Feel The Fear

I often find that, when our ears and eyes are open, God speaks in the most remarkable and unexpected ways.

 

I have been worrying and feeling anxious and fearful about something all week.  And then, today, I read this.  Despite the grammatical error, it spoke to me. 

"I put fear away and done it anyway."

 

Fear.

 

It grips us and strangles us and chokes the life from us.

 

But it doesn't have to.

 

Fear is a choice.  We can't decide whether or not we will feel fear.  But we can choose whether or not we let ourselves become paralysed by it.

 

God promises,

 

 

           "There’s no need to fear for I’m your God.
           I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you.
           I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you."

 

           [Isaiah 41:10 MSG]

 

 

With God on our side, we don't need to succumb to fear.  He will give us strength and will keep a firm grip on us.  He will keep us steady.  He will hold our hands as we walk through the fear.

 

We can choose to feel the fear, but not be stopped by it.

 

With His help, we can choose to say, 'I put fear away and done it anyway'.

 

 

 

 

Do Not Be Afraid

The phrase "Do not fear" or "Do not be afraid" is apparently repeated 366 times in the Bible.  I can't say I've checked, but that's certainly a great many times.

 

I wish that I could see it as more than just a suggestion.  I wish it was a permanent reality in my life.

 

But so often I find myself worried or anxious or fearful about a whole range of things - many of which are probably out of my control anyway.

 

One of my favourite Bible verses is about this very thing.  I've set it as the screen lock on my phone so that every time I unlock my phone, I am reminded of this truth that there is no need to fear:

 

"Don't panic.  I'm with you.  There's no need to fear for I'm your God.  I'll give you strength.  I'll help you.  I'll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you."

 

[Isaiah 41:10 MSG]

 

 

I suppose the point is not that there is nothing to fear, but rather that there is One who is greater than the fear, who will always be with us.

 

I love the words in this song, 'Come To Me' -

 

I am the Lord your God,
I go before you now.
I stand beside you
I’m all around you
And though you feel I’m far away
I’m closer than your breath
I am with you
More than you know

I am the Lord your peace
No evil will conquer you
Steady now your heart and mind
Come into my rest
And oh, let your faith arise
And lift up your weary head
I am with you
Wherever you go

Come to me, I’m all you need
Come to me, I’m everything
Come to me, I’m all you need
Come to me, I’m your everything

I am your anchor, in the wind and the waves
And I am your steadfast, so don’t be afraid
Though your heart and flesh may fail you
I’m your faithful strength
And I am with you
Wherever you go

Come to me, I’m all you need
Come to me, I’m your everything
Come to me, I’m all you need
Come to me, I’m your everything

 

 

 

We need not fear if He is on our side.

If At First You Don't Succeed...

When I was at school, I used to hate making mistakes in my exercise books: if I spelt something incorrectly or got the wrong answers, I used to cross it out really well, so that nothing could be seen.

 

I didn't want anyone else - or even myself - to see my mistakes.

 

And sometimes I do the same in life - in my mind, I scribble out the things that I don't want to see, the mistakes that I'm embarrassed about, or ashamed of.

 

But I was really challenged this week when I was marking some exercise books and found one student had labelled her work "Try 1" and then, when that hadn't gone quite as she had hoped, she had simply written underneath "Try 2" and had rewritten her ideas and improved them. 

 

In one case, there was even a "Try 3".

 

She hadn't minded me, or anyone else, seeing her mistakes.  She hadn't tried to hide them, or to cross them out.  She was happy for me to see that she had had a go and had kept working to improve her writing. 

 

She was happy to try again.

 

We've all heard the phrase If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again.  But how many of us actually like people seeing us not succeeding, or trying again and again?  How many of us are brave enough and secure enough in ourselves to let people see "Try 1", "Try 2", "Try 3" etc.?

 

Many of us, when we know we have 'failed' or have fallen short of our own expectations, want to hide. 

"I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

 

[Genesis 3:10 NIV]

 

When we feel embarrassed or ashamed of our failings, we hide.  But we don't need to hide.  We don't need to fear.  If we trust in God and His love for us, our fear will we wiped away.

