Be Not Afraid

On March 4, 1933, during his first inaugural address, Franklin D. Roosevelt would coin the memorable expression, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. (As a side note, if you aren’t familiar with the whole address, I encourage you to look up the audio or the text. It is a speech that is still very much relevant today.) Roosevelt was elected during a time that Americans were suffering through The Great Depression, and I’m sure that the tens of millions who listened to him on their radios that day found a little comfort in his words. I would guess that when the airwaves went silent, although they felt a bit uplifted, their thoughts returned to figuring out how to put bread on the table the following day. When we begin to allow ourselves to be ruled and controlled by our fears, however big or small they may be, it can consume us wholly and cause unnecessary anxiety and feelings of hopelessness. Here’s the deal though. You don’t have to let your fears be your master! You can take back your thoughts and begin to feel like you have control again, especially when you turn to God for assistance and allow Him to show you that you have nothing to fear in the first place.

I remember going through lots of emotions just before I married Anthony. Happiness and excitement were at the forefront of those emotions, but there was definitely a heaping dose of fear about moving to Las Vegas. I grew up in a very small town where everyone knows each other. I was rather comfortable in my little corner of the world and wasn’t quite sure how I would cope with living so far away from everything I’d ever known. That in and of itself was more than enough reason to make any girl’s feet freeze right there in her wedding shoes and “accidentally” miss her limo to the church. I was terrified to live in Las Vegas, but I couldn’t allow that fear to overshadow what was going to be my new life. If I had allowed my fear of getting out of my comfort zone (1,800 miles away from my comfort zone) to control my thoughts, I could have missed out on an opportunity for growth mentally, emotionally, and most importantly, spiritually. I spent a lot of time in prayer about it, and God was starting to sound like Bob Marley every time he reminded me that everything was going to be alright (I dare you to imagine God talking to you in a Jamaican accent and not laugh).  Unfortunately, our human nature is to rely solely on our own devices to make decisions, whether they are a part of God’s plan for us or not.

In the early stages of my marriage, regardless of the fact that my husband made me incredibly happy, I found myself crying out, “God, why did you lead me here?  What is the purpose of being away from everyone that I love and everything that I know?  What do you expect from me”?  All I had to do was take one look at my husband and I knew what that purpose was: to love and serve him as best as I possibly could.  In retrospect, there were numerous areas of my life that I needed to cultivate and mature, and honestly, being in Louisiana wasn’t going to help.  I had to literally go out into the desert away from everything that was familiar to me so that Christ could transform me into the woman He needed me to be.  I’m no longer in the desert (literally), but figuratively, I have to go back from time to time. Being a disciple of Christ is a life-long journey, and a huge part of conquering fear is belonging to Him, but no matter how often you may win the battle, another hurdle will be placed before you.  As tempting as it may be to allow fear of the unknown to become a contest yet again, you can’t allow history to repeat itself, and part of preventing this is to turn to your faith and open up scripture for guidance.

In Isaiah 41:13, we read, “For I am the Lord, your God, who grasp your right hand; It is I who say to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you’”. I can close my eyes and see myself as a child again and God asking if it would make me feel better if He held my hand. How many times have our kids been afraid and have asked us to hold their hands? The comfort of knowing that we are there gives them the courage to face whatever it is they are afraid of. In my middle son’s case, we recently brought him to the doctor to update his vaccinations, and I was there to set his mind at ease as best I could. Since we are physically bigger, children believe that we can squash whatever it is that they are afraid of and place a steadfast confidence in us as their protectors. God operates along the very same lines. The last thing He wants for us is to be filled with fear of any kind.  He wants us to have confidence in Him, and as Christians so frequently say, there is absolutely nothing too big for Him that He can’t help us get through. It’s a great relief to know that “The Big Guy” is in our corner.

In addition to finding comfort in scripture, there are other ways to keep fear at a comfortable distance.  Some fear is good to have around. Holy fear of the Lord comes to mind. Fear of hurting ourselves or someone else is another example. But fear that grips you at your core and tortures you emotionally can be debilitating. By far, the most important shield of protection is Christ. He is the only one that can provide us with what we need to be victorious in our battles. Other ways to combat these overwhelming feelings is to remind yourself of all that you have been blessed with and remember the times that you have been fearful yet God delivered you from your fear and everything turned out to be ok. Anytime I am faced with fear, I revisit past occurrences step by step and remember how God guided me through it and that everything went according to plan. Actually, in most cases, things turned out even better than what I had hoped and prayed for. Remembering God’s faithfulness is instrumental in getting your thoughts realigned with His. When you gain confidence in Him, you gain confidence in yourself.

Also, having a support system to fall back on is essential.  It’s not a good idea to keep mum and hope for the season to pass. Talking candidly with someone you trust can make a huge difference. Don’t ever feel ashamed to admit to a family member or a close friend that you are having a difficult time dealing with fear. You are making yourself vulnerable, but you’re also giving someone the opportunity to give you the words that you just might need to hear in that moment. Talking with my husband, as painful as it was at times, about the fears I was experiencing and listening to his words of reassurance helped me to put things into perspective and to have a more confident outlook. Keep in mind that whomever you confide in may be going through a very similar situation as well and have a need for companionship and the comfort of knowing that they aren’t alone in their own struggle. God could use you in a big way during your trying time to be a blessing to someone else, and in turn, you can find the relief you are searching for.

Stopping your fears in their tracks isn’t going to happen overnight, but through prayer, reading scripture and having a strong support system around you, it can get easier. Fear prohibits you from being the best version of yourself. Not only could you be cheating yourself out of experiencing the happiness God has placed before you, but you could also be cheating others from seeing the radiance within you. Your family and friends depend on you for more than you can possibly imagine, and when you are preoccupied with your fears, you aren’t fully available to be there for them when they need you most.  That alone should be enough to make you want to put on Christ and change your thought patterns.  This process may take lots of time and tons of patience, but when you get to the end and look back on the journey, you’ll be proud of your accomplishment and find yet one more reason to love God and yourself.