The Bible discusses fear a lot! These phrases have been quoted to me throughout my life. Probably because I’ve always had a problem with fear. To the point where I tried to ignore fear and those passages for decades. At times I’ve tried to understand fear and implement the biblical insights concerning it. My understanding usually failed in my very human ways.

Usually I just ending up worrying. There are so many things to be fearful of in our world. We are bombarded with warnings. Play! Don’t Play! Work hard! Stop working so hard! Stress is good! Stress is bad! Prep for the storm! Don’t worry it’ll blow over! Arm yourself! Don’t arm yourself! Trust! Don’t Trust! (That’s a big one for me…)

Advice and warnings are issued constantly with good intentions. Please don’t ask my friends and family. I already know I do it myself. Oh the stories they could tell you! I can weave a tale of fear until you are worried about it yourself.

I was having trouble starting my blog this weekend. I played with a couple of ideas. Did some writing but nothing would gel. What I wrote didn’t feel right. So I prayed for guidance. While getting ready for church yesterday, I picked up my copy of God Calling edited by A.J. Russell. I sighed in relief when I saw a short entry for March 5^th. Sorry Lord {wince}. Then I saw the title: “Fear is Evil” Uh Oh…Here we go again with fear thing. I just don’t get it. Fear is good right? Fear of getting mauled by the grizzly in the woods. Fear of the hot stove? Fear of God. Right?

Fear is bad too. Like being so stressed you have chronic pain. Or you’re emotionally paralyzed and can’t take that leap of faith? I actually live both of these examples regularly. Is this a Virtue-Vice thing? I ask myself. Naw, I don’t feel it. Then I read the devotion. Here is a portion of what I read:

“Have no fear. Fear is evil and ‘perfect Love casts out fear.’ There is no room for fear in the heart in which I dwell. Fear destroys Hope. It cannot exist were Love is, or where Faith is…”

Wow the second sentence stands out to me. “There is no room for fear in the heart in which I dwell.” He’s in there – In my heart. I know this in my soul. He is doing his best to push out the spiritual clutter making room for Him and my soul. A big part of my spiritual clutter is fear. It hits me like a ton of bricks: There is no room for fear in my life.

He is there with me. God holds my heart, Jesus holds my hand, and the Holy Spirit has his arm around my shoulders. Then, God has stationed a guardian angel to have my back! There really is nothing to fear.

What am I afraid of? Mostly it’s the “what if’s” in life. What if I fail? What if I get hurt? What if I am in pain for the rest of my life? What if something happens to (fill in the blank loved one)?

When I look back on my life, I recall the “what if’s” that happened. Just like everyone I know, I’ve had to deal with the if’s. Guess what? They were painful. I mourned. I hurt. I healed. And through it all God lead me through whatever it was. Just like Psalms 23. The Lord is My Shepherd…

Today I’m letting go of the fear. When the shoe drops…God will catch me.

Milly

P.S: We’re not finished yet. I found more I needed to understand on this subject. Until next time – Love!