 

"There is no room in love for fear.  Well-formed love banishes fear.  Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love."
 

[1 John 4:18 MSG] 
 

We no longer need to fear or to hide.  Instead, we can let people see our efforts and our failures and our successes.  We can show people our "Try 1" and our "Try 2" and our "Try 3" and so on, because we are secure in ourselves and in our God's love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Antidote to Fear

I rewatched 'Donnie Darko' today. 

 

I've only seen it once before and it was a long time ago, so I didn't remember much.  It is intricate and intriguing - if not rather odd - and is all about a boy who hallucinates and feels it is his responsibility to save the world.

 

One thing that really stood out for me whilst I was watching was a scene where one of Donnie's teachers draws a continuum across the blackboard (it's set in the 80s), with 'FEAR' on one side and 'LOVE' on the other.

 

Each pupil has to read out a scenario that they have been given and mark a cross on the line to show whether the action on their card is motivated by fear or love.

 

Everything we do, she says, is motivated by one or other of these emotions.

 

It got me thinking about how love and fear are opposites.  And it also made me consider what motivates me the most.

 

I know that a lot of the time, I am motivated by fear: fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of not being good enough, fear of being too much to handle, fear of missing out, fear of being 'found out'.

 

I am not motivated by love.

 

I haven't counted, but apparently the command "Do not fear" is repeated 366 times in the Bible.

 

That's a lot.

 

I think God wants something to sink in.

 

What's more, John writes,

"There is no fear in love."

 [1 John 4:18 NIV]

 

Fear and love are, as the teacher in 'Donnie Darko' pointed out so astutely, opposites.  They are mutually exclusive.  You cannot have both together.  

 

Fear is crippling and it stems from a feeling of being unaccepted or unloved.  Love is the antidote to fear.  Not love as a fluffy fuzzy feeling, but passionate, powerful proactive love, which lays itself down for us. 

 

The same verse in The Message reads,

"There is no room in love for fear.  Well-formed love banishes fear.  Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love."

 

I don't want a crippling, fearful life.  I want a life that is "fully formed in love".

 

 

 

 

Truth and Fear

Most students become firm friends with J.B. Fletcher, Dr Mark Sloane, Poirot and the cast of Neighbours and Doctors during their time at University.  For me, my relationship with J.B. is one that has lasted long after graduation and I still find myself enjoying 'Murder She Wrote' when it's on TV.

 

Whilst we have established a strong bond, it is not often that Jessica Fletcher speaks into my life.  However, I have just flicked the TV on to find myself half-way through an episode.  I haven't yet figured out what's going on or who's been accused of doing what to whom, but today, J.B.'s insightful and deductive powers have spoken straight to my heart.

 

Whilst interviewing one woman, she said -

"Why are you so afraid of telling me the truth?"

 

Shortly followed by,

"It seems that you're afraid of telling me something.  What are you leaving out?"

 

Why are you so afraid of telling me the truth?  What are you leaving out?

 

We all have things that we don't want other people to know.  We all edit and reshape and rephrase the 'truth' to make it more palatable.  For ourselves and for others. 

 

And we can edit the truth when we talk to God, too.  We can diminish our pain or our anger or our disappointment.  We can edit out our frustration with Him, or our doubt in His goodness.  We can sugar-coat the guilt we feel and disguise our need for His forgiveness.

 

But God desires us to be truthful, in the deepest, rawest of places -

 

        "What you’re after is truth from the inside out.
        Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life."

 

        [Psalm 51:6 MSG]

 

We can be scared of God and other people knowing the real truth about us, because we fear that we will be rejected - we won't be good enough.

 

We are afraid.

 

But the Bible says,

"There is no room in love for fear.  Well-formed love banishes fear.  Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love."

 

[1 John 4:18 MSG]

 

When we begin to grasp the depths of God's unconditional love for us, we don't need to be afraid.  We can tell the true truth about ourselves to God and others - even J.B. Fletcher.