remind yourself of all the amazing times God has shown up for you, helped you, and given you strength you didn’t even know you had. This is the day to let faith answer the door.
After all, you and God are friends. He calls you by name. Invite Him in for dessert.
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