Fear
Fear.
It's a word we've all heard and something we have all experienced throughout our lives. Fear comes in all shapes and sizes, colors and masses. The fear of clowns. The fear of people. The fear of love. The fear of trusting others. The fear of living. The fear of dying. The fear of death. The fear of loss. The fear of the future- the past, all of the above and more.
How can we define fear? When you google "what is fear" what comes up first is "an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat." What does this mean? I think fear is the feeling we get when we just don't know:
We don't know what people are thinking,
if we will get next months rent paid,
if they love us,
if our dad will wake up from the coma,
if our kids are making the right decisions.
It's the being vulnerable and open to not knowing what is happening or what will happen next.
I just got into a car accident a couple of days ago. An accident that was a catalyst to fear that I'm still dealing with. I don't know how to explain the fear that I went through when it all happened. It was instant fear of what was happening- something I couldn't even understand until I got out of the car crying and screaming because I didn't know what just happened. Not understanding what was happening and what had happened gave me fear and confusion. I remember seeing the other persons car in slow motion as he was about to hit me; and the fear of not know what was going to happen or if I was even going to live (sounds dramatic but that fear was real), overtook me. Just replaying what happened in my mind still causes me to cry because I am still scared from that feeling of not knowing. Now, I am dealing with the fear of future months without a car, dealing with insurance, and recovery from physical and emotional pain. I don't know how or when anything will happen and work out, I just have to rely on Christ to work it out for me.
We have all experienced fear in many different situations. It's human to be scared, to be worried, to be anxious; but we can't dwell on these feelings from fear. It would be stupid for me to say "Don't be fearful or scared," or any of that. It's human. God gave us these feelings for a reason. That reason is to remember who He is and depend on Him through it all. But, how can we depend on God when we have fear?
I think it first starts with acknowledging who He is.
I think something that we tend to forget is that Jesus was fully God and fully man. This means that Jesus and God experienced fear, anger, anxiety, pain. He FEELS and KNOWS what you're going through. He's not a God that just created the universe and isn't present. He isn't surface level and shallow water. He is deeper than you can imagine and loves you even more. He is here. He is present. He knows. He wants us to have these emotions but not dwell on them. He wants us to go to Him praying, crying, screaming, whatever. He wants you to go him first. This just declares that He is mighty, all powerful and all knowing. It's good to know who He is and the nature of His heart so we know we can confide all things in Him. He hears your cries, your prayers, and your heart. He is your father, your healer, your Abba. Fear and pain are inevitable, but through Christ there is healing. Trusting God is essential in the process of overcoming fear and finding healing. It's a vulnerable and scary state but healing is possible. At this point, I have to lean on my Father and trust him for my emotional healing from the accident. It's scary because we are depending on God for our lives without knowing what's going to happen. But,
God is faithful and encourages us to trust and have faith in Him.
God is faithful and calls us to have faith. It's like you get a big cut on your arm. In order for it to heal properly, it needs to be cleaned and bandaged. In this moment you have a choice; you can either go to the Healer for help or you can get it dirty and treat it badly, in which case it'll get worse. Even if you start to treat it right and it's scabbing, there is always the temptation to pick at it and make it worse, leading to infection or more scarring. And the thing is, the longer you leave it the scar will be worse. You can choose to depend on the Healer to fix it up (activate faith) or you can allow it to fester (allow fear to grow).
Where do you seek your help? Jesus wants to love you, protect you, and heal you from any fear or pain.
He's holding you and cares for you immensely.
