I still greatly enjoy this time of
year, but I'm not as interested in the scary stuff as I used to be.
After all that I've seen and heard of as an adult, I've found there's
enough to be scared about in this world without turning to fiction.
Of course, my fears have taken a very different form now. I worry
about my children. I worry about whether or not I'm ready to have
more children. I fear the unknown that lies in the future. I'm afraid
of failure, of sickness, of pain.
But then I remember that God has told
me how to shut down those fears.
Isaiah 41:10 - “Fear not, for I am
with you...”
Philippians 4:8-9 – “Finally,
brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if
there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think
about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and
seen in me – practice these things, and the God of peace will be
with you.”
It's possible to keep my mind from
going to that place of fear when I shift my focus to the truth about His peace. I can have confidence in the face of
those things that I would normally be afraid of. Why? Because God is
in control, He is with me, and His purpose always prevails. Fear is
just a lack of faith. It means I'm not trusting in the hope that He
has provided for me.
Without Him, there would be every
reason in the world to fear.
I think I held to
that promise so much tighter when I was younger. That's why the scary
stuff never bothered me. It was easier for me to trust in His safety
and security because I knew how much I needed it. But now that I'm
the one who is providing it for my children, it's not as easy for me
to go to a place of vulnerability, and oddly enough, that's exactly
what I need. I need to depend on His strength, not mine.
So throughout this
month of 'spooks and frights', I think I'll challenge myself to remember how to face fear head-on. Real or imagined, no fear can touch me - they can only have as much impact on me as I allow them to have.
