What Are You Afraid Of?

When I was a little kid, I was afraid of motorcycles. The sound of them threw me into an absolute panic. I would run into my room, screaming, shouting, "MOM, MOM!!" I was terrified.I cannot pinpoint exactly where the fear came from (my mom says it was because I watched Fonzie on his bike jump over garbage cans on the show Happy Days).

Fear is real. We were all scared of something as kids. Dark rooms, scary movies, loud noises, ghosts, the bogey man, large animals, storms, snakes ... We all had that one thing that terrified us.But as we get older, fear continues to follow us. It doesn't disappear. The fear of getting bad grades in high school, rejection from the opposite sex, not fitting in with certain crowds of people and even more, being made fun of. Those fears could go even deeper as the pressures of school potentially bring in fears of depression and suicide.As I've gotten older, fear still creeps in on occasion.

Fear of the unknown. Fear of wars, conflicts, crime, violence, terrorism, finances. Even fears of who will lead our country. Fears are a very real thing. I'm often praying for protection on family in the hopes that nothing terrible happens to them. Trying to protect my Sarah from all the fears I mentioned in the previous paragraph. But over the past few years, I've been working on replacing most of my fears and worries with faith.The bible includes the phrase "do not fear" 57 times.

As I began to dive into God's word, I discovered words of life and of truth. I began to soak in what the promise of hope was. "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God." - Isaiah 41:10These words began to replace my fear with real, life breathing faith. They replaced the worldly thoughts I had with thoughts of a promise. A promise from God that he would never leave us or forsake us. A promise from his son Jesus that he would be with us always until the end.

There was power in the words I was reading."For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." - 2 Timothy 1:7These words are amazing. God's power, love, a sound mind. I think we'd all like to have more of that in our lives.Marilyn Ferguson says "Ultimately we know deeply that the other side of every fear is freedom."

FREEDOM

We can be free of fears and anxieties. There is freedom found in the cross where Jesus took the punishment. He died so we can live."Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid." - John 14:27Those are Jesus' words. He's leaving us with peace and replacing worry and fear with hope that the world does not give.Trusting God, though, doesn't mean we're not human. It's not easy but it's a choice we make and can feel secure in.

Choose not to allow fear and worry control your life.Guard your heart with Christ.Focus the mind on the one who says He is the way, the truth and the life ... Jesus.Fears may still happen. Heck, I'm never swimming in the ocean because I'm terrified of sharks. But how comforting is it to know we can rest in the promise of

Psalm 23:4 -- "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and staff, they comfort me."Be not afraid.Unless of course there's a shark fin nearby.