I’m just a regular guy. I have fears just like everyone else. The problem lies in that the people I grew up around as a kid/pre-teen/teen were not very supportive when it came time to discuss these fears. They would make it out to be that if you said anything then you would be labeled as weak or less than in their eyes. For some weird reason this was important to me, so I would bury these fears so I could gain their acceptance. I am older now, a little bit wiser, but I still get scared. The main difference is that now I have people in my life that I can discuss these fears within a safe, nonjudgmental environment that is healthy. They help me work through them and offer great advice on how I can get through it, and they even pray for me.
I have rational and irrational fears. Let’s talk about my irrational fears first. I have always been afraid of spiders no matter how small or nonpoisonous you waste your breath trying to convince me they are. I wouldn’t be afraid of them if I could just talk to them. Kinda like this.
Me: Hey, man this shower is occupied. (These monsters love bathrooms most for some reason)
Spider: OMG, I didn’t see you there!
Me: We cool?
Spider: Yeah, yeah, we are cool. I’m just coming down to check out this nice tub you got here.
Me: Oh, that’s legit, but hey you might wanna move over some. You are descending right into the shower stream and I don’t want you to drown. (This is a lie because I totally want him to drown, but its ok he doesn’t know because this is only a magical talking spider, not a magical talking mind-reading spider)
Spider: Hey, thanks bud. I will be careful.
Me: So can I get out now?
Spider: Sure, sure! Sorry I will just move over here.
Me: Thanks, you have a nice night. Don’t come into my bedroom, kill me, and lay eggs in my stomach, okay!
Spider: Nah, that is your space. We are cool.
See what I mean. If you could just talk to your fears it would be great. My biggest irrational fear is that one day I will meet God and he will sneeze and I don’t know what to say. Somehow “Go bless yourself” sounds disrespectful and there will be a technicality that will send me to hell. I have approximately 4,783 other irrational fears that we will not discuss here, but what do we do about the real, legit fears?
Some rational fears people have sound like:
What if I fail my family and we get tossed out and have to live on the streets?
What if my kids never break out of that “phase” and hurt themselves or other kids?
What if my spouse loves and/or is attracted to someone who I feel is better than me?
What if the test results come back positive for cancer?
How do we live life with these fears? God’s answer is to Do It Afraid! Deuteronomy 31:6 says “Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you, nor forsake you.”
Did you know that as humans we ALWAYS see our nose? Our brain just blocks it from our mind so we never pay attention. The things we fear in life are always there, and the thing that blocks us from seeing them in times of trouble is the love of God. We fear because we do not truly understand his unconditional love. His love conquers all. He is that barrier between you and what you fear. This is why you see someone else going through hell with a genuine smile on their face. It is because they decided to tell their fear how big their God is instead of telling God how big their fear is. They are doing it afraid. It is ok to not be ok. It is not ok to stay not ok. Confess your fears to the Lord daily and watch them become minor footnotes on your Wikipedia page when you get to heaven. Confess them to trusted individuals here on earth while you do life together. Soon you will have nothing to worry about. God has not given us the spirit of fear. Fear does not last, but God’s love is everlasting.
Prescott Williamson is a Bible-believing Christian. He is a husband, a father, and someone who believes that there is a little humor to be found in whatever situation God sends your way. He was born in the small islands of the Bahamas but now lives in the Suburbs of Fort Worth Texas, which is basically the same thing. He enjoys TV, reading, blogging and serving in his church (especially on the days they serve donuts). You can see what I have been thinking about lately on my blog www.prescottascoolbreeze.com.
Focusing on God and not our fear is so key! Thanks for pointing that out and sharing from the heart!