Fear

I feel like writing instead of going to the gym. So I'm just going to start out typing and we'll see where my thoughts go...

We talked last night at small group about being afraid. We are so used to hearing, "It's okay to be afraid!" But in actuality, the Bible says in Romans 8:15 that we "did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear..." So really, it is unBiblical to be afraid. It is not of the Spirit. It is not Godly. Yet why are we so afraid, of things big and small alike?

With my experience in psychology, I've learned that we are conditioned (or taught) to be afraid of something. (I now regret selling my Abnormal Psych textbook... even though it gave me a whole wad of cash...) The story goes that we see something, something negative happens along with seeing that something, then we associate that something negative with the something we saw. For example, a baby sees a spider on the floor next to him, his mommy screams in agony over the thought of her precious baby being viciously attacked by said spider, then the baby starts screaming in agony over his sweet mother's agonizing screams, and the next time he sees a spider, he'll remember his cries and his mother's and become "afraid". Make sense?

Anyways, my thoughts on fears are this: "When I am afraid, I will trust in you." Simple as that, folks. Psalm 56:3 says it so bluntly, so perfectly. It's the ultimate if/then statement. If I feel like this, then I will do this. No matter what we are afraid of, be it a snake slithering in the grass, or an intense medical battle we may be going through, we must trust in the Lord. Easier said than done, I know. One step we can take in giving that trust to God is remembering how far we've come. We are still alive. We may not have trusted God, but He pulled through anyway. Our biggest fear may have come into our lives, but we have to give it over to Him who is perfect in every way, who undoubtedly wants the best for us, no matter what challenges we must face to get to the Promised Land. If we press into Him, He will give us a Spirit of peace and joy and trust, and our spirit of timidity and fear will abandon us quickly.