0
0
We’ve come to the end of October. The holiday time of year is just around the corner, but first comes Halloween. I know that there are varying degrees of acceptance surrounding this spooky day. Some let their kids trick-or-treat, some only go to trunk-or-treats, and some steer clear of the day all together. No matter your feelings about the day in general, most would admit that it puts a bigger emphasis on the scary. It puts an emphasis on fear.
Some people decorate their homes. Young adults and teenagers flock to haunted houses, and streaming services promote their “creepy collections.” No matter how you slice it (get the reference?), fear plays a role in every October.
Of course as Christians we aren’t supposed to fear. Psalm 23 states, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” Popular worship songs tell us “fear is a liar” and “my fear doesn’t stand a chance when I stand in your love.” I may stand in God’s love, but there are times when fear still grips me.
It doesn’t have to be October. There are just times in my life when fear is still crippling, even though I love the Lord and walk with Him. I don’t think I’m alone in this. Some of the biggest champions of faith that I know still seem to be knocked to their knees at times by fear. I do think that as Christians, fear stands a chance. Satan comes against us at every turn, and fear is one of his favorite weapons. What I think happens, and why fear still immobilizes us, is because we forget. We forget that we have the fear repellent living inside of us.
I hate mosquitoes! They drive me crazy. My wife always says, “Put this bug spray on. It will keep them away.” Of course she is right, but I also hate the smell of insect repellent. So even though it would help keep those nasty flying pests away, I leave it sitting right there in the can. Similarly, we know that God will help alleviate our fears, but so often we leave Him on the sidelines as we try to handle the ultimate pest on our own.
Of course, individuals’ fears are unique to them. However, I have found that many Christians struggle with fear in these three areas the most. Maybe voicing them will help us remember to use the best fear repellent, God.
I’m Not Good Enough
I know when you start your walk with God you should be past this fear, but I just don’t think that is the case. It isn’t like we quit sinning; we are still human. When we are walking with the Lord, we feel the weight of sin so much more than we did before, and Satan knows this. He wants to keep us distracted from doing what God wants, so he’s still whispering things like, “you’re a bum; God isn’t using someone who’s STILL broken.” Or maybe it sounds like this: “if those people at your church knew the real you…”
Whatever pestilence Satan can pour into your brain, he will. Each one of those lies causes fear to swell in us. “Maybe I am a broken bum. How can God use anyone like me?” Giving into that fear has just put you on the shelf. The fear puts you on the sideline, just like a running back who’s torn his ACL. However, God didn’t put you there. God didn’t take you out of the game. The fear that you let in did that.
So how do we not let this happen? First and foremost, pray! Pray that God uses you despite your shortcomings, and then watch how He does. When He uses you even though you’re battling through this fear, you’ll realize the fear was for nothing. God does what God wants to do. He knows you sin, He knows you’re broken, but He loves and will use you anyway!
Worldly Anxiety
Many of us get caught in this fear trap: I don’t have enough money, my kids aren’t safe, I have too many things to do, look at what has become of this society. These things we worry about manifest inside of us as fear. Fear of what is out of our control. Fear that we won’t be able to control a given situation. Control, control, control – it’s all about control.
There is no doubt that these fears and our control are married. That is why the only way to escape these fears is to give up control. Not to throw your hands in the air and give up, but to throw your hands in the air and surrender to His power. This I know is easy to say and hard to do. There have been many times I’ve done this and then as soon as something goes wrong, I am right back trying to take charge of the situation once again.
I think the only way we give up this control and not slip back into the “I got this” mode, which will open the door right back up to fear, is by surrendering to Him daily. Give up control to Jesus each day as you get out of bed, and then live that way, because God is with you and protecting you.
Comfort Zones
Most people think that because I’m a teacher, I must be an extrovert. That’s not necessarily true. Teaching is my comfort zone. You take me out of that world, and I often become an introvert. My wife is an introvert all the time. She works from home and that is perfect for her. Most of you understand this, as getting outside of our comfort zone causes big fears.
The only problem is that God doesn’t want you to just live in your comfort zone. He shows us through Scripture and His Son that getting outside of what makes you comfortable is what He expects. This “comfort zone” fear is really a combo of the first two. So to overcome this, we have to give up control, pray, and then take a step.
This is like what you tell the kid who’s afraid to watch a scary movie or ride a big roller coaster: face your fear. Just remember, you’re not facing whatever the fear is alone – God’s got you. Take that step outside of your comfort zone for Him and watch what happens!
I’m not going to say that because I wrote this blog all my fears are going to go away. But I am going to work on how I react when those fears hit me in the face. Pulling out a can of “Fear Repellent” and letting God knock those fears into oblivion sounds pretty good to me. Until next time…